This week we’re going step by step into a strategy that allows you to withdraw cash from your corporation essentially tax-free by using your children’s capital gains exemption. All right, so here’s what you’ll need to pull this strategy off: Number 1 – a farm corporation. You know what scratch that – a successful…
In part 2, we’ll be going over a strategy that you can now use due to Bill C – 208. Using your capital gains exemption This strategy allows you to use your capital gains exemption while you’re alive while also withdrawing cash from a corporation tax preferred. Watch the video above for a farm…
Bill C-208 Bill C-208 was created to alleviate the financial disadvantage that typically arose for taxpayers who sold their business or family farm corporation to their children or grandchildren, as compared to selling to an arm’s length third party. This disadvantage was caused by certain tax rules. Specifically an anti-avoidance rule in section 84.1 of…
It’s always nice to hear positive news. So as we head into 2023, here are a few things to look forward to 10 Positives Back-to-back negative stock market years are rare having only occurred 9% of the time since 1928. Although still high, inflation has been decreasing over the past 6 months 2023…
With the recent decline in stock markets, some of you have called looking to take advantage of this drop and buy low. The one question that comes up in every conversation is: “I know I should buy when stocks are down, but should we wait until things start to look better before investing?” …
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…
Today let us look at the two things that business owners own personally and should actually be owned corporately. Personal Debt Number one is your debt. If you have any personal debt, mortgages, credit cards, car loans, consider trying to move those into your corporation because then you’re able to write off the interest.…
As we find ourselves in a new bear market, let’s review three different strategies for making the most of this market condition. The Bear Market Playbook bases each strategy on a different risk tolerance level. Option 1: Poke the Bear Rebalance Your Portfolio Rebalancing your portfolio is the process of making trades to move…
Cash & Your Capital Gains Exemption Today I want to talk about your corporation and how having too much cash inside of it can inadvertently affect your capital gains exemption if you’re planning on selling. LCGE In 2022, if you sell shares of your small business in Canada, you have a $ 913,630-lifetime capital…
Where are we today? When it comes to the markets, as of today May 10th, 2022, the market is down 15% from its high back on January 3rd of 2022. We are trending downwards so I want to talk to you about what a bear market is and how you can invest during bear markets.
Why don’t we sell and get back in once it’s better? Trust me, I would love to do that for you, but the risk isn’t worth the reward. To begin this analysis, let’s go over your two options Ride the wave Get out and then get back in 1.Ride the Wave Strategy With this…
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…
Today I want to talk to you about AgriInvest and why you should be withdrawing it. Leaving it in your AgriInvest Account When you put money in AgriInvest, let us say $5,000 in this scenario. The government will match your $5,000, for a total of $10,000 in your account. It is not always this…
As the US stock market (S&P 500 index) has officially closed in correction territory (down 10% from its previous high, bear markets are 20% declines), the question is, “What should you do”? To answer this question, we first need to consider – how common are market corrections? How often do they experience 10% drops? Looking…
Today we’re looking at a strategy that can earn you $146,000 tax-free in retirement. Reduce your income to zero In our scenario, we have a 65-year-old, who has a spouse, and both are receiving O.A.S. You would be receiving $642 per month. If your income is $0 for the year, disregarding the O.A.S, you…
Did your portfolio make 21% in ‘21? As you begin to receive your 2021 annual reports & statements, one of the questions you should be asking yourself is, “how did I perform in 2021?” Understanding your rate of return is important so up can compare how you stacked up against the global equity markets. By…
Here are some advanced tax planning strategies when it comes to donations. We discuss how you can donate your farm corporate shares and investments to save taxes and support your favourite causes.
When does it make sense to incorporate? Farmers, of all ages, are asking this question more and more as farm revenue steadily increases with rising commodity prices. But when is the right time? In this video, Colin compares the differences between being incorporating versus claiming farm revenue as personal income, from a cash flow and…
Inflation is continuing to be a hot topic these days, hitting 4.1% in Canada. In this video, Colin goes through an example showing how inflation is reducing your buying power, and what can you do with your portfolio to counteract inflation. To read more on How to Tackle Inflation here. And be sure to check…
In this video, Colin reviews the 2 extremes when it comes to taking care of your non-farming children. Option 1, leave the farm to your farm child, and whatever is left to your non-farming children. Option 2, split everything up evenly. The solutions to “What is Fair” usually lies somewhere in between.
In this video, I go over what Old Age Security is when the clawback starts, and a scenario where you sell your farm and the clawback will likely occur.
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…
In this weeks video I go over creditor insurance and how it can be replaced with more cost-effective personal insurance.
Our quick thoughts on whether or not you should be adding Bitcoin to your investment portfolio. Here are a couple of links if you are looking for more information on Bitcoin and Cryptocurrencies What are Cryptocurrencies Bitcoin Chart
In this week’s video we review at what income levels it makes sense to make RRSP contributions if you’re incorporated. CLICK HERE for my previous RRSP video: Farmers & RRSPs
Our video this week is an interview with “Canada’s Farm Whisperer” Elaine Froese. Get in touch with Elaine by visiting these links: https://elainefroese.com/ https://elainefroese.com/virtual-kitchen-table/ Background Image by Anna Workman, Life in Bloom Photography.
In this week’s video, we go over how to properly use RRSPs as a farmer.
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!
See my latest video on the craze that is Gamestop’s stock. I try to keep it simple so you can understand what’s going on and why this is so interesting to watch.
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.
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.
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.…
This quick video on trusts explains how to keep farmland within the family while being as tax-efficient as possible!
Farmland has been one of the best investments in Canada for the past 25 years.This is clearly shown by an annual growth rate averaging over 5% (as per FCC). If looked at as potential rental income, farmland generates around 7% in annual returns without the wild ride of investing in alternative asset classes. To make…
The US election is weeks away and there is no shortage of predictions on how the winner will impact the markets and economy as a whole. Although our natural reaction is to guess how the outcome of the election will impact your wealth, it becomes a futile exercise when we realize how much there is…
I often receive these types of calls after a farm is sold: What can I invest in that’s going to give me a reasonable rate of return? What can I invest in that is safe? What can I invest in that’s going to match the farm rent I was receiving? There are unlimited options to…
An Educational Webinar presented by Colin Sabourin CFP, CIM, CAFA, and Pierre Normandeau CPA, CGA, IMPORTANT: This webinar is for business owners who are incorporated. In the presentation, Colin and Pierre go step by step through: ➡️How Private Health Care Spending Accounts work ➡️What qualifies as a medical expense ➡️Tax benefits for the corporation ➡️What…
The S&P 500 rises to a record close, fully wiping out its coronavirus losses With the US market hitting a new all-time high yesterday, I wanted to review one of my favorite sayings when it comes to investing: “The Market Has Never Taken a Dollar from Anyone” Whenever I mention this to new investors (and…
As I write this on April 29th, 2020, US markets have bounced back 31.38% over five weeks from their March 23rd lows. For those of you who invested when markets were down 30%, well done. You have made a rapid 30%. If you hesitated or you still have some cash sitting on the sidelines, I…
Figuring out how much your non-farming children should receive when you pass away compared to your farming child is tough. As I’m sure you’ve heard, fair doesn’t always mean equal when it comes to farm transition planning. To help you get started on coming up with a “fair amount,” here’s a formula you can use.…
Last week we looked at the cash flow farmland generates (See Part 1). We assumed one acre was worth $6,000 and the rental income was $130/acre. This gave us a rate of return of approximately 2.17% on the rental income. We concluded there were alternative investments with better rates of return (GICs and dividend-paying stocks…
My immediate response would be, who’s asking? An investor or a farmer? Because their goals for the farmland are completely different. Farmers have multiple reasons why farmland would be a good investment beyond simply looking at the rate of return. For this analysis, let’s look at it from the perspective of an investor. This could…
You’ve done your tax and succession planning, you’ve had the big farm auction, and your farm is sold. You’ve given some money to the kids, you’ve paid off your debt, you’ve made a few charitable donations, and you’re left sitting with $2,000,000 in cash. Now you’re left wondering, “Where do I even begin with this…
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…
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…
Are you thinking about purchasing life insurance as a succession planning tool, but having trouble wrapping your head around the annual costs? You might be thinking, “I could be using this cash to buy more land, pay off debt, increase my salary, upgrade my equipment, etc.” I get it, insurance isn’t a very exciting topic,…
Life insurance is one tool farmers use to help equalize their estate. Below is a comparison of the different costs of buying your life insurance today rather than waiting until you’re older. The scenario You have two children. One would like to farm; the other one isn’t interested. You want to make things fair,…
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,…
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…
Entering retirement with farmland that you can use to generate rental income is a great way to create a steady income. However, there are a few points to consider to make sure you’re generating enough income and being as tax efficient as possible. Have a plan Unfortunately, land isn’t like a savings account. If you’re…
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…
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…
