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The short answer
If you are resident in Canada and the Nigerian property is really yours, a relative's name on the documents does not by itself take it off your Form T1135. The CRA requires the form when the total cost of your specified foreign property is more than $100,000 at any time in the year, with a simplified part below $250,000. Whether a family arrangement also creates a separate trust filing is a question to settle with a tax professional, because we could not confirm the CRA's current bare trust position for this article.
It is common for Nigerians abroad to buy land or a flat at home and leave the paperwork with someone on the ground: a brother signs the deed of assignment, a mother's name goes on the survey, a cousin holds a power of attorney to deal with the estate developer. The money came from you in Canada; the name on the paper is theirs. This article sets out what the CRA's own pages say about reporting foreign property, where a family-held title fits, and which questions have no published answer we could confirm. It is information, not tax advice.
The T1135 test, in the CRA's words
The CRA says Form T1135, the Foreign Income Verification Statement, must be filed by Canadian resident individuals, corporations and certain trusts that own specified foreign property costing more than $100,000 at any time during the year. The figure is cost, not today's market value, and it is the total of all your specified foreign property, not one asset at a time.
- Part A (simplified): total cost above $100,000 but below $250,000. You tick a box for each type of property.
- Part B (detailed): total cost of $250,000 or more. You list each property.
- Due date: the same day as your return. For most individuals that is 30 April; for self-employed individuals, 15 June.
- Penalties: the CRA says significant penalties may apply for late filing, false statements or omissions, and points to its penalty tables rather than stating amounts on the form page.
The CRA lists "tangible property situated outside Canada" as one category of specified foreign property, alongside funds held abroad, shares of non-resident companies and debts owed by non-residents. The page does not name real estate, but Nigerian land or a house held as an investment is tangible property outside Canada, which is how the form is usually read. Naira in a Nigerian bank account counts too, under funds held outside Canada, so a plot and a savings balance are added together.
Does a relative's name on the title change anything?
The form asks about property you own. When family hold Nigerian property "for you", the real question is who has the beneficial interest: who paid, who decides whether to sell, who keeps the rent and the sale money. If the answer to all of those is you, the relative is acting as your nominee, and treating the property as theirs for Canadian purposes is hard to defend. If the relative bought part of it with their own money, or the arrangement is a gift to them, the position is different.
The CRA's T1135 page itself does not address nominee, agent or bare trust holdings, so we cannot point you to a CRA sentence that settles this. Take that as a reason to write the arrangement down, not as a gap to rely on.
Evidence that tells the story
- Bank transfers from your Canadian or Nigerian account to the vendor or developer, with dates and amounts.
- A signed declaration of trust or agreement with the relative saying they hold the property for you. A Nigerian lawyer can prepare one; it also protects you if the relative dies or falls out with you.
- The deed, survey, allocation letter or receipt from the developer, even if in the relative's name.
- Records of rent collected and passed on to you, if the property is let.
The separate question of trust filing
An arrangement where someone holds title only as your agent can be what tax law calls a bare trust. Canada's trust reporting on the T3 return, including rules for bare trusts, is a different filing from T1135, and it falls on the trust, not on you as an individual. Whether a trust run informally by a relative in Nigeria has any Canadian filing obligation depends on where it is resident and on current CRA rules. We could not open the CRA's current trust reporting page when writing this, so we are not stating what it requires for any year. Ask a Canadian tax professional, and give them the declaration of trust and the payment records above.
Personal-use property: the exclusion people ask about
The CRA excludes personal-use property, as defined in section 54 of the Income Tax Act, from specified foreign property. A guide on Advisor.ca, citing the CRA's approach, explains that a foreign home rented out with a reasonable expectation of profit is reportable, while one used mainly for personal enjoyment is not, with "primarily" read as more than 50% and each case judged on its facts.
For Nigerians abroad the hard case is the house your parents live in rent-free, or the flat kept for your own visits each December. That may be personal-use property. An empty plot bought because land in that area keeps rising in value is much harder to call personal use. If you are relying on the exclusion, note why, in writing, at the time.
Working out the cost in Canadian dollars
The threshold uses cost, generally the adjusted cost base, in Canadian currency. The Advisor.ca guide notes that the full cost counts even if part was borrowed. For naira purchases the usual approach is to convert at the exchange rate around the date you bought; our article on Canadian-dollar cost base for naira assets covers the method.
| Example only | Naira cost | Illustrative rate when bought | Cost in C$ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plot in Ibeju-Lekki (held by brother) | ₦45,000,000 | C$1 = ₦300 | C$150,000 |
| Flat in Gbagada (in your name) | ₦60,000,000 | C$1 = ₦350 | C$171,429 |
| Total specified foreign property | C$321,429 |
In this example both properties are investments, so the total cost is above $250,000 and Part B applies, with each property listed. The rates are illustrative only, not real historical rates. If you bought the plot alone, at C$150,000 you would be in Part A.
What to check first
- List every Nigerian asset you hold, in any name: land, buildings, bank balances, shares, T-bills.
- For each, record who paid and who benefits. Get a written declaration of trust where a relative holds title.
- Convert each cost to Canadian dollars and add them up against the $100,000 and $250,000 lines.
- Decide, with reasons, whether any property is personal-use.
- If rent is earned, it is also income on your return; see reporting Lagos rental income on Form T776.
- Ask a tax professional about any trust filing before the T3 deadline, not after.
Where Pryme fits
Paper trails are the weak point of family-held property. A Pryme account, opened from Canada, holds naira alongside USD, GBP and EUR, so you can pay a developer or a relative's property costs from an account in your own name and keep the record. Any payment can be turned into a verifiable receipt or statement through Pryme's partner VerifyDoc.ai, which an adviser or the CRA can check is genuine and unaltered. See multicurrency accounts and sending money.
Questions people ask
Do I file T1135 if the Nigerian land is in my brother's name?
If the land is in substance yours (you paid, you control it, you get the proceeds), a family name on the documents does not by itself remove it. The CRA test is whether you own specified foreign property costing more than $100,000. Get advice on the beneficial ownership question.
Does the house my parents live in count for T1135?
Possibly not. Personal-use property is excluded from specified foreign property. A house used mainly for personal enjoyment by you and your family may qualify; a property held as an investment does not. Keep a note of how it is used.
Is the T1135 threshold based on today's value of my Lagos property?
No. The CRA uses cost, generally the adjusted cost base in Canadian dollars, not current market value. The total of all specified foreign property counts.
What is the T1135 penalty for not reporting Nigerian property?
The CRA says significant penalties may apply for late filing or for false statements and omissions, and refers to its penalty pages for the amounts. If you missed earlier years, speak to a tax professional about correcting them.
Sources
- CRA: Foreign Income Verification Statement, Form T1135 (modified 19 Oct 2026) · accessed Oct 2026
- Advisor.ca: T1135, 13 questions and answers (updated 15 Sep 2023) · accessed Oct 2026
This article is general information, not financial, legal or tax advice. Products described are provided under the terms on this site and are subject to regulation and eligibility.