Do you own a business – either incorporated or unincorporated – and have a spouse or one or more adult children with an income lower than your own?
If so, you may be able to shift your income to these other family members, effectively moving the income from a high tax rate to a low tax rate and decreasing the overall tax burden on your family. This is called income splitting.
Corporations have the ability to pay dividends, which are distributions of after-tax corporate earnings, to adult shareholders regardless of the services they provide to the business. Unincorporated businesses are restricted in this regard as family members can only be paid by way of salary, which must be based on the services they provide to the business. Because of this, corporations have the advantage of being able to split business earnings among family members to lower the overall tax burden on the family. There are special tax rules in place to discourage dividends being paid to children under 18 years of age, though.
An example of this is as follows. For an individual with an unincorporated business earning $100,000 per year and a spouse with no income, the total tax burden on the family would be approximately $22,000. If the business was instead a corporation and dividends were split evenly between the two spouses, the combined corporate tax of the business and the personal tax for you and your spouse would result in a tax burden on the family of only $18,000 – an annual tax savings of $4,000.
To expand on this example, for an individual with an unincorporated business earning $200,000 per year, a spouse with no income, and one adult child with no income, the total tax burden on the family would be approximately $58,000. If the business was instead a corporation and dividends were split evenly between the two spouses and the one adult child, the combined corporate tax of the business and the personal taxes of the three individuals would result in a tax burden on the family of $42,000 – an annual tax savings of $16,000. With the recent increase in top tax rates in Alberta, the savings can be even greater if your income is over $200,000.
If you have an unincorporated business and wish to take advantage of income splitting, there is both legal and accounting work required to incorporate your business. If you fully own a corporation and wish to take advantage of income splitting, there may also be both legal and accounting work required to issue shares to your spouse and adult children. KWB can help you in either situation. Call us today at 780-466-6204 or email info@kwbllp.com to set up an appointment to discuss income splitting and your unique business situation.
Other Posts by Richard
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19
2012
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Jul
10
2012
KWB Client Focus Group Meeting
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Feb
3
2014
KWB Seminar Topics
Vote on Future KWB Seminars
1.Retirement planning
2.Health & wellness
3.Hiring foreign workers
4.Client think tank (Improving customer experience)
5.Customer service ideas
6.Acting as an executor or agent
7.Travel
8.Finance for children, teens
9.Navigating post secondary
10.Budgeting
11.How to use an on-line portal
Feb
26
2019
Retirement Planning Alternatives
We have all been told to plan for our retirement. Yet, have you ever wondered why you need to consider the different retirement planning alternatives?
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Nov
12
2014
The "Family Tax Cut" credit
Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Finance Minister Joe Oliver recently announced a “Family Tax Cut” credit which allows certain Canadian families to reduce their overall federal income tax. This relief will be available starting in 2014.
The new measure would allow a higher income spouse to shift a portion of their income to a lower
Feb
3
2015
Child Related Benefits, Expenses and Deductions
There’s great news for 2015 for Canadians with children. Stephen Harper has announced a “child care benefit boost” – which includes an increase to, or return of, the monthly Universal Child Care Benefit cheques and an increase to the amount taxpayers can deduct for child care expenses and the child fitness credit.
Changes to
Jul
23
2015
Change in use of property from capital to inventory or vice versa.
There are no immediate repercussions for the change in business use of property from capital to inventory. The differences arise upon sale of the real estate.
There is no provision in the Income Tax Act which describes the circumstances in which gains from the sale of real estate are to be determined as being either
Aug
4
2015
Corporate expenses - What can you deduct?
Often deductible business expenses are overlooked or missed as business owners are unsure whether they are deductible.
A business expense is any cost incurred by the company to generate income. These expenses must be supported by physical documents such as invoices, purchase contracts, sales receipt, etc. If cash is used to purchase items, it is
Sep
22
2015
Alberta Corporate Tax Rate Changes
In addition to personal income tax increases, the Alberta NDP government has also increased general corporate tax rates.
However, businesses that earn $500,000 or less of active business income will not be affected by the tax increases due to an offsetting increase to the Alberta small business deduction rate. Businesses that have more than
Oct
6
2015
Deciding when it’s time to start taking your CPP retirement benefits
You can start receiving CPP pension benefits when you reach age 65 (the month after your 65th birthday) which will entitle you to a full CPP benefit depending on how much and how long you have contributed to the CPP.
However, you have the following choices:
Take a reduced CPP retirement pension as early as
Sep
3
2019
Director's Liability
What is director's liability? While the tax debts of a corporation belong to the corporation and the tax debts of an individual belong to that individual, there are some exceptions to the rules. Directors may have liability for certain tax accounts of the corporations they serve.
When a corporation faces insolvency, remittances to the government
Mar
29
2016
HOME ACCESSIBILITY TAX CREDIT (HATC)
The 2015 federal budget announced the introduction of a new Home Accessibility Tax Credit (HATC), beginning in 2016.
The HATC is a non-refundable tax credit for qualifying expenses incurred for work performed or goods acquired in respect of a qualifying renovation of an eligible dwelling of a qualifying individual. A qualifying individual and eligible individuals
May
24
2016
CRA Letter Campaign
Every year CRA conducts reviews and audits to sample and educate tax payers on tax compliance, and 2016 will be no different.
CRA estimates that approximately 30,000 letters will be sent out across Canada this year. These letters will give you information about certain claims you have made on one or more of your
Aug
23
2016
Top 7 Overlooked Tax Deductions
Are you paying too much in taxes? Are you getting all the tax deductions available for your business?
An effective way to minimize your company’s tax expense, in addition to good planning, is to ensure the company is claiming all of the expenses legitimately allowed under the tax act. Take a look and see if any
Mar
20
2020
Tax News and Changes – COVID-19
The Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance announced on
March 18th an economic relief package to begin addressing the
economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Part of the economic relief package includes
tax relief for individuals and businesses.
Filing Deadline Extensions
The deadline for filing personal income tax returns will be
extended to
Mar
20
2020
Resources for Canadian Businesses – COVID-19
Small and medium-sized businesses are the backbone of the
Canadian economy. During this extraordinary time, the Government of Canada is
taking strong action to help Canadian businesses as COVID-19 is affecting them,
their employees and their families.
The Government and public health officials are urging all
Canadians to:
stay home unless it is absolutely
Mar
20
2020
Support for Employers - Alberta - COVID-19
The Alberta government will provide immediate funding and supportive measures to support local businesses, employers and employees.
Support for employers
Corporate income tax changes
Corporate income tax balances and
instalment payments will be deferred from March 19 until August 31, 2020 to
increase employers’ access to cash so they can pay employees, address debts
Mar
20
2020
Support for Albertans – COVID-19
The Alberta
government will provide immediate financial relief to Alberta’s families and
vulnerable populations.
Albertans
should be focused on their health and not worry about whether they can pay
their bills so we have put a number of options in place for those struggling
financially.
Emergency isolation support
This will be
a temporary program
Mar
23
2020
Frequently Asked Questions – Temporary Wage Subsidy for Employers
1. What is the Temporary Wage Subsidy
for Employers?
The
Temporary Wage Subsidy for Employers is a three-month measure that will allow
eligible employers to reduce the amount of payroll deductions required to be
remitted to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).
2. Which employers are eligible?
You are an
eligible employer if you:
are
Mar
23
2020
Who qualifies for EI?
Whether you qualify for EI will still depend on your specific situation, such as regional rate of employment, and the number of hours worked in the last 52 weeks.
The government recommends people apply as soon as possible to find out if they qualify; waiting more than four weeks after your last day
Mar
25
2020
Support for entrepreneurs impacted by the coronavirus COVID-19
As announced by the Minister of Finance, BDC puts in place additional measures to provide relief for Canadian
entrepreneurs.
Effective
March 18, 2020, new relief measures for qualified businesses include:
Working capital loans of up to
$2 million with flexible repayment terms such as principal postponements
for qualifying businesses;Flexible repayment terms, such
Mar
26
2020
New Information from the Alberta Government – 25 March 2020
In addition, it is now mandatory for travellers returning
from outside of Canada to self-isolate. This legal requirement also applies to
close contacts of confirmed COVID-19 cases, as well as to any individual with
symptoms, such as a fever, cough, sore throat or runny nose.
“We must do everything we can to protect Albertans
Mar
26
2020
Document Deliveries and Meetings through COVID-19
Dear valued KWB clients and business partners,
Our office remains open and functional during this time, however, we no longer have reception coverage until further notice. Please take note of the following procedures that have been implemented:
1. Deliveries to our office
You may continue to deliver or drop-off your documents at our
Mar
27
2020
Breaking News for Small - Medium Size Businesses - 27 March 2020
Ottawa hikes wage subsidy to 75% for small and medium-sized businesses
The federal government is hiking its wage subsidy for small and medium-sized businesses from 10 per cent to 75 per cent, a
move that business leaders have called for amid the coronavirus outbreak.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the payroll subsidy,
as well
Mar
30
2020
New Information on Wage Subsidy Program - 30 March 2020
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced today businesses and non-profit organizations seeing a drop of at least 30 per cent in revenue due to COVID-19 will qualify for the government's 75 per cent wage subsidy program.
The number of people a business employs will not
determine its eligibility. Charities and companies big and small will
Mar
31
2020
Explaining the Business Credit Availability Program (BCAP)
Description of the Business Credit Availability Program (BCAP):
On March 13,
2020, the Government announced the establishment of a Business Credit
Availability Program (BCAP) to help Canadian businesses obtain financing during
the current period of significant uncertainty. The BCAP will support
access to financing for Canadian businesses in all sectors and regions
Mar
31
2020
Essential Services - Is your Business on the List?
Overview
The
businesses and services on the essential services list can continue to provide
services at locations accessible to the public and must have proper risk
mitigation measures in place, such as sanitation stations and appropriate
distancing between customers.
The intent
of this list is to provide general guidance to business owners and
operators
Apr
3
2020
KWB Summary of Relief Programs - Federal and Provincial - 3 April 2020
To our friends, clients, and business partners,
We hope this newsletter finds you well and healthy. The volume of information we’ve received from provincial and federal governments over the last few weeks has been significant and a bit of a moving target, so we’ve put together a summary of all the relief programs that
Oct
17
2020
Temporary Changes to EI (Employment Insurance)
As of September 27, 2020, there are some temporary changes to the EI program to help you access EI benefits.
These changes will be in effect for 1 year. Go to EI benefits and leave to find the benefit type that applies to your situation. The following changes could apply to you:
A minimum
Feb
18
2021
New Critical Worker Benefit for Albertans
The Critical Worker Benefit will bring much needed relief to eligible workers across the province, providing a one-time payment of $1,200 to eligible critical care workers in recognition of their hard work to provide Albertans with the care and services they need.
Applications for the private sector will open on Wednesday, February 17