| Product | Best for | Price | Superficial losses |
|---|---|---|---|
| AdjustedCostBase.ca | most investors, at tax time | Free (2 portfolios); Premium $49/yr (currency not stated) | Tracked, on the free plan |
| Sharesight | capital gains with broker sync | Free; Starter CA$12/mo or CA$9/mo yearly | Not documented |
| Wealthica | people already using Wealthica | From $6.25/mo or $50/yr (currency not stated); no free plan listed | Not documented |
| Looniee Ours | capital gains alongside room and household tracking | Free; Plus CA$72/yr | Flagged, including repurchases in a registered account (Plus) |
| Greenline | a free all-in-one tracker with ACB | Free during beta; paid plans not announced | Not documented |
| A spreadsheet | a few trades a year | Free | Only if you build it |
Why your broker's book value isn't your ACB
The CRA wants your adjusted cost base per security across all your non-registered accounts. If you own the same ETF at Questrade and at a bank, the two lots are averaged together, and a sale at either one uses that combined average. Each broker only sees its own lot, so its "book value" can be wrong for you even when it's right for that account.
Foreign shares add a step: each purchase and sale is converted to Canadian dollars at the exchange rate on that day, not today's rate. Reinvested dividends (DRIPs) raise your ACB, and return of capital lowers it. These are exactly the details a dedicated tool handles and a running total doesn't.
The superficial loss rule
If you sell at a loss and you, or someone affiliated with you, buy the same security within 30 days before or after the sale, the loss is denied and added to the cost of the new shares instead. It catches people who sell in a taxable account and buy back in their TFSA or RRSP, where the denied loss is simply lost. A tracker that flags this before you file is worth more than one that only totals your gains. Our guide to the superficial loss rule works through each kind of buy-back with numbers.
01AdjustedCostBase.ca
Best for most investors, at tax time
This is the one most Canadian DIY investors should start with. It does one job, it's been doing it since 2010, and the free plan covers it: ACB and capital gains for 2 portfolios, foreign currency, superficial-loss tracking, and Excel or CSV export.
The catch on the free plan is typing: spreadsheet import and brokerage connection are Premium features. If you make a handful of trades a year, that's fine. If you trade weekly, Premium's import templates (Questrade, RBC, Scotia iTRADE, TD and Wealthsimple) save the time.
Good
- Free plan covers the core ACB job
- Superficial-loss tracking included
- T1135 assistant and T3 previews on Premium
Not so good
- Typing only on the free plan
- Not a portfolio or net-worth tracker
- Premium's currency isn't stated
02Sharesight
Best for capital gains with broker sync
If you'd rather not type trades, Sharesight brings them in through a connection, forwarded trade-confirmation emails or a file, depending on your broker, and produces a Canadian capital gains report using the ACB method under CRA rules. It handles splits, DRIPs, return of capital and currency conversion, and you can share reports with your accountant.
The report is on the paid plans only (Starter and up, in CAD). Superficial-loss handling isn't documented in what we reviewed.
Good
- Trades arrive by connection, email or file
- Mature ACB report
- Report sharing with an accountant
Not so good
- Tax reports aren't on the free plan
- Superficial losses not documented
- Free plan counts sold holdings toward its 10
03Wealthica
Best for people already using Wealthica
If Wealthica already syncs your accounts, its Capital Gains report, including currency gains and losses, is on all four of its plans. That's the easiest path if your trades are already flowing in.
There's no free plan listed, so this isn't a reason to start with Wealthica just for capital gains.
Good
- Capital gains report on every plan
- Trades arrive automatically from 200+ Canadian institutions
Not so good
- No free plan listed
- Superficial losses not documented
04LoonieeOurs
Best for capital gains alongside room and household tracking
This is ours. Looniee Plus has a tax toolkit: ACB pooled across all your non-registered accounts, US-dollar trades converted at each trade's own exchange rate, a capital gains report that nets out denied losses, a superficial-loss check that flags loudly when the repurchase was in a registered account, and a T1135 foreign-property check.
It's here at number four because it isn't a reason to choose Looniee on its own. If capital gains are all you need, AdjustedCostBase.ca does it free. Looniee makes sense when you also want net worth and TFSA, RRSP and FHSA room in the same place. The tax tools are Plus only, and nothing syncs.
Good
- ACB pooled across accounts with historical exchange rates
- Superficial-loss flags, including registered-account repurchases
- Same place as your room and net worth
Not so good
- Tax tools are Plus only
- No sync; trades arrive by import or typing
- Web only, English only
05Greenline
Best for a free all-in-one tracker with ACB
Greenline's FAQ says it calculates ACB, including DRIPs and splits, and it's free during its beta. It reads PDF statements and screenshots, so getting trades in is easier than typing.
Its capital gains reporting and superficial-loss handling aren't documented in detail, and full data export is still “on the way”.
Good
- Free during beta
- ACB with DRIPs and splits
- Reads PDF statements
Not so good
- Capital gains reporting not documented in detail
- Data export not shipped yet
- Future pricing unknown
06A spreadsheet
Best for a few trades a year
For one ETF bought a few times a year, a spreadsheet with date, quantity, price, commission and exchange rate gives you a correct ACB. It's how many people learn the rule.
It gets risky with DRIPs, return of capital, US-dollar trades and anything that trips the superficial loss rule.
Good
- Free and fully under your control
Not so good
- You have to handle DRIPs, return of capital and FX yourself
- No superficial-loss check
Our pick
Use AdjustedCostBase.ca. For most Canadians with a non-registered account it's the best tool for this job, and the free plan is enough. If you trade often and want trades to arrive without typing, pay for Sharesight instead.
Choose Looniee for capital gains only if you'd use the rest of it too: room per person, household net worth and the import tools. In that case the ACB tools come with Plus rather than being a separate subscription.
What we'd do today
- Gather every non-registered account's trades, from every broker. A security held at two brokers needs both histories.
- Check last year's sales for a repurchase within 30 days on either side, in any account, including your TFSA and RRSP.
- Enter or import the trades into AdjustedCostBase.ca's free plan and compare its ACB with your brokers' book values.
- Keep your records. The CRA can ask how you got your ACB, and "my broker said so" doesn't cover lots held elsewhere.
Questions
- Is my broker's book value the same as my ACB?
- Only if that broker holds every share you own of that security in non-registered accounts. The CRA pools your ACB across all your non-registered accounts, so a second broker or a transfer can make one broker's book value wrong for your tax return.
- What is a superficial loss?
- A loss on a sale where you, or someone affiliated with you, bought the same security within 30 days before or after and still held it 30 days later. The loss is denied and added to the new shares' cost. If the repurchase is in a TFSA or RRSP, the loss is effectively gone for good.
- Do I need to track ACB in my TFSA or RRSP?
- No. Capital gains in registered accounts aren't taxed as capital gains, so ACB only matters for non-registered accounts. Registered accounts still matter for the superficial loss rule if you buy back there.
- Is AdjustedCostBase.ca really free?
- Its Basic plan is listed at $0 a year with ACB and capital gains, 2 portfolios, foreign currency and superficial-loss tracking. Import and broker connection are on Premium.
We checked prices and features for every product here on its own website (earliest check: October 20, 2026). This changes often, so double-check before you pay for anything.
