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March 15, 2015
Published by Michael Blank at March 15, 2015
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If a landlord gives a discount on rent for services provided by the tenant, the full amounts must be reported. The normal rent must be reported, the discount may be claimed as an expense by the landlord and business income by the tenant. For example, say rent is $900 and the landlord offers $100 to shovel the walk to a tenant. The full $900 must be claimed as rent revenue, $100 as an expense by the landlord, and $100 business income by the tenant.
March 8, 2015
Published by Michael Blank at March 8, 2015
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A Marginal Tax Rate (MTR) is the tax rate (%) paid on each additional dollar earned. It is called ‘Marginal’ as it refers to the next incremental dollar earned. The tax rates change with higher income. The more income, the likely the tax rate is higher. Federally, there are currently (2014 tax year) four tax brackets: Pay 15% on the first $43,953. Pay 22% on every extra dollar between $43,953 and $87,907, and so on for two higher brackets. Provincially, there are many more tax brackets. This means a smaller increase in income is more likely to lead to an increase in […]
March 4, 2015
Published by Michael Blank at March 4, 2015
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RESPs are an excellent low-tax means of saving for a child’s education. Parents and grandparents may put money into an RESP. The money in an RESP grows tax-free. In addition, the government often puts funds into the RESP. Be careful from whom you purchase an RESP. This is an important business decision. What happens if your child decides not to pursue postsecondary education? Do you get the money back? What happens to the government’s contribution? These and other questions must be asked of the provider.
March 1, 2015
Published by Michael Blank at March 1, 2015
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If you look at a T5, one sees that taxable dividend amounts are greater than the actual dividend amounts. So, the government considers the actual dividends paid out to you less than what should be taxed. Why is that? The reason is that there should be only one level of taxes. In other words, you shouldn’t tax the same loonie multiple times. When a company makes money, it pays taxes on that income. Then, when it pays out a dividend with this after-tax income the shareholder has to pay taxes on it. That means two levels of taxation on the […]
February 8, 2015
Published by Michael Blank at February 8, 2015
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Many items may be included on a T4. Employment income, taxable benefits, income eligible for EI and CPP, payroll deductions paid by the employer (i.e. EI and CPP), tax deducted, pensions, etc. In most cases, T4s are prepared correctly. However, be careful and review them. Is there something you would expect but not there? Your tax preparer may not be able to catch T4 mistakes as the preparer may not have all the information concerning your employment. Some mistakes include missing CPP-eligible income, EI-eligible income, and missing car allowances.
March 20, 2014
Published by Michael Blank at March 20, 2014
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Income splitting for pensioners is an excellent means of lowering total family tax. It works when there are two people of different income levels. Pension income that may be split comprises employment pension and RRIF, but not OAS or CPP. A key benefit is that the higher-income spouse whose pension income is split now pays tax at a lower marginal tax rate. Another benefit is that the overall family tax payable is reduced. There are some challenges. The lower-income spouse technically has to pay more tax in the individual sense, so a family plan to pay any outstanding taxes should […]
November 7, 2013
Published by Michael Blank at November 7, 2013
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Transferring assets from a person to a corporation is complex but very important. If the transfer is done correctly, the value of the assets may be extracted tax-free (‘boot’). Or, the value of the assets become ‘Paid Up Capital’ (PUC) attached to shares which may be extracted tax-free from the corporation at a later date. As tax is your relationship with the government, the government is saying ‘you paid tax on your earnings, then invested it. If you invest your earnings, then take the same amount out of your investment, we won’t tax you on it.’ Fair enough. However, there […]
October 15, 2013
Published by Michael Blank at October 15, 2013
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In Canada, there are two tax brackets for incorporated business income. The lower one, Small Business Deduction (SBD) rate is about 15%. The SBD is on the first $500,000 of income (up until a few years ago it was $400,000). Above $500,000 of income, the second ‘tax bracket’, the corporate rate is 26.5%. To illustrate: between $400K and $500K of income, $15,000 is tax payable. Between $500K and $600K of income, $26,500 is tax payable. This is a huge jump of 76.67%! However, due to the system of integration, the taxation activity flows down to the individual level when cash […]
October 2, 2013
Published by Michael Blank at October 2, 2013
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There are a few resources from whom you can learn about tax. If you are a member of a specialized business group, they may have some key resources. There may be incubators (like www.investottawa.ca) that offer free seminars on topics such as HST. Newspapers, especially national ones, have specialists writing particularly about personal tax matters. Blogs and the CRA websites may also help. Books are great resources too. For a good introduction to taxes, I recommend Evelyn Jacks’ books. They provides knowledge in proper amounts so one doesn’t bite off more than they can chew. Still, the 6-cm thick […]
August 9, 2013
Published by Michael Blank at August 9, 2013
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By now, one should have the financial statements for the first two quarters of the year. Time to compare and contrast that with the installments registered with the CRA. If your business is doing better than expected, it may be time to increase your installments to avoid penalties and interest. If you business is easing down a bit (compared to your budgeted estimates), altering your installment registration with the CRA can reduce your taxes payable.