Tax Minimization

A couple of years ago, I wrote about income splitting strategies to help reduce family taxes in the scenario that one spouse makes significantly more income than the other.  Strategies such as: Contributing to the lower-income spouses TFSA (no attribution rules for TFSA contributions); Maintaining separate bank accounts where the higher income spouse pays for…

Most people think that spring is the time to think about personal taxes, but if you really want to maximize your income tax return, it’s best to start your planning before the end of the year.  I’ve already started calculating my actualized non-registered capital gains for the year so that I can think about which…

After my last financial freedom update, a few readers have asked me about dividend taxation.  This article will show the advantage of dividend income for the early retiree.  This post was originally written in 2016, but updated for 2018. Every year when winter strikes in Newfoundland, my wife and I always ask the same question “what…

In the Summer of 2017, the Canadian government dropped a tax bomb on Canadian small business owners with proposed changes to how they are able to split their income and their ability to invest excess cash flow into passive investments.  While they had some vague guidelines, they did not have concrete rules to wrap our heads around. …

In the Summer of 2017, the Canadian government dropped a tax bomb on Canadian small business owners with changes to how they are able to split their income.  While they had some vague guidelines, they did not have concrete rules to wrap our heads around.  All we had was speculation.  However, they have recently provided…

With the mandate of leveling the playing field between the rich and the middle class, the latest proposal from the Trudeau government is to make drastic changes to the way that small business is taxed, specifically, Canadian Controlled Private Corporations (CCPC).  I will admit that as a small business owner, there are a number of…

This article originally was published in 2007 (!) but adjusted for relevant details annually. I’m a bit late posting it this year, so pay particular attention to the tax loss selling tip as the deadline is fast approaching. It’s that time of year again.  I’m not talking about Christmas, I’m talking about the year end coming…