tax planning

Standard financial and tax planning advice for the past several decades for business owners has included the use of incorporation to both insulate Canadians from business risk and liability and for asset building and income cash flow planning.

With a few weeks to go before the year-end, you may wish to think about some moves you can take now to save you some taxes for 2016.

Along with the usual advice to do any tax loss selling before December 23rd on any equity investments to offset any capital gains earned in other investments during 2016, there are a few new tax planning strategies that you can take advantage of.

“Everyone wants to live at the expense of the state. They forget that the state lives at the expense of everyone.” - Frederic Bastiat

By the time that you read this article, it is very likely that the Federal elections will soon be over. When all the back slapping, hand wringing and hyper-analysis is done, the new political regime will be faced with one inescapable challenge.

Starting in January 2017, the allowable cash value build up under tax rules in life insurance policies will change. The federal government introduced changes in December 2014 that are designed to modernize life insurance exempt testing rules as they have discovered that people are living longer and that their insurance policies will pay out later.

As a result of this new legislation, the affected demographics are middle-class consumers, business owners and wealthier Canadians looking to pre-fund their estate tax bills using cheaper life insurance dollars at death.

One out of every three workers is covered by a registered pension plan (RPP). That’s over 6 million people. Like all hard-working Canadians, they are looking forward to a satisfying retirement. Nothing helps create a pleasant experience in your golden years like a steady stream of income every month.

Charities play a vital role in our society. The Canadian government recognizes this role and tax breaks exist to encourage taxpayers to give to their favorite charities.

Roger makes occasional donations to various charities. His donations are rather small and amount to only a few hundred dollars per year. He learned that he might get a bigger tax break if he was a little more generous with his donations.

Front lawns across Canada are sprouting For Sale signs. That this annual phenomena occurs at about the same time as the tax refund season may be purely coincidental. Understanding the financial incentives for home ownership available in the Income Tax Act may save you thousands when buying a home.