2024 Federal Budget Highlights

On April 16, 2024, Canada's Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister, Chrystia Freeland, presented the federal budget. While there are no changes to federal personal or corporate tax rates, the budget introduces: • An increase in the portion of capital gains subject to tax, rising from 50% to 66.67%, starting June 25, 2024. However, individual gains up to $250,000 annually will retain the 50% rate. • The lifetime exemption limit for capital gains has been raised to $1.25 million. Additionally, a new one-third inclusion rate is set for up to $2 million in capital gains for entrepreneurs. • The budget confirms the alternative minimum tax changes planned for January 1, 2024 but lessens their impact on charitable contributions. • This year's budget emphasizes making housing more affordable. It provides incentives for building rental properties specifically designed for long-term tenants. • Introduces new support measures to aid people buying their first homes. • Costs for specific patents and tech equipment and software can now be written off immediately. • Canada carbon rebate for small business

TFSA vs RRSP – 2024

When looking to save money in a tax-efficient manner, Tax-Free Savings Accounts (TFSA) and Registered Retirement Savings Plans (RRSP) can offer significant tax benefits. The main difference between the two is that TFSAs are ideal for short-term goals, such as saving for a down payment on a house or a vacation, as its growth is entirely tax-free, while RRSPs are more suitable for long-term goals such as retirement. When comparing deposit differences, TFSAs have a limit of $7,000 for the current year, while RRSPs have a limit of 18% of your pre-tax income from the previous year, with a maximum limit of $31,560. In terms of withdrawals, TFSAs have no conversion requirements and withdrawals are tax-free, while RRSPs must be converted to a Registered Retirement Income Fund (RRIF) at age 71 and withdrawals are taxed as income.

Estate Planning for Young Families

Having a family is a blessing and can also bring a lot of worry. A lot of this worry can stem from not being prepared for a disaster like if something were to happen to you or your spouse. We've put together an infographic checklist that can help you get started on this. We know this can be a difficult conversation so we're here to help and provide guidance.

10 Essential Decisions for Business Owners

Business owners are busy… they’re busy running a successful business, wearing lots of hats and making a ton of decisions. We've put together a list of 10 essential decisions for every business owner to consider.

Estate Freeze

No business owner likes to think about handing over their business they've built from the ground up. But the fact of the matter is, you will have to do it eventually. Even more concerning, what if you were to become ill or incapacitated? Making a decision of this magnitude during trying times would not be ideal. For the business owner, an estate freeze can be an integral part of your estate planning strategy. The purpose of an estate freeze is to lock-in (freeze) the value of the business, freeing the successor from the tax liability that may arise should the business' value increase.

Financial Advice

We can help you determine where you are today financially and where you want to go. We can provide you guidance on how to reach your short, medium and long term financial goals.

Leaving a Legacy

There are so many options designed to help you to use a portion of your estate to benefit a good cause when you pass away. The estate planning process helps you to ensure that your estate is distributed as per your wishes and in the most tax efficient way as possible, but legacy planning goes further than this and aims to involve your family and loved ones in your plans to make a difference according to your personal values. The input of your family in this process should not be underestimated – they play a critical part in supporting the process to make your wishes become reality, so be sure to share your thoughts and intentions with them in good time.

Business Owners: 2020 Tax Planning Tips for the End of the Year

It's a great time to review your business finances now that we are nearing year-end. We have listed some of the critical areas to consider and provide you with some helpful guidelines to make sure that you cover all the essentials. We have divided our tax planning tips into four sections: - Year-end tax checklist - Remuneration - Business tax - Estate