What is Form T1161 and when do I need to file it when I leave Canada?

Form T1161, the List of Properties by an Emigrant of Canada, is an information return you file with your tax return for the year you stop being a Canadian resident. Its job is different from calculating the actual departure tax: it's a disclosure form listing the property you owned when you left, above a certain combined value, so CRA has a record of what you had and can cross-check it against what gets reported as deemed dispositions on the related form covering the actual calculation.

You generally need to file it if the total fair market value of the property you owned at emigration exceeds the reporting threshold set out in CRA's current guidance for the form — below that, it typically isn't required. It's filed alongside, not instead of, your regular T1 return for the departure year, and covers property whether or not it ends up being subject to the deemed disposition rules.

Because this is a disclosure obligation separate from the tax calculation itself, missing it can create problems even if you've otherwise handled the departure tax correctly, which is why anyone emigrating with a reasonably sized asset base should confirm whether T1161 applies to them before filing.