If you have a child with special needs, a learning disability or an illness that requires special schooling, you may be eligible to have your child’s private school funded by your business as a legitimate medical expense. Many private schools cost $25,000 or more per year. Obviously, parents who elect to send their healthy children to private school is … Read More
Starting a Business? Incorporate or Sole Proprietorship?
Incorporate or Sole Proprietorship? Some weeks appear to have a recurring theme. The last couple of weeks I’ve been approached by a number of owners of sole proprietorship businesses wondering if it is time to incorporate their business. So what are the advantages and limitations of running a business as a sole proprietorship versus incorporating your business? So should … Read More
Do I Need A Holding Company?
A question that I’m often asked by business owners is “Do I Need a Holding Company or is my Operating Company enough?” There are a number of potential opportunities that a Holdco, which owns shares in your OpCo, that can offer business owners a huge advantage over just having an Opco. We’ll take you through a few scenarios where a … Read More
What are your options if you don’t qualify for life insurance?
It’s been said that the only people who want to buy life insurance are those who are uninsurable or don’t qualify for life insurance. For those who are deemed uninsurable there are some options for life insurance that you will want to be aware of. Obviously, the younger and healthier you are, the lower your premiums. But what happens if … Read More
Pay Attention to Your Beneficiary Designation
Whether you’re taking a contract for your business or personally, naming a beneficiary is a valuable feature of life insurance and segregated funds policies so it is important to carefully choose your beneficiaries. Have you made any of these common mistakes with your beneficiary designation? Estate – the default choice Many people choose to name their “estate” as their beneficiary. … Read More
How to Pay Less Tax Through Your Business?
This week’s federal government budget illustrated that the federal government may be easing off its assault on small business owners. They are moving forward with the proposal to eliminate the tax on split income (TOSI) for dividends paid to non-participating family members within a business. They have eased off on the passive investment income that a business owner can keep … Read More
Taming Market Volatility Using Segregated Funds
Locking In Gains, Creditor Protection, Principle Investment Guarantees, Estate Planning are a Few Reasons why you may want to look at Segregated Funds as an Investment Option Asking the average investor if they regret being in equities the past 8 years, you would have heard a resounding “NO”…. until February 2018 which saw a huge market correction. Many boast … Read More
How to Leave a Legacy for your Grandchildren?
So how do you leave a legacy behind and not compromise your current financial situation? If you are a grandparent wishing to provide an asset for your grandchildren without compromising your own financial security you may want to consider an estate planning application known as cascading life insurance. Because permanent life insurance is a significant cost to purchase in your … Read More
CPP Should You Take it Early?
The most recent rules governing CPP were introduced in 2012 and they took full effect in 2016. The earliest you can take your CPP Pension is age 60, the latest is 70. The standard question regarding CPP should you take it early? While you can elect to start receiving CPP at age 60, the discount rate under the new rules … Read More
Business Owners: Have you Maxed Out Your RRSP Contributions for the Year?
The challenge for many business owners, they either haven’t contributed enough to one’s RRSP or they’ve maxed out your RRSP Contributions for the year. The challenge is RRSP contribution room is derived from one’s T4 income from previous years. If you choose to take money from your business in the form of a dividend, this doesn’t count towards RRSP eligible … Read More