Corporate actions

Splits, spin-offs and mergers — without breaking your cost base

A stock split rescales your per-share ACB. A spin-off carves your cost base between two companies. A merger swaps your shares for new ones at a defined ratio. Get any of these wrong and every future gain on that holding is off. Sched3 applies each corporate action on the right date and carries the cost base through cleanly.

Get started freeTry the free spin-off & split calculator

How it works

1
Record the corporate action

Enter the split, spin-off, or merger with its ratio and effective date — or apply a known event Sched3 recognizes for your holding.

2
It rescales and allocates ACB

Splits rescale per-share cost, spin-offs allocate cost base between the parent and the new shares, and mergers carry cost through the exchange ratio — each on the effective date.

3
Your later gains stay accurate

Because the adjustment is applied in place, every subsequent sale measures the gain against a cost base that reflects the corporate action.

The corporate actions that reshape cost base, built in

Sched3 models each action type with its own math, applied on the effective date and in the right order relative to your trades.

  • Forward and reverse stock splits rescale per-share ACB
  • Spin-offs allocate cost base between parent and new shares
  • Mergers and acquisitions carry cost through the exchange ratio
  • Return-of-capital-style events lower ACB where applicable
  • Adjustments interleaved correctly with your buys and sells
Auditable, not a black box

Each corporate action links to the event, its ratio, and the date it applied, so an accountant can see exactly how a holding’s cost base was carried through.

Included from the Active Investor plan

Corporate-action handling is part of the Active plan and flows into your ACB and capital-gains figures.

Free
$0

Manual entry, 1 portfolio, basic ACB & CSV export.

Investor
$49

Broker import, superficial loss detection, FX support, splits & DRIPs.

Active Investor
$129 · included

Everything, for one investor: T5008/T3 tools, crypto, equity comp, corporate actions, accountant export.

Accountant/Pro
$499 · included

Multi-client dashboard, client import links, bulk import, branded reports.

Frequently asked

How does a stock split affect my adjusted cost base?

A split does not change your total cost base — only how it is spread across shares. In a 2-for-1 split you hold twice as many shares, each with half the previous per-share ACB. Your total cost and total value are unchanged, so no gain is triggered, but the per-share figure must be rescaled for future sales to be correct.

How is cost base split in a spin-off?

When a company spins off a subsidiary, a portion of your original adjusted cost base is allocated to the new shares based on a ratio the company publishes (often derived from relative fair market values). The parent’s ACB is reduced by the same amount. Sched3 applies that allocation so both holdings carry the right cost base.

Is a merger a taxable event?

It depends on the deal. Many share-for-share mergers qualify for a tax-deferred rollover, where your old cost base simply carries to the new shares at the exchange ratio. Cash-and-share deals can trigger a partial gain. Sched3 carries the cost base through the exchange ratio; whether a rollover applies is a question for your accountant on the specific transaction.

Feature: adjusted cost base tracking
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Not tax or legal advice. Always confirm capital gains reporting with a qualified accountant. · Made with love in Canada 🇨🇦
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