[HALCYONMERILEE]

My common law wife and I bought a condominium through our holding company which we are both 50% shareholders of. Originally we were going to rent the property which is why we bought it with the company rather than personally, but recently changed our mind and decided we will just live there instead.
Trying to figure out how to avoid paying the land transfer taxes again.
Could my common law partner buy the property off the corporation and claim a first time home buyer exemption to get out of the land transfer tax? I have owned property before but she has not.
Also, could we gift the property or sell it for less than we paid for it? The corporation paid 439,000 for the condo, but since its an older building the tax bill says its only worth 210,000. Wondering if we sell it for what the municipality says it's worth if the taxman would consider that fair market value.

 

[AltaRed]

At least two issues:

1. CRA does not accept municipality market assessments. You need a formal appraisal especially if it is a capital loss.

2. If your spouse buys it sole title, she has to come up with her own capital, and if she cannot, she has to enter into a formal spousal loan with you at the CRA prescribed interest rate. CRA is fussy about whose capital is whose for attribution of income at some point in the future.

Lastly, land transfer taxes and rules vary by province.