What happened to TraderSight’s ACB tracking?
TraderSight started as a Canadian portfolio management platform. The adjusted cost base and capital gains tracking component — the part most Canadian investors actually needed — has been spun out into a focused product: MyCostBase.
MyCostBase handles everything the original TraderSight ACB engine was built to do: CRA-compliant pooled ACB across multiple brokerages, automatic Bank of Canada FX rates for USD holdings, ETF return of capital adjustments, DRIP tracking, and T5008 reconciliation.
What stays on TraderSight
The broader portfolio-tracking platform is currently paused and not accepting new users. This site continues to offer:
- Free calculators — capital gains tax, RRSP vs TFSA comparison, DRIP, compound interest, and return-growth tools
- Canadian investor guides — articles covering ACB calculation, the 50% inclusion rate, superficial loss rules, ETF distributions, and CRA reporting workflows
- Reference content — practical explanations of T5008 reconciliation, Schedule 3, and multi-brokerage pooling
These resources are free and do not require an account.
Why adjusted cost base matters for Canadian investors
Canada uses a pooled ACB method. Every time you buy more shares of a security, the cost per share is recalculated across your entire holding — regardless of which brokerage holds them. Selling without an accurate pooled ACB means your reported gain or loss on Schedule 3 will be wrong.
Common traps:
- T5008 Box 20 is often blank or wrong — your broker is not required to track pooled ACB across accounts
- ETF distributions that include return of capital reduce your ACB below your purchase price, creating a larger taxable gain on sale
- DRIP reinvestments add cost to your ACB but brokers frequently omit them from book value
- USD holdings require Bank of Canada daily rates, not settlement rates or spot prices
An accurate ACB record is the investor’s responsibility, not the broker’s.
How to calculate adjusted cost base in Canada
The ACB is the weighted-average cost per share across all identical shares you hold in non-registered accounts. Every new purchase adjusts the average:
| |
Worked example — pooling two purchases:
| Event | Shares | Price | Commission | Running cost | ACB/share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buy #1 | 100 | $40.00 | $9.99 | $4,009.99 | $40.10 |
| Buy #2 | 50 | $45.00 | $9.99 | $6,259.98 | $41.73 |
If you later sell 80 shares at $50.00:
- Proceeds: 80 × $50.00 = $4,000.00
- ACB of sold shares: 80 × $41.73 = $3,338.40
- Capital gain: $4,000.00 − $3,338.40 = $661.60
- Taxable gain (50% inclusion): $330.80
After the sale, your remaining 70 shares retain the same ACB per share ($41.73) — selling does not reset the pool.
Adjusted cost base for ETFs: return of capital and DRIP
ETFs introduce two adjustments that brokers rarely apply automatically:
Return of capital (ROC): When an ETF distributes return of capital — reported on your annual T3 slip — that amount reduces your ACB per unit. It is not taxable in the year received, but it increases the capital gain when you eventually sell.
Example: You hold 200 units of an ETF with an ACB of $30.00/unit. The T3 reports $0.40/unit of ROC.
- ACB reduction: 200 × $0.40 = $80.00
- New ACB: $6,000 − $80 = $5,920 → $29.60/unit
If you never record this, you overstate your cost base by $80 — understating your capital gain and underpaying tax.
DRIP (dividend reinvestment plan): Shares acquired through DRIP are taxable as dividends when received, and their fair market value on that date becomes new cost that must be added to your ACB pool. Brokers rarely include DRIP reinvestments in their book value calculations correctly.
USD holdings: Bank of Canada daily exchange rates for ACB
Foreign-currency positions must be converted to CAD using the Bank of Canada exchange rate on the specific transaction date — not an annual average and not the settlement rate your broker applies.
For each USD transaction, you need:
- The transaction date
- The Bank of Canada noon or closing rate for that date
- The CAD-equivalent cost recorded in your ACB ledger
If the rate is unavailable for a weekend or holiday, use the most recent prior business day rate. This is also the rate that determines the CAD proceeds at the time of sale — the foreign exchange gain or loss is embedded in the capital gain calculation.
MyCostBase fetches Bank of Canada daily rates automatically for each transaction date.
T5008 Box 20 vs your actual ACB
The T5008 slip your broker issues each year reports:
- Box 20 (Proceeds): The sale price — generally accurate
- Box 21 (Cost/book value): Your broker’s book value — often wrong for tax purposes
Box 21 reflects only the activity within that single brokerage account. It does not include:
- Shares of the same security held at another broker (CRA requires pooling)
- Return of capital adjustments from T3 slips
- DRIP reinvestments that the broker did not track correctly
- Original cost from a broker-to-broker transfer
The correct ACB is your legal responsibility, not your broker’s. When you file Schedule 3, CRA expects you to use the correct pooled ACB — not whatever appears in Box 21.
Where to go for live ACB tracking
If you need a working tool to track adjusted cost base, record dispositions, and stay CRA-ready across multiple accounts, use MyCostBase. It was built specifically for Canadian investors who hold ETFs, dividend stocks, and USD securities across RRSP, TFSA, and taxable accounts.
Common questions about adjusted cost base in Canada
Do I have to calculate my own ACB in Canada?
Yes. CRA requires you to maintain an accurate ACB record for every identical property you hold in non-registered (taxable) accounts. There is no government service or broker obligation to do this for you. Registered accounts (TFSA, RRSP, FHSA) do not require ACB tracking because dispositions inside those accounts are not taxable events.
What is the CRA ACB pooling rule across brokerages?
Under Canadian tax law, all identical shares of the same security held in all taxable accounts under the same taxpayer’s SIN are treated as a single pool. If you hold 100 shares of VFV at Questrade and 50 shares of VFV at TD Direct, CRA treats these as 150 shares with a single weighted-average ACB. Neither broker can calculate this for you — only you have the full picture.
Does ETF return of capital reduce my adjusted cost base?
Yes. Return of capital distributions — reported in Box 42 of your T3 slip — reduce your ACB on a per-unit basis in the year the distribution is paid. This reduction is not optional. If your ACB falls below zero because of accumulated ROC, the negative portion is treated as an immediate capital gain.
How do DRIP reinvestments affect ACB?
When dividends or distributions are reinvested in new shares through a DRIP, the fair market value of those shares on the distribution date is both taxable dividend income and new cost to add to your ACB pool. The total cost base of your holding increases by the value of each reinvested distribution. Brokers often record DRIP shares at a nominal price or omit them from book value entirely — always verify against your own records.