As we approach the end of the year, there are a few tax planning strategies that you should consider before the year is out. Let’s look at if it makes sense to make an extra RRSP withdrawal before the end of the year. Tax Planning Strategy #1: RRSP/RRIF Withdrawal One of the major drawbacks…
Is it worth it? How confident are you feeling about your investment portfolio these days? Are you questioning if you’ve made a mistake investing, if it’s worth it, if it will ever bounce back? If these thoughts are crossing your mind, you’re not alone. But it’s going to be okay – let’s get into…
Here is the scenario You’ve just inherited $1,000,000. You invest the million and it starts generating $40,000/year in dividends. $40,000 is great until you realize the tax man takes away $15,114 every year, leaving you with $24,886. What can you do? Well, you have these kids, your kids! And their current annual income is a big…
Here is a real-life example of how two tweaks to a couple’s retirement plan, saved them over $900,000. For this video, we start by going over Donna and Steve’s (names have changed for confidentiality reasons) background and going over a few assumptions that need to be made. Follow along as we find out what their…
Today I will be discussing an option that business owners have when they have some cash inside the corporation that they do not need to fund their business. The question is “I have some money. Where should I invest? Inside my corporation, or should I invest it personally inside an RRSP?” Two Options Imagine…
Video Transcript Today I’m going to talk about a Margin Account and how it recently helped one of my clients who was in a tough spot. Before we get started, this strategy is not suitable for everyone, please talk to a professional before implementing. Last week, a client needed $200,000 immediately because he was buying…
Video Transcript: First Home Savings Account Today we’re going over the brand new Tax-Free First Home Savings Account (FHSA), which was recently introduced in the 2022 Canadian Budget. One of the major initiatives of this year’s budget was to make housing more affordable. To do this, they are doubling the first-time home buyers’ credit and…
Tax Season: Part 5 discusses when should NHL players open a corporation. If you haven’t had a chance to watch Parts 1 to 4, check out the videos below. Tax Season: Part 4 Tax Season: Part 3 Tax Season: Part 2 Tax Season: Part 1 Opening a corporation is an opportunity available to players…
Disaster at Mongo’s For those who’ve never been to Mongo’s, it’s a stir fry restaurant where you get to choose your ingredients buffet style. You’re given a bowl, and you can fill it up as much as possible. Since there are no rules, it inevitably becomes a competition of who can fill their bowl to…
Tax Season: Part 4 discusses RCA Trusts. An RCA Trust is an option for players playing in Canada to help mitigate some of the higher taxes they will have to pay. RCA stands for retirement compensation agreement. Let’s discuss an overview of: how the trust works how you use it the biggest benefit of the…
In the Tax Season: Part 3, we take a look at one of the tax planning opportunities available to players. If you haven’t had a chance to watch the first two videos, check out the videos below. Tax Season: Part 2 Tax Season: Part 1 The residency decision In this example, we will…
Tax Preparation In Tax Season – Part 2, I dive deeper into what exactly tax preparation is and what you should look for. Whether you’re a do-it-yourself tax filer or hiring someone to do it for you, it can help you understand what questions you should ask and what questions they should be asking you.…
Don’t throw $440k out the window Has a credit card statement ever made you yell out, Holy Moly!!!!! (or insert expletive)? That’s what happened to me last week, and I quickly found myself on a call with my credit card provider. To my surprise, I was apparently treating someone out in Orlando to a slew…
Avoiding the RRSP Tax Bomb I recently met up with some old friends from high school, and we reminisced about some of the good times we had back in the day. We got to talking about the time I absolutely bombed during a class presentation. It was a total disaster. We were allowed to present…
The Farm Transfer Tax Bill C-208 Explained As you may have recently heard, Bill C-208 is proposing to amend the federal income tax act so farm sales to children aren’t taxed at a higher rate when compared to selling the farm to a third party. Many articles explain that farm sales to third parties qualify…
How much of their salary do NHL players keep? In my article – how do pro athletes go broke – I highlighted that a leading cause of some high-income earning athletes experiencing financial trouble occurs because they don’t have a firm understanding of how much money they actually make. Just because TSN reports that an…
One of the biggest issues with an RRSP is the tax bomb it can create. We first go over the Canadian tax system to understand why this tax bomb can happen and then a strategy on how to avoid it! How can you avoid the tax bomb? Click here for to see how you can…
If you’re not a farmer, but you own farmland that qualifies for the capital gain exemption, make sure you don’t pass away before using the exemption!
As the saying goes – there are only two certainties in life: death & taxes. Playing professional hockey provides numerous perks in life, however avoiding taxes is not one of them. Undoubtedly, your tax bill as a pro hockey player will be your largest expense and can create a massive discrepancy between what your contract…
The Easiest Way to Reduce Your Tax Bill Click above to view video! Thank you for watching our video.
Gifting the Farmland In this week’s video we review the different ways you can gift farmland to your children along with the pros and cons of both methods.
Should I Be Buying RRSPs? The answer to that question is going to depend on a few different factors. This latest video can help you understand whether or not investing in RRSPs is the right decision for you.
How do pro athletes go broke? “If you’re playing in the NHL, you’ve got a pretty good life” These were the words spoken by Paul Maurice after an NHL player poll slated Winnipeg as “the most dreaded road trip.” As a proud Winnipegger, hearing how our “great” city is actually the worst place to travel…
Beware of AMT Here is a quick video on what alternative minimum tax is and how it works. Enjoy!
Does your spouse qualify? This week we interviewed Julien Grenier, accountant, and partner at Talbot & Associates. We discuss what CRA looks at when determining whether your spouse can or can’t use their capital gains exemption on the sale of your farmland. Julien can be reached at julien.grenier@talbotcpa.ca or 204-269-7460
Too much cash in your corp See my latest video going over a case study where one farmer thought his farm corporation qualified for the lifetime capital gains exemption but didn’t due to having too much cash.
Wanda has been investing for a long time and is quite familiar with buying when prices are low and selling when prices are high. Past non-registered account purchase In 2010, she had purchased $100,000 of ABC Corp, and today, it’s worth $250,000. Wanda is now ready to sell her investment as she believes the stock…
Tax-Loss Selling Judy bought $400,000 of ABC Bank shares in her non-registered account. Today her ABC Bank shares are worth $375,000, and she is showing a $25,000 loss. Judy plans on holding these shares for the next ten years, so she isn’t overly concerned with the short term drop in her investment. For this week’s…
Let’s Multiply Your Capital Gains Exemption As a farmer, you have a lifetime exemption of one million dollar on the sale of farmland. If you exceed that amount, you could be looking at a large tax bill. Here is an option to increase your capital gains exemption. In this video, we will show two things. First, when no plan is in place and the ensuing tax bill. Second, how your tax bill may be substantially decreased with the aid of using this approach.…
It’s the beginning of December, and Bob has purchased a rental property from his brother. Imagine how unfair it would be if Bob had to pay tax on his brother’s rental income for the entire year. Fortunately for Bob, that’s not the case, but this can happen when you purchase an investment in a non-registered…
Much like the summer months, December seems to come and go in the blink of an eye. We’re all so busy with work events and family gatherings that year end tax planning often gets neglected. With COVID forcing most of us to stay home this year, we can all use this opportunity to make sure…
This quick video on trusts explains how to keep farmland within the family while being as tax-efficient as possible!
Managing Your Portfolio in Retirement The financial industry tends to make things more complex than they need to be. As a result, topics like this usually go in one ear and out the other. My aim with this webinar is to simplify this topic by providing an explanations (in simple English). This webinar will cover topics to be aware of as you approach or are…
As an Investment Advisor and Certified Financial Planner, I’m relied upon to reduce my client’s tax bill as much as possible. Today, I wanted to share with you a strategy that, if implemented correctly, can see your family receive nearly $140,000 tax-free from the government. That’s a lot of money in your pocket for merely…
*It was expected that Bill 43 would receive Royal Assent (Approval) when the Legislature reconvened in the fall. However, since the Throne Speech was moved up to October 7th, the bills that were being discussed during the spring session have been put on pause. Because of this, the status and timing of Bill 43 is…
In this new era of “fake news” it’s becoming more and more difficult to distinguish between what is true and what is false. Politicians use this to their advantage and often repeat false statements so often that we begin to believe they are true. You may have noticed this particular strategy used by a certain…
You started a business from scratch that’s now worth $1.7 million. If you sold today, you’d be able to avoid paying capital gain taxes as both you and your spouse have your $850,000 capital gains exemption room. However, you’re not ready to sell and you’re wondering, “How can I shelter the future gains my business…
Companies will often offer employees early retirement packages to encourage them to retire. This is usually done when the company is looking to cut costs and reduce staff. Before making a decision, there are many questions to be addressed. All of which are specific to individual preferences and circumstances. Here are eight such considerations to…
Today, I’ll be showing you how to tax-efficiently convert your family’s healthcare costs, into a corporate expense with the use of Private Health Service Plans. The scenario Here’s our scenario. You go to the dentist for your annual checkup, and lo and behold they’ve got bad news for you. You’re going to need some dental…
Today we’ll be going over what happens when choosing the lump sum payout option from your defined benefit pension plan. As you’re likely aware, a defined benefit pension plan will pay you a monthly income for life, so why choose the lump sum payout option instead? A few common reasons include: Pension Sustainability:…
Don Jacobs is three years away from retirement and is looking for a way to supercharge his RRSP. With the 2018 RRSP deadline just around the corner, we help Don maximize his contributions so he can achieve his retirement goal in the next three years. Now that Don’s contribution has been…
Don’t wait until you have all the answers before you start working on a succession plan. As farm advisors, we often get questions like “How much does insurance cost for someone like me? What would the tax consequences be if I transferred land to my children? If I sell my land and invest the proceeds,…
Is your portfolio properly structured to minimize tax? Can I keep more money in my pocket without increasing the risk in my portfolio? Find out why your RRSP should grow as little as possible in this week’s video. Enjoy videos? Check out the Video Category for more great strategies.
Can I actually sell my farmland tax-free? This week I’ve invited Julien Grenier, Accountant and Agricultural Manager at Talbot & Associates to provide us with insight on qualifying for your capital gains exemptions. As a financial planner, I lean heavily on professionals like Julien to provide my clients with proper tax advice. As you can see…
Sometimes withdrawing more is the best strategy. Introducing Daniel Daniel worked hard all his life, so by the time he retired he had accumulated a healthy amount of savings in his RRSP. It’s not because Daniel had an overabundant cashflow. There were years where he had to choose between replacing his TV or contributing to…
You’ve been targeting the unreduced pension date that you’ve seen on your yearly pension statement for the last twenty years. It’s finally within arm’s reach and you are set on retiring on that exact date. You’ve put in the time and you’re tired of hearing Carl’s nonsense about the Jets around the water cooler. As…
I’ve previously written about my hatred for buying depreciating assets (The Joys of Purchasing a Vehicle), so I don’t get overly excited when it comes time to buy a new car. I can appreciate all the features that come with a new vehicle, but I don’t like losing 10% of the car’s value as soon…
If you’re in your sixties, you’ve most likely had a need for life insurance in the past. Whether it was when you purchased your first home and wanted to protect your spouse and children, or when the bank required it as a condition of lending you money. These were situations when life insurance was a…
For those of you lucky enough to have a defined benefit pension plan, you may have to decide whether to take your pension as a monthly income or as a lump sum payout upon retiring. There isn’t a universally accepted answer when deciding between these two options, as it mostly depends on your personal circumstances.…
You’ve put in years of blood, sweat, and tears into your life’s work and you’re finally able to enjoy the fruits of your labour. You no longer have to worry and stress about grain prices, rain, carbon taxes or whatever other phenomena that affected your crops. You’re now sitting at home, looking at your (presumably…
As you know, our government has been hard at work these past few years trying to extract additional tax revenue from our small Canadian businesses. These changes will have a profound impact on how you do your tax planning moving forward. So, what strategies are the savvy and sophisticated business owners now using to shelter…
That depends. Contrary to popular belief, you have a lot of options when it comes to investing inside of a Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA). Many people believe a TFSA is simply a savings account that you get at the bank where your interest grows tax-free. Although technically correct, a TFSA can be a much more…
On December 13, 2017, Canada’s Finance Minister announced the revised tax measures that relate to income sprinkling by business owners and their families. Income sprinkling refers to a strategy often used by high income businesses or incorporated professionals to redirect their income to lower earning family members to decrease their tax burden. The tax laws are…
Most people we speak with get excited when they receive a tax refund, but it may be because they’ve paid too much income tax throughout the year. Paying too much tax just to get some back is equivalent to providing the government with an interest free loan. Wouldn’t you rather have this money month-to-month and…
