Year-end Filing Tips for Real Estate Brokerages and Licensees

Are you working on your year-end filings? Here are some reminders and tips to ensure a smooth process.

Accountant’s Report 

Upload your annual Accountant’s Report within 120 days after your brokerage’s fiscal year-end.  

Two separate service requests will appear on your IRIS portal: one for the Accountant’s Report Form, and another for the Brokerage Financial Information Filing spreadsheet. Both are required as part of the Accountant’s Report. Late or incomplete filings may result in administrative penalties. 

Please visit our Accountant’s Report webpage for the forms. 

Home Buyer Rescission Period 

This year’s filing season marks the first full year of data on the use of the Home Buyer Rescission Period (“HBRP”). In reviewing the filings we have received so far, here are some tips for your brokerage to consider as you prepare to submit HBRP information: 

• Managing brokers must complete and submit the filing if their brokerage has been involved in a transaction where a rescission notice was issued, regardless of whether the brokerage represented the buyer or the seller;  
• If your brokerage has no rescissions to report, please opt out of the filing in IRIS;  
• Make sure to complete all fields in the filing template, including the property address;  
• Do not submit copies of rescission notices, as they contain additional client personal information beyond what is required in the template;  
• Ensure that your filing is submitted in the Excel template provided. Do not submit the information in an alternate format (e.g., PDF, numbers); and  
• The reporting period covers any rescissions received on or after January 3, 2023, to the end of your brokerage’s fiscal year.   

For further clarification, including definitions of the various fields, please refer to the instructions sheet within the filing template. 

CRA Reversal on Bare Trust Filing 

The Canada Revenue Agency (“CRA”) announced that bare trusts are exempt from T3 filings for the 2023 tax year.  

The press release stated:  

“In recognition that the new reporting requirements for bare trusts have had an unintended impact on Canadians, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) will not require bare trusts to file a T3 Income Tax and Information Return (T3 return), including Schedule 15 (Beneficial Ownership Information of a Trust), for the 2023 tax year, unless the CRA makes a direct request for these filings.”  

The CRA states it will work with the Department of Finance over the coming months to further clarify its guidance on this filing requirement.  

Questions and Support

Please reach out to BCFSA’s Practice Standard Advisors if you have questions or need support at [email protected].