In 2016-0652851C6 F, as a result of breach of a purchaser's obligation to purchase a personal residence, the individual vendor received $50,000 in damages from the defaulted purchaser,. which CRA stated was proceeds of disposition of a promise giving rise to a capital gain of $50,000. However, in IT-365R2, para. 9 (archived), CRA states that where an amount of compensation is received respecting a particular asset that was not disposed of, that amount reduces the cost of the asset.
In confirming its earlier position, CRA stated:
Paragraph 9 of Interpretation Bulletin IT 365R2 essentially provides that "[w]here the amount of compensation relates to a particular asset that was not disposed of, the amount will serve to reduce the cost of that asset to the taxpayer." However, the CRA is of the view that the scope of this paragraph, which was written under the heading "Receipts in Respect of Non-Performance of Business Contracts" should be restricted to such a context.