diff --git a/external/cuda.cmake b/external/cuda.cmake
index 9f6518e095..1e5ebd8d60 100644
--- a/external/cuda.cmake
+++ b/external/cuda.cmake
@@ -1,21 +1,18 @@
-include(SanitizeCUDAImplicitDirectories)
-
-set(CUDA_FOUND TRUE)
-
-set(TILEDARRAY_HAS_CUDA 1 CACHE BOOL "Whether TiledArray has CUDA support")
-
-if(ENABLE_CUDA_ERROR_CHECK)
-  set (TILEDARRAY_CHECK_CUDA_ERROR 1)
-endif(ENABLE_CUDA_ERROR_CHECK)
-
 # cmake 3.17 decouples C++ and CUDA standards, see https://gitlab.kitware.com/cmake/cmake/issues/19123
 # cmake 3.18 knows that CUDA 11 provides cuda_std_17
 cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.18.0)
-enable_language(CUDA)
 set(CMAKE_CUDA_STANDARD 17)
 set(CMAKE_CUDA_EXTENSIONS OFF)
 set(CMAKE_CUDA_STANDARD_REQUIRED ON)
 set(CMAKE_CUDA_SEPARABLE_COMPILATION ON)
+enable_language(CUDA)
+
+set(CUDA_FOUND TRUE)
+set(TILEDARRAY_HAS_CUDA 1 CACHE BOOL "Whether TiledArray has CUDA support")
+
+if(ENABLE_CUDA_ERROR_CHECK)
+  set (TILEDARRAY_CHECK_CUDA_ERROR 1)
+endif(ENABLE_CUDA_ERROR_CHECK)
 
 # find CUDA toolkit
 # NB CUDAToolkit does NOT have COMPONENTS
@@ -34,6 +31,7 @@ endif(NOT DEFINED CUDAToolkit_ROOT)
 # sanitize implicit dirs if CUDA host compiler != C++ compiler
 message(STATUS "CMAKE Implicit Include Directories: ${CMAKE_CUDA_IMPLICIT_INCLUDE_DIRECTORIES}")
 message(STATUS "CMAKE Implicit Link Directories: ${CMAKE_CUDA_IMPLICIT_LINK_DIRECTORIES}")
+include(SanitizeCUDAImplicitDirectories)
 sanitize_cuda_implicit_directories()
 message(STATUS "CMAKE Implicit Include Directories: ${CMAKE_CUDA_IMPLICIT_INCLUDE_DIRECTORIES}")
 message(STATUS "CMAKE Implicit Link Directories: ${CMAKE_CUDA_IMPLICIT_LINK_DIRECTORIES}")