Selling on Kijiji or Facebook Marketplace in Canada is taxable when the sale is business income, and a gain on personal-use property can be taxable when the proceeds are over the $1,000 rule. The app does not create a special exemption, and it does not create a special tax. The CRA’s personal-use property page covers belongings you own for your own use. Form T2125 covers a business of buying and selling.
This is general information, not tax advice. The longer treatment of hobbies, the $1,000 rule, and platform reporting since 2024 is tax on reselling, gig apps, and platform income. How to run the activity is reselling and Facebook Marketplace flipping.
When is a Kijiji or Marketplace sale personal-use property in Canada?
A Kijiji or Marketplace sale is personal-use property in Canada when you are disposing of property you owned mainly for your own use and enjoyment, not as inventory. The CRA’s personal-use property page describes belongings such as cars, boats, and similar property. Most of those sales do not produce a gain, because the things fall in value. A loss on ordinary personal-use property is generally not deductible against other income.
The Schedule 3 instructions use two deemed amounts. If the adjusted cost base is less than $1,000, it is considered to be $1,000. If the proceeds are less than $1,000, the proceeds are considered to be $1,000. If both the adjusted cost base and the proceeds are $1,000 or less, you do not have a capital gain or loss, and you do not report the sale on Schedule 3.
The CRA’s own examples on that page are the method. A china cabinet sold for $900 that cost $500 is reported as neither gain nor loss, because both amounts are under $1,000. A boat sold for $1,200 with a cost of $850 and selling costs of $50 uses a $1,000 cost, so the gain in the example is $150. A personal computer sold for $1,500 that cost $3,200 shows a loss, and that loss is not deductible. Those are the CRA’s figures. They are not your listings. Guide T4037 is the capital-gains guide, including listed personal property such as certain art, jewellery, rare books, stamps, and coins.
A taxable capital gain is only part of the gain. The CRA’s what’s new for small businesses page describes a return to the enacted one-half inclusion rate for gains realized before January 1, 2026. For a later sale, open Guide T4037 for that year before you multiply. A business profit on reselling is not a capital gain and is not cut by the inclusion rate.
When is Marketplace selling a business in Canada?
Marketplace selling is a business in Canada when you are carrying on the activity for profit, which is the usual picture if you buy goods to resell. That income goes on Form T2125. It is fully included. The $1,000 personal-use rule does not apply to inventory. You do not need a logo, a registered name, or a profit for the activity to be a business. Calling it a hobby does not create a line on the return. The factors and the platform-reporting rules are spelled out in tax on reselling, gig apps, and platform income. What changes as occasional sales become a sole proprietorship is casual side income or a sole proprietorship.
GST/HST is a second question. Reselling uses the $30,000 small-supplier test, not a rule that sales under $30,000 are income-tax-free. That mix-up is the $30,000 GST/HST myth.
| What you listed | Usual tax picture | What people skip |
|---|---|---|
| A couch you owned and used | Personal-use property; often nothing on Schedule 3 if both cost and proceeds are $1,000 or less | Trying to deduct the loss against wages |
| Goods you bought to resell | Business income on T2125 | The cost of the goods, which belongs in the calculation |
| A one-off item that sold for more than $1,000 | Schedule 3 if it is personal-use property and there is a gain | The deemed $1,000 cost when the real cost was lower |
| A weekly sourcing habit | T2125, not a closet clean-out | GST/HST once taxable supplies cross $30,000 |
Does a platform report decide whether the sale is taxable?
A platform report does not decide whether the sale is taxable, and it does not pay the tax. The CRA’s reporting rules for digital platform operators have applied since calendar 2024 to certain operators. Relevant activities include sales of goods. The who is affected page describes an exclusion for a seller of goods with fewer than 30 relevant activities where the total consideration did not exceed $2,800 in the period. Both parts sit together. The exclusion is about whether that seller is reported by the platform. It is not an income-tax exemption.
Whether Kijiji, Facebook Marketplace, or another classifieds site is a reporting operator is a fact on the CRA’s digital-platform pages and in any notice the site sends you. This guide does not label a specific site as a reporter or as exempt. Your duty to report business income, or a capital gain that Schedule 3 requires, does not turn on whether a report was filed. Keep your own list of what you sold, what you paid, and what you received. Record keeping is the six-year rule.
Fake overpayments and fake e-transfers are not taxable sales. They are the scripts in fake cheque and overpayment scams. Do not ship goods against a payment that asks you to refund the difference.
What does an illustrative Kijiji sale look like under both labels?
Illustrative example, personal-use. Suppose you sell a sofa you bought for your own living room. It cost $700 and you sell it on Marketplace for $180. Both amounts are under $1,000, so the Schedule 3 instructions treat each as $1,000 and you do not report a gain or a loss. The $520 drop is not a business loss and not a deduction against your job. These prices are assumptions, not the CRA’s cabinet example.
Illustrative example, business. Suppose you buy three dressers at $40 each for the purpose of reselling them, sell them for $120 each, and pay $15 to rent a van for the pickups, a cost you can tie to the sales. Cost is $120. The van is $15. Proceeds are $360. Net in the sketch is $360 minus $120 minus $15, which is $225 of business income, before other expenses and before tax and CPP. You do not run $225 through the $1,000 rule, and you do not include only half. It goes toward a T2125 if this is a business. The numbers are assumptions, not a typical flip.
| Label | Assumed facts | Sketch result |
|---|---|---|
| Sofa you owned | Sold $180, cost $700 | No Schedule 3 gain or loss; the drop is not deductible |
| Three dressers bought to resell | Proceeds $360, cost $120, van $15 | $225 business income, not a capital gain |
FreshBooks can hold a purchase price and a sale price for a reseller who has outgrown a notes app. It will not decide that a sofa was personal-use property. Wealthsimple Tax can prepare a T2125 or Schedule 3 from the label you choose. Check the price.
Which guides sit next to Kijiji and Marketplace tax in Canada?
The full platform and hobby discussion is tax on reselling, gig apps, and platform income. The work of flipping is reselling and Facebook Marketplace flipping. GST/HST is the $30,000 myth and the registration guide. The question list is the side hustle tax FAQ.
What are the common questions?
Do I pay tax if I sell my own used furniture on Kijiji in Canada?
A sale of personal-use property is not business income by itself. If both the cost and the proceeds are $1,000 or less, Schedule 3 says you do not report a gain or a loss. A loss on ordinary personal-use property is generally not deductible. If you bought the furniture to resell, the activity can be a business and the $1,000 rule does not apply. This is not tax advice.
Does Facebook Marketplace send the CRA a report that replaces my return?
No. Since 2024, some digital platforms have had to report sellers under the CRA's platform rules. A report does not pay your tax and does not replace your return. The under-30 sales and not-over-$2,800 exclusion is about platform reporting for goods sellers. It is not an income-tax exemption. Whether a given site is a reporting operator is on the CRA pages and in any notice the site sends.
Is there a hobby exemption for Marketplace flipping?
There is no hobby line that makes business income tax-free. Buying goods to resell is the business pattern and goes on Form T2125. Selling items you bought to use is the personal-use pattern. A repeated sourcing habit is hard to call a closet clean-out.
Do Marketplace sales under $30,000 escape income tax?
No. The $30,000 figure is the GST/HST small-supplier test on taxable supplies. Business income is still reported on Form T2125 below that amount. Ride-sharing has a different GST/HST rule. Reselling does not.
A buyer overpaid and wants the difference refunded. Is that taxable income?
Treat it as a scam, not as income. The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre describes overpayment fraud as a payment that is later reversed after you send the excess back. Do not refund the difference and do not ship the item against that payment.
Which sources support this guide?
The rules, rates, and platform requirements in this guide are checked against these primary sources. Retail price ranges are labelled as ranges to verify locally, and they are not quotes.
- Personal-use property — Canada Revenue Agency
- Completing Schedule 3, including personal-use property — Canada Revenue Agency
- Guide T4037, Capital Gains — Canada Revenue Agency
- Form T2125, Statement of Business or Professional Activities — Canada Revenue Agency
- Reporting Rules for Digital Platform Operators — Canada Revenue Agency
- Who is affected by the reporting rules for digital platforms — Canada Revenue Agency
- When to register for and start charging the GST/HST — Canada Revenue Agency
- What's new for small businesses and self-employed — Canada Revenue Agency