Income Tax Act

Marginal note:Benefit conferred on shareholder

• 15 (1) Where at any time in a taxation year a benefit is conferred on a shareholder, or on a person in contemplation of the person becoming a shareholder, by a corporation otherwise than by

  • (a) the reduction of the paid-up capital, the redemption, cancellation or acquisition by the corporation of shares of its capital stock or on the winding-up, discontinuance or reorganization of its business, or otherwise by way of a transaction to which section 88 applies,

  • (b) the payment of a dividend or a stock dividend,

  • (c) conferring, on all owners of common shares of the capital stock of the corporation at that time, a right in respect of each common share, that is identical to every other right conferred at that time in respect of each other such share, to acquire additional shares of the capital stock of the corporation, and, for the purpose of this paragraph,

    • (i) where

      • (A) the voting rights attached to a particular class of common shares of the capital stock of a corporation differ from the voting rights attached to another class of common shares of the capital stock of the corporation, and

      • (B) there are no other differences between the terms and conditions of the classes of shares that could cause the fair market value of a share of the particular class to differ materially from the fair market value of a share of the other class,

      the shares of the particular class shall be deemed to be property that is identical to the shares of the other class, and

    • (ii) rights are not considered identical if the cost of acquiring the rights differs, or

  • (d) an action described in paragraph 84(1)(c.1), 84(1)(c.2) or 84(1)(c.3),

  the amount or value thereof shall, except to the extent that it is deemed by section 84 to be a dividend, be included in computing the income of the shareholder for the year.

• Marginal note:Conferring of benefit

  (1.1) Notwithstanding subsection (1), if in a taxation year a corporation has paid a stock dividend to a person and it may reasonably be considered that one of the purposes of that payment was to significantly alter the value of the interest of any specified shareholder of the corporation, the fair market value of the stock dividend shall, except to the extent that it is otherwise included in computing that person’s income under any of paragraphs 82(1)(a), (a.1) and (c) to (e), be included in computing the income of that person for the year.

• Marginal note:Forgiveness of shareholder debt

  (1.2) For the purpose of subsection 15(1), the value of the benefit where an obligation issued by a debtor is settled or extinguished at any time shall be deemed to be the forgiven amount at that time in respect of the obligation.

• Marginal note:Forgiven amount

  (1.21) For the purpose of subsection 15(1.2), the forgiven amount at any time in respect of an obligation issued by a debtor has the meaning that would be assigned by subsection 80(1) if

  • (a) the obligation were a commercial obligation (within the meaning assigned by subsection 80(1)) issued by the debtor;

  • (b) no amount included in computing income (otherwise than because of paragraph 6(1)(a)) because of the obligation being settled or extinguished were taken into account;

  • (c) the definition forgiven amount in subsection 80(1) were read without reference to paragraphs (f) and (h) of the description B in that definition; and

  • (d) section 80 were read without reference to paragraphs (2)(b) and (q) of that section.

• Marginal note:Cost of property or service

  (1.3) To the extent that the cost to a person of purchasing a property or service or an amount payable by a person for the purpose of leasing property is taken into account in determining an amount required under this section to be included in computing a taxpayer’s income for a taxation year, that cost or amount payable, as the case may be, shall include any tax that was payable by the person in respect of the property or service or that would have been so payable if the person were not exempt from the payment of that tax because of the nature of the person or the use to which the property or service is to be put.

• (1.4) [Repealed, 1997, c. 10, s. 269(1)]

• Marginal note:Shareholder debt

  (2) Where a person (other than a corporation resident in Canada) or a partnership (other than a partnership each member of which is a corporation resident in Canada) is

  • (a) a shareholder of a particular corporation,

  • (b) connected with a shareholder of a particular corporation, or

  • (c) a member of a partnership, or a beneficiary of a trust, that is a shareholder of a particular corporation

  and the person or partnership has in a taxation year received a loan from or has become indebted to the particular corporation, any other corporation related to the particular corporation or a partnership of which the particular corporation or a corporation related to the particular corporation is a member, the amount of the loan or indebtedness is included in computing the income for the year of the person or partnership.

• Marginal note:Persons connected with a shareholder

  (2.1) For the purposes of subsection 15(2), a person is connected with a shareholder of a particular corporation if that person does not deal at arm’s length with the shareholder and if that person is a person other than

  • (a) a foreign affiliate of the particular corporation; or

  • (b) a foreign affiliate of a person resident in Canada with which the particular corporation does not deal at arm’s length.

• Marginal note:When s. 15(2) not to apply — non-resident persons

  (2.2) Subsection 15(2) does not apply to indebtedness between non-resident persons.

• Marginal note:When s. 15(2) not to apply — ordinary lending business

  (2.3) Subsection 15(2) does not apply to a debt that arose in the ordinary course of the creditor’s business or a loan made in the ordinary course of the lender’s ordinary business of lending money where, at the time the indebtedness arose or the loan was made, bona fide arrangements were made for repayment of the debt or loan within a reasonable time.

• Marginal note:When s. 15(2) not to apply — certain employees

  (2.4) Subsection 15(2) does not apply to a loan made or a debt that arose

  • (a) in respect of an individual who is an employee of the lender or creditor but not a specified employee of the lender or creditor,

  • (b) in respect of an individual who is an employee of the lender or creditor or who is the spouse or common-law partner of an employee of the lender or creditor to enable or assist the individual to acquire a dwelling or a share of the capital stock of a cooperative housing corporation acquired for the sole purpose of acquiring the right to inhabit a dwelling owned by the corporation, where the dwelling is for the individual’s habitation,

  • (c) where the lender or creditor is a particular corporation, in respect of an employee of the particular corporation or of another corporation that is related to the particular corporation, to enable or assist the employee to acquire from the particular corporation, or from another corporation related to the particular corporation, previously unissued fully paid shares of the capital stock of the particular corporation or the related corporation, as the case may be, to be held by the employee for the employee’s own benefit, or

  • (d) in respect of an employee of the lender or creditor to enable or assist the employee to acquire a motor vehicle to be used by the employee in the performance of the duties of the employee’s office or employment,

  where

  • (e) it is reasonable to conclude that the employee or the employee’s spouse or common-law partner received the loan, or became indebted, because of the employee’s employment and not because of any person’s share-holdings, and

  • (f) at the time the loan was made or the debt was incurred, bona fide arrangements were made for repayment of the loan or debt within a reasonable time.

• Marginal note:When s. 15(2) not to apply — certain trusts

  (2.5) Subsection 15(2) does not apply to a loan made or a debt that arose in respect of a trust where

  • (a) the lender or creditor is a private corporation;

  • (b) the corporation is the settlor and sole beneficiary of the trust;

  • (c) the sole purpose of the trust is to facilitate the purchase and sale of the shares of the corporation, or of another corporation related to the corporation, for an amount equal to their fair market value at the time of the purchase or sale, as the case may be, from or to the employees of the corporation or of the related corporation (other than employees who are specified employees of the corporation or of another corporation related to the corporation), as the case may be; and

  • (d) at the time the loan was made or the debt incurred, bona fide arrangements were made for repayment of the loan or debt within a reasonable time.

• Marginal note:When s. 15(2) not to apply — repayment within one year

  (2.6) Subsection 15(2) does not apply to a loan or an indebtedness repaid within one year after the end of the taxation year of the lender or creditor in which the loan was made or the indebtedness arose, where it is established, by subsequent events or otherwise, that the repayment was not part of a series of loans or other transactions and repayments.

• Marginal note:Employee of partnership

  (2.7) For the purpose of this section, an individual who is an employee of a partnership is deemed to be a specified employee of the partnership where the individual is a specified shareholder of one or more corporations that, in total, are entitled, directly or indirectly, to a share of any income or loss of the partnership, which share is not less than 10% of the income or loss.

• Marginal note:Interest or dividend on income bond or debenture

  (3) An amount paid as interest or a dividend by a corporation resident in Canada to a taxpayer in respect of an income bond or income debenture shall be deemed to have been paid by the corporation and received by the taxpayer as a dividend on a share of the capital stock of the corporation, unless the corporation is entitled to deduct the amount so paid in computing its income.

• Marginal note:Idem, where corporation not resident

  (4) An amount paid as interest or a dividend by a corporation not resident in Canada to a taxpayer in respect of an income bond or income debenture shall be deemed to have been received by the taxpayer as a dividend on a share of the capital stock of the corporation unless the amount so paid was, under the laws of the country in which the corporation was resident, deductible in computing the amount for the year on which the corporation was liable to pay income or profits tax imposed by the government of that country.

• Marginal note:Automobile benefit

  (5) For the purposes of subsection 15(1), the value of the benefit to be included in computing a shareholder’s income for a taxation year with respect to an automobile made available to the shareholder, or a person related to the shareholder, by a corporation shall (except where an amount is determined under subparagraph 6(1)(e)(i) in respect of the automobile in computing the shareholder’s income for the year) be computed on the assumption that subsections 6(1), 6(1.1), 6(2) and 6(7) apply, with such modifications as the circumstances require, and as though the references therein to “the employer of the taxpayer”, “the taxpayer’s employer” and “the employer” were read as “the corporation”.

• Marginal note:Application of ss. (1), (2) and (5)

  (7) For greater certainty, subsections 15(1), (2) and (5) are applicable in computing, for the purposes of this Part, the income of a shareholder or of a person or partnership whether or not the corporation, or the lender or creditor, as the case may be, was resident or carried on business in Canada.

• (8) [Repealed, 1998, c. 19, s. 75(3)]

• Marginal note:Deemed benefit to shareholder by corporation

  (9) Where an amount in respect of a loan or debt is deemed by section 80.4 to be a benefit received by a person or partnership in a taxation year, the amount is deemed for the purpose of subsection 15(1) to be a benefit conferred in the year on a shareholder, unless subsection 6(9) or paragraph 12(1)(w) applies to the amount.