Can I elect to put a rental building in its own CCA class so I can claim a terminal loss later?

Yes, this is a real and available planning option for certain rental buildings. Rather than having a building pooled together with other properties in the same general CCA class, an owner can elect to keep a specific rental building in its own separate class, which means a terminal loss becomes available on that property alone when it's eventually sold or disposed of at a loss, instead of that potential loss simply being absorbed into a shared pool with other buildings.

This matters because, as covered in a related question, selling one property below its tax value while other properties remain in the same shared CCA class doesn't trigger an immediate terminal loss - the loss gets deferred until the entire class is wound down. Electing a separate class for a specific building avoids that deferral, since the building's own UCC balance stands alone rather than blending with other properties. This election is generally available for certain buildings, though the specific eligibility conditions and any cost thresholds involved are set by CRA and the Income Tax Act and are worth confirming with current guidance before relying on it, since the exact rules can be technical. Anyone holding multiple rental properties who wants to preserve this option should look into it well before a sale is on the table.