CCA Class 53 (50%): Manufacturing Machinery

What Class 53 Held

Machinery and equipment used primarily in Canada for the manufacturing or processing of goods for sale or lease — CNC machines, production lines, packaging equipment, industrial ovens — acquired after 2015 and before 2026. Through the Accelerated Investment Incentive and then the Reaccelerated Investment Incentive, most of this property qualified for a 100% first-year write-off (75% for the 2024 phase-out year).

Existing pools don't go anywhere. Machinery you acquired through 2025 keeps depreciating in Class 53 at 50% on the declining balance until the pool runs out or the equipment is sold.

The December 2025 / January 2026 Cliff

The same $100,000 machine, acquired five weeks apart:

The 2026 purchase still does fine — Class 43 at 30% claims 45% in year one under the RIIP — but $55,000 of deduction moves from year one into later years. As always with CCA incentives, the total deduction is identical; the timing isn't. For capital planning, the question is no longer "does it qualify?" but "when does the cash-flow benefit arrive?"

Class 53 Gotchas

• "Primarily" means more than 50% M&P use. Equipment that splits time between production and other work needs the usage case made — and documented.
• Selling into an expensed pool means recapture. Most Class 53 pools sit at or near zero UCC because of the 100% write-offs. Sell a machine for $40,000 against a zero pool and that $40,000 is income this year.
• Old registers may say Class 29. The predecessor class for 2007–2015 acquisitions. Read old schedules with the vintage in mind.
• New manufacturing buildings have their own deal. Acquired on or after November 4, 2025 and in use before 2030: 100% first-year write-off — that's a Class 1 story, separate from the machinery inside.

Class 53 Questions