Is a gain realized on a sale of real property a capital gain or must it be fully included in income, perhaps because the sale was in connection with an “adventure in the nature of trade”? One might think that the answer will be of the either/or variety: either the gain is capital in nature or it is not, in which case it will be an income gain the entire amount of which must be included in income. Von Realty Limited v R, 2011 TCC 345 is a good reminder that any particular gain might be on capital account for a portion of the gain and on income account for the remainder because the owner’s intentions with respect to a property can change during the time he or she owns it.
