Can you have more than one principal residence?

For 1982 and later years, you can only designate one home as your family's principal residence for each year.

For 1982 to 2000, your family included:

If you did not have a spouse and were not 18 or older, your family also included:

For 2001 and later tax years, the definition above applies except that the reference to "spouse" is replaced by "spouse or common-law partner."

For 1993 to 2000, a spouse included a common-law partner. Therefore, common-law spouses could not designate different housing units as their principal residence for any of those years.

Note

If you made an election to have your same-sex partner considered your common-law partner for 1998, 1999, or 2000, your common-law partner also could not designate a different housing unit as their principal residence.

For years before 1982, more than one housing unit per family could be designated as a principal residence. Therefore, a husband and wife could designate different principal residences for those years. However, a special rule applied if members of a family designated more than one home as a principal residence. For more information, see Income Tax Folio S1-F3-C2, Principal Residence.

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