Tax planning

Your accountant reports what already happened. Planning changes what happens next.

Illustration of a calculator, tax form and coin buckets

Why do people overpay tax without realising?

Because the tax bill only ever shows you the total, never the misses. Unused RRSP room from years ago, a deduction you did not know you qualified for, income sitting in the wrong spouse's name, a credit that disappeared because nobody claimed it in time. None of these announce themselves. They just show up every April as a slightly larger number than it needed to be.

The pattern we see most often is not a mistake. It is a household running a good financial life on autopilot, with nobody reviewing whether the pieces still fit the current tax rules. One planning review usually finds several quiet leaks.

I already have an accountant, why do I need this?

Keep them. A good accountant is essential, and we never work instead of them. The difference is timing. Your accountant does their finest work between January and April, reporting accurately on the year you already had. By then, most of the opportunities have already closed.

We plan during the year, while the decisions are still open: how much salary to pay yourself, when to trigger income, whose name a contribution belongs in. Then we hand your accountant a written plan they can file against, and they will tell you it makes their job easier. That is how we work with every client, alongside their accountant, never instead of them.

Should I pay myself a salary or dividends?

A salary is a deductible expense for your corporation and builds your RRSP room and CPP, but it carries payroll costs and its own reporting. Dividends are simpler and often lighter on personal tax in the lower brackets, but they build no RRSP room and no CPP. Neither one is automatically better.

The right mix depends on how much you earn, what your retirement should look like and how your corporation's cash is being used. As income rises, the answer usually shifts toward salary to buy RRSP room; at modest income, dividends often win. We model your actual numbers both ways before recommending anything. See the full discussion for business owners.

Can I split income with my spouse?

In several ways, yes. A spousal RRSP moves future withdrawals into your lower-earning spouse's hands. Pension income splitting lets couples 65 and older share eligible pension income each year. And for incorporated owners, paying dividends to a spouse can spread income across two sets of lower tax brackets.

That last one comes with a catch called TOSI, the tax on split income. In plain terms: dividends paid to family members who are not genuinely active in the business are usually taxed at the very top rate, which erases the benefit. There are real exemptions, including for owners aged 18 to 24 with excluded shares, active contributors, and owners 25 or older holding at least 10 percent of a genuinely active business. The rules are technical enough that we check your exact situation before anyone counts on the savings. How we handle this inside a corporation.

Am I claiming everything I can?

Most people are not, and usually not because of exotic strategies. The common misses are ordinary ones: medical expenses spread across the wrong spouse, childcare costs unclaimed, a home office deduction nobody took, moving expenses, unused tuition carry forwards, charitable donations bundled into the wrong year. Each one is small. Together they are a real amount of money, every single year.

Bring your latest notices of assessment to an assessment appointment and we will go through them line by line. If your last few returns left money behind, we will show you exactly where, and what to change before this year closes.

How do I stop scrambling for money at tax time?

By treating tax as a monthly expense instead of an annual surprise. If you owe, we set an automatic percentage of every deposit aside into a separate account sized to your actual marginal rate. If instalments apply, they go on a calendar with reminders before the deadlines, not after. And the RRSP contribution gets planned in advance, so it is funded through the year rather than in a panic on the last day of February.

Within one tax year of a plan in place, most clients find tax time has turned into paperwork. The money is already sitting there, and the only decision left is where the refund or the savings go next. See how the wider plan holds this together.

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What can a year of planning change?

A detailed tax planning case study will be added here when the approved figures and story are ready.

See all case studies

Tax figures on this page are current as of September 2026. Rules change, and we review this page whenever they do.

What else should you know before planning?

Do I need to be incorporated for tax planning to help me?

No. Salaried professionals, retirees and families all have decisions worth planning: RRSP and TFSA room, income timing, spousal contributions and deductions that go unclaimed. Incorporation simply adds more levers, and we use them when they fit.

When should I start planning for next year's taxes?

Now, whatever now means when you are reading this. Most of the best moves only work if they happen before the year ends: RRSP room set aside, a bonus deferred, income timed between spouses. February is for filing, not for deciding.

Can you file my tax return for me?

No, we are not a tax preparation firm. We build the plan, then hand your accountant everything they need to file it accurately. They will recognise the paperwork, because the plan arrives before the year closes.

What does tax planning cost?

It depends on the scope, and we explain every fee in writing before you decide on anything. Most people find the plan pays for itself in the first year through deductions they were missing and a pay structure that suits their situation.

What happens in the complimentary assessment?

We spend 20 minutes looking at how you are paid, what you own and what you claimed last year. You leave knowing which two or three decisions would save you the most, and there is no obligation to continue.

How much tax are you quietly overpaying?

Bring your last notice of assessment to a complimentary 20-minute assessment and we will look for the misses together.

Book a complimentary 20-minute assessment Call us directly: 604-618-7365