CCA Class 10. Passenger Vehicles

Definition

Class 10 is the 30% declining-balance CCA class for motor vehicles, including automobiles, trucks, vans, and tractors. It is pooled: all Class 10 vehicles sit in a single UCC account. A truck or tractor designed for hauling freight, used primarily for that, with a gross vehicle weight rating over 11,788 kg goes in Class 16 instead. The closely related Class 10.1 is a single-asset class used for passenger vehicles whose cost exceeds the prescribed limit in Regulation 7307. For vehicles acquired in 2026 that limit is $39,000 before tax.

Key rules

• Scope: Class 10 covers "automotive equipment" not otherwise specified, including passenger vehicles costing up to the prescribed limit, vans, pickup trucks, and other automotive equipment where a more specific class does not apply.
• Rate: 30% declining balance.
• Passenger vehicle cost ceiling: $39,000 before GST/HST and PST for vehicles, new or used, acquired on or after January 1, 2026, up from $38,000 for 2025 (Department of Finance, January 14, 2026; Regulation 7307(1)). The Department of Finance announces each year's ceiling, usually around the start of the year, and the Regulations are amended afterwards: Regulation 7307(1), as consolidated to July 21, 2026, still shows $38,000 for vehicles acquired after 2024. A passenger vehicle costing above the ceiling is Class 10.1, with its capital cost capped at the ceiling plus the sales taxes on that amount.
• First year: a vehicle acquired after 2024 that is new, or used and bought from an unrelated seller, is reaccelerated investment incentive property (Regulation 1104(4.01)). If it becomes available for use before 2030, the class adds 50% of net additions to the base instead of subtracting 50%, so the first-year claim is 1.5 × cost × 30%. For a vehicle that does not qualify, check the ordinary half-year rule and exceptions such as Regulation 1100(2.2) for certain non-arm’s-length transfers.
• Class 10.1 rules: one car per class (separate UCC for each vehicle), the same first-year rule applied to the capped cost, generally no recapture or terminal loss on disposition, except that recapture can apply if the vehicle was designated immediate expensing property, and a half-year CCA in the year of disposition if the vehicle was owned at the end of the previous year (Regulation 1100(2.5)).
• Eligible zero-emission vehicles generally use Class 54 (30%), or Class 55 (40%) if they would otherwise be in Class 16, subject to the eligibility rules and elections. A zero-emission passenger vehicle in Class 54 has a capital cost ceiling of $61,000 before tax (Regulation 7307(1.1)). Zero-emission vehicles acquired after 2024 that become available for use before 2030 are written off 100% in the first year (Regulation 1100(2)).
• A sole proprietor claims vehicle CCA only for the business-use share, supported by a kilometre log. Interest and leasing costs are capped under ITA s.67.2 and s.67.3.

Example

A corporation with a full 2026 calendar tax year acquires a used 2024 pickup from an unrelated seller on March 1, 2026. Its tax capital cost, after recoverable and non-recoverable sales-tax adjustments, is $34,000. The truck is available for business use that day and used only for the business. It is reaccelerated investment incentive property: it was acquired after 2024, and even if the previous owner claimed CCA on it, neither the corporation nor anyone related to it ever owned it and it was not acquired on a rollover (Regulation 1104(4.01)). Class 10 UCC opening balance is $8,000.

1. Additions to Class 10 = $34,000. No dispositions.
2. First-year adjustment = $34,000 × 50% = $17,000, added to the base, not to the pool.
3. CCA base = $8,000 + $34,000 + $17,000 = $59,000.
4. Class 10 CCA = $59,000 × 30% = $17,700.
5. Closing UCC = $8,000 + $34,000 − $17,700 = $24,300.
6. The corporation deducts the $17,700 through Schedule 8 and Schedule 1. If there is personal use, assess the employee or shareholder benefit rules and corporate deductibility on the actual facts. A sole proprietor using a vehicle 90% for business generally deducts only the 90% business portion of CCA.

If the truck had instead cost $48,000 before tax and were a passenger vehicle (for example, a pickup that does not meet either goods-or-equipment test in the table above), it would be Class 10.1 (single-asset), capped at $39,000 plus sales taxes on that capped amount. The excess cost is permanently lost.

Common mistakes

• Putting a Class 10.1 vehicle into Class 10, which incorrectly pools a capped asset with other vehicles.
• Forgetting to apply the capital cost cap on a Class 10.1 purchase.
• A sole proprietor claiming full Class 10 CCA without adjusting for business-use percentage. The claim is limited to the business-use share shown by the kilometre log.
• Applying the half-year rule to a 2026 vehicle that qualifies for the accelerated rate. The first-year claim comes out at one third of what is allowed.
• Applying ordinary pooled-vehicle disposal rules to Class 10.1 without checking its special rules and any earlier immediate-expensing designation.
• Automatically treating every electric vehicle as Class 54. Eligibility conditions and any election out of that class must be checked.

Official sources

CRA class descriptions, enacted first-year factors, and eligibility definitions.

Related concepts

Vehicle CCA interacts with the operating deduction under vehicle expense and the standby charge and operating benefit in taxable benefits. CCA mechanics follow CCA overview subject to the half-year rule and AIIP.