Does section 160 liability apply to gifts of property between family members, not just corporations?

Yes. Section 160 isn't limited to formal transactions like a corporate distribution, it applies to any transfer between non-arm's-length persons, which generally includes family members, for less than fair market value, and an outright gift is the clearest possible example of that, since by definition no consideration flows back to the person making the gift. If the person giving the gift owed tax to CRA at the time, the family member receiving it can be personally assessed under section 160 for that unpaid tax debt, up to the value of the gift.

This means a parent gifting property to a child, or a gift between siblings, while the person giving the gift has outstanding CRA debt, carries exactly the same kind of exposure as an under-value corporate transfer, the recipient can end up personally liable for someone else's tax debt simply by having accepted a generous gift, with no wrongdoing or awareness required on their part.

Because family gifts often happen with good intentions and no one thinks to check the giver's tax standing first, confirming that a family member has no outstanding tax debt before accepting a significant gift is a reasonable precaution, particularly for gifts of real property or other substantial assets.