Why Your Wealthsimple T5008 May Not Reflect Your True ACB
Wealthsimple can issue a T5008 for non-registered dispositions, but the slip is not the same thing as your CRA adjusted cost base. The broker reports a slip. You still have to report the correct ACB.
What the Wealthsimple T5008 does and does not tell you
If you sold securities in a non-registered Wealthsimple account, you may receive a T5008 for those dispositions. That slip is useful, but it is not your final capital-gains calculation. The CRA states that Box 20 may or may not reflect your adjusted cost base.
Wealthsimple's own tax help makes the same distinction in practice: when you report a T5008, you are responsible for entering your adjusted cost base. That means the slip is an input, not the answer.
- It is a broker-issued transaction slip, not a full pooled-ACB calculation.
- It does not replace your need to track repeat buys and sells over time.
- It does not relieve you from making any ACB adjustments required by Canadian tax law.
Why the Wealthsimple activity CSV is the better source file
The Wealthsimple activity CSV contains the chronological transaction history the engine actually needs: trades, dates, quantities, cash amounts, dividends, interest, and corporate-action rows. That lets ActiveACB rebuild the tax result from the raw events instead of trusting a year-end summary slip.
- ACB pooling: built from your trading history, not from a slip snapshot
- Superficial loss review: losses can be tested against the 61-day window and across uploaded brokers
- FX treatment: USD trades are converted using the correct historical rates
- Corporate actions: splits and consolidations can be reflected from the exported activity rows
How to export the right file from Wealthsimple
The full screenshot guide is at activeacb.ca/guide-wealthsimple. The short version:
- Open Activity. Sign in to Wealthsimple and open the Activity screen.
- Download activities. Choose a custom date range covering your full history.
- Select All accounts. Download the CSV that includes all account activity.
- Upload to ActiveACB. The engine excludes registered-account rows automatically and calculates the taxable non-registered result.
Wealthsimple T5008 vs activity CSV: coverage table
| Rule or workflow | T5008 | Activity CSV + ActiveACB |
|---|---|---|
| ACB pooling | Broker slip only | Full: rebuilt chronologically |
| Superficial loss review | Not sufficient | Full: can be checked across uploaded brokers |
| Cross-broker reconciliation | No | Yes: Wealthsimple, IBKR, and Questrade together |
| FX handling | Partial | Yes: historical CAD conversion in the engine |
| Corporate-action rows | Slip summary only | Yes: split and consolidation rows processed from activity history |
| Registered account exclusion | Manual filing judgment | Yes: taxable and registered rows separated in calculation flow |
Frequently asked questions
Does Wealthsimple issue a T5008 at all?
Yes, for eligible non-registered securities dispositions. But the presence of a T5008 does not mean the Box 20 figure is your final CRA adjusted cost base.
If Wealthsimple Tax imports my T5008, can I just trust it?
No. Wealthsimple Tax still expects you to enter the correct adjusted cost base when you report a T5008. The tax software is only as accurate as the ACB figure you provide.
I only used Wealthsimple this year. Do I still need the CSV?
Yes. The CSV is the better source because it contains the raw transaction history needed to verify the T5008 and rebuild the ACB under CRA rules.
I also traded at Questrade or IBKR. What should I upload?
Upload all of them in the same session: Wealthsimple CSV, Questrade Activity Report XLSX, and IBKR Flex Query XML as applicable. That is the only way to catch cross-broker ACB and superficial-loss issues.
What if the T5008 and ActiveACB totals match?
Then your history may be simple. Recalculating is still the right validation step because it confirms nothing was missed in pooled cost, FX conversion, or loss treatment.