Thinking about your CPP? Mainstream media outlets have run many stories in recent years telling of the large number of Canadians that will reach retirement age in the near future. Many of our clients fit into this category and we are often asked when they should start taking CPP.  A quick recap of the issue…

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We are often asked by clients whether they should lease or purchase their vehicles (either outright or using a loan). We have tried to distill the decision down to a few rules of thumb. In general, leasing is more expensive than buying because the leasing company accepts a portion of the depreciation risk. The advantages…

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How Much Is My Business Worth? As a small business owner, you probably wonder from time-to-time how much the business you’ve built is worth. There is no easy or straight-forward answer to the question “How much is my business worth?” It may be worth more to you than it would be to someone else –…

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Is your corporation a personal services business? If you are the sole individual working in your corporation, you may be carrying on a personal services business (“PSB”). More and more small corporations are being labeled as personal services businesses by Canada Revenue Agency (“CRA”). The results of this can be disastrous. Personal service business What…

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Being close to the border, we get lots of calls from Americans who plan to do business in Canada.  Here are some of the basic issues you need to understand. Canada – US Tax Treaty A tax treaty exists between our two countries to address tax issues.  The treaty defines, among other things, the jurisdiction…

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Cash flow is the movement of money into and out of a business or project. Cash flow is imperative to the success of any business. However, many small businesses owners don’t fully understand how important it is to estimate, track, and analyze cash flows. If cash flow is not managed correctly, a company may run…

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Automobile expense rules can be really complicated, especially for company owned vehicles because of the limitations on depreciation, lease and interest expenses and the need to think about taxable benefits that might accrue to the driver of the vehicle. Automobile expenses tend to require lots of administration and present significant tax risk because CRA views…

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You may be the envy of your neighbours as you spend your endless summer days working on your chip shot instead of chipping away at the ice on your driveway, but did you know that by flying south for the winter you may be increasing your income tax compliance obligations? Residency You are a resident…

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Are you considering renting out a portion of your home? There may be some tax implications to consider – both for now and in the future. Principal residence exemption Often, when you sell your “principal residence” there is no resulting tax implication. This is because of the principal residence exemption, which allows an adjustment to the…

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We often get asked about how to deal with home office expenses for your incorporated business. While there are a few different options, here’s the best way we’ve found to do it. If you have a separate and distinct part of your home you have devoted exclusively to business use, you can deduct home office…

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