The tax exemption remains, but the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) is now keeping closer tabs on principal residence sales.

For now, that simply means a couple of more questions to answer on tax returns.

Accountant Matt Peterson from True North Accounting in Okotoks says any capital gains from a principal residence sale are eligible for a tax exemption and that hasn't changed.

A home used solely as a principal residence is seen as a personal expense rather than an investment and that's why the sale isn't considered a capital gain.

"The idea with this exemption is that everybody needs a house to live in," Peterson explains. "They might move around, they might upgrade or downgrade but everybody needs a house to live in. So when you sell the house that you've lived in, it might have increased in value but you're not actually taxed on that increase in value."

The difference now is that the sale of a principal residence has to be reported to the CRA.

Peterson says that translates into a couple of straightforward questions for homesellers that will need to be answered when filing tax returns.

"If you bought a house, lived in it the whole time and then sold it, there was nothing you had to do," he says of previous years. "If you sold your principal residence in 2016, you have to report that sale on your tax return. and it's not much, you just have to say the date you bought it and how much you sold it for."

The reason for the change is to "improve compliance and the administration of the tax system," according to the Government of Canada website.

The information collected could help the government track home sales and crack down on those who have found ways to unfairly take advantage of the tax exemption.  

"There's the potential, if its being abused that they're losing a lot of tax revenue," Peterson says. "The government is constantly trying to close loopholes where people are taking advantage of a given policy. By making everybody report the sale of their house, they're tracking people who are selling a house every year for a bunch of years or a couple of houses a year and claiming this exemption."

The rule change affects any sales of a principal residence dating back to January 1, 2016.