--- title: "Tax Planning Services in BC for Small Businesses" url: https://www.everstonecpa.com/tax-planning-services-canada description: "Tax planning for BC business owners: salary vs dividends, year-end timing and income splitting within the rules, before the year closes. Get a quote." type: service-or-info updated: 2026-10-08 summary: "Corporate tax planning is the year-round work of deciding how income leaves the company and when: salary versus dividends, timing of bonuses, capital purchases, income splitting where permitted, and use of the small business deduction. It is done before year-end, not after. EverStone builds a plan alongside the T2 filing. Fees are fixed and agreed in writing; published fees show where each service starts." faq_count: 7 publisher: EverStone CPA Inc., a Chartered Professional Accountant firm registered with CPA British Columbia and CPA Alberta service_area: British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario and Manitoba language: en-CA contact: info@everstonecpa.com · https://www.everstonecpa.com/book-online --- [Home](https://www.everstonecpa.com/) Proactive Tax Planning for Incorporated Businesses Plan ahead, pay less [Home](https://www.everstonecpa.com/) [Services](https://www.everstonecpa.com/services) Tax Planning # Proactive *Tax Planning* for Incorporated Businesses The biggest tax savings come from decisions made before year-end, not after. We work with you through the year to structure how you pay yourself, time income and expenses, and use every legitimate strategy available to your corporation. That’s what EverStone CPA does for incorporated owners across BC and in Alberta, Ontario and Manitoba. [Get My Fixed Quote](https://www.everstonecpa.com/book-online?service=planning#enquiry-form)[Ask a Free Question](https://www.everstonecpa.com/quick-question) **Quick answer:** Corporate tax planning is the year-round work of deciding how income leaves the company and when: salary versus dividends, timing of bonuses, capital purchases, income splitting where permitted, and use of the small business deduction. It is done before year-end, not after. EverStone builds a plan alongside the T2 filing. Fees are fixed and agreed in writing; [published fees](https://www.everstonecpa.com/pricing) show where each service starts. **See your own numbers first.** Enter your company’s profit in [our 2026 pay planner](https://www.everstonecpa.com/salary-vs-dividends-calculator): it works out corporate tax, CPP and personal tax at every salary level for 2026 and shows the split that leaves you the most. Try the numbers first with our [salary vs dividend calculator](https://www.everstonecpa.com/salary-vs-dividends-calculator). The planning window closes at the year end, not at the filing date. Filing a return records what already happened; tax planning changes what happens next. Most incorporated owners overpay not because their return is wrong, but because no one looked ahead — at how they draw income, when they buy assets, or how the corporation is structured. Our tax-planning service is a year-round relationship: we know your numbers, flag opportunities before deadlines close them, and make sure the tax outcome is deliberate rather than accidental. ## What tax planning with us looks like - Salary vs. dividend planning tuned to your income, RRSP goals and cash needs - Timing of income, bonuses and asset purchases around your year-end - Income splitting with family members within the [TOSI](https://www.everstonecpa.com/glossary#tosi) rules - Using the small-business deduction and managing passive income - Planning for the [lifetime capital gains exemption](https://www.everstonecpa.com/glossary#lcge) on a future sale - Coordinating your corporate and personal tax as one picture Where planning pays off ## The decisions that actually move your tax bill Tax integration means salary and dividends often land close on tax alone — the real savings come from the structural choices around them. These are the levers we work with most. ### How you pay yourself Salary builds RRSP room and CPP; dividends skip CPP and simplify admin. The right mix depends on your income, your retirement plan and your cash needs — and it’s a decision worth revisiting every year, not setting once and forgetting. ### Timing around year-end Whether to buy equipment before or after your [fiscal year-end](https://www.everstonecpa.com/glossary#fiscal-year-end), when to declare a bonus, and how to time income can shift tax between years and defer it meaningfully. These windows close at year-end, which is why planning has to happen before it. ### Income splitting — within the rules Paying reasonable salary to a family member who genuinely works in the business, or navigating the tax-on-split-income (TOSI) rules on dividends, can lower household tax. Done carelessly it invites reassessment; done properly it’s legitimate. TOSI is strict. We only plan splits that are defensible — real work for salary, or dividends that meet an exclusion. ### Small-business rate & passive income Active business income under the limit is taxed at the low small-business rate, but too much passive investment income inside the corporation can grind that benefit away. We help you manage the balance as retained earnings grow. ### Planning for the eventual sale The [lifetime capital gains exemption](https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/individuals/topics/about-your-tax-return/tax-return/completing-a-tax-return/deductions-credits-expenses/line-25400-capital-gains-deduction.html) can shelter a large gain when you sell qualifying shares — but only if the corporation qualifies, and qualification is something you set up years in advance, not at closing. How it works ## Working with EverStone, start to finish 1 ### We learn your numbers An enquiry and a look at your corporate and personal picture — income, structure, goals — so advice is specific to you, not generic. 2 ### We build the plan We map out how you’ll draw income, time key decisions, and structure the year, with a fixed quote before any work begins. 3 ### We check in through the year Planning isn’t a one-time meeting. We revisit before year-end and whenever a big decision comes up, so opportunities aren’t missed. Tax planning connects directly to your [corporate tax](https://www.everstonecpa.com/tax-services) and [business advisory](https://www.everstonecpa.com/advisory-services) work. Start with our guides on [salary vs dividends](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/salary-vs-dividends-2026) and [whether to leave money in the corporation](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/leave-money-in-corporation-or-pay-out-canada). One of the most common planning questions has a free tool: the [salary vs dividends calculator](https://www.everstonecpa.com/salary-vs-dividends-calculator). Questions ## Tax planning questions **Isn’t salary vs dividends basically a wash because of tax integration?** On tax alone, often close — but that’s exactly why the other factors decide it: RRSP room, CPP, cash flow, and your province. And integration doesn’t address the bigger structural levers like timing, income splitting and planning for a future sale, which is where real planning adds value. [Ask about your case →](https://www.everstonecpa.com/quick-question) **When is the best time to do tax planning?** Before your fiscal year-end, because most opportunities — asset timing, bonus decisions, income draws — close at year-end. Planning done after the year is over can only report the result, not change it. Ideally it’s a year-round conversation. **Can I split income with my spouse or kids?** Sometimes, but the tax-on-split-income (TOSI) rules are strict. A reasonable salary for genuine work is generally fine; dividends to family members are heavily restricted unless a specific exclusion applies. We only plan splits that are defensible if CRA looks. **Do you do both corporate and personal planning?** Yes — and they have to be planned together. Your corporate and personal returns are two halves of one tax picture, and optimizing one without the other usually leaves money on the table. We coordinate both. **Is this worth it for a small corporation?** Often yes. Even a one-person corporation makes decisions every year — how to draw income, when to buy assets, how to handle retained earnings — that planning can improve. An enquiry is free, so it costs nothing to find out. **What does a tax planning engagement actually involve?** A review of your corporate and personal position together, a projection of where the year is heading, and a written plan naming the specific actions, amounts and dates. It is not a single conversation — the plan is set before your fiscal year-end so the decisions can still be implemented, then confirmed when the return is prepared. **Does planning still help once my fiscal year is already over?** Some of it does, but the most valuable decisions are gone. Remuneration mix, timing of income and expenses, and how much to leave in the corporation all have to be settled while the year is still open. After year-end you are largely reporting what happened. If your year-end is close, that is the reason to move now rather than after. **Fixed fees**Clear, fixed pricing. You approve the fee before any work begins. No surprise bills. **One day**We reply to every enquiry within one business day, usually the same day. **CPA-led**Every file is handled personally by a CPA, never passed to junior staff. **No obligation**Sending an enquiry is free, with zero pressure and no obligation. What clients say ## Why clients stay with EverStone Rated 5.0 on Google across 21 client reviews. ★★★★★ “…have been completing my bookkeeping, taxes and financials for the last 2 years and they have been amazing. Thank you!” R. H. Verified Google Review ★★★★★ “Personal. Professional. Responsive. Plus he saved me a bundle!” Corrin Skalbeck Verified Google Review ★★★★★ “…We switched to him last year for both our personal and small-business taxes — responsive, knowledgeable and quick.” Heather Powers Verified Google Review [Read our Google reviews](https://www.everstonecpa.com/reviews) Information on this page was last reviewed in ** July 2026 **. See our [editorial policy](https://www.everstonecpa.com/editorial-policy). **Serving business owners across BC:** [online accountant in Vancouver](https://www.everstonecpa.com/accountant-vancouver), all entirely online. The planning decisions with the largest effect on an owner-managed corporation: [bonus versus dividend at year end](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/bonus-vs-dividend-year-end-canada), [the tax on split income rules](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/tosi-tax-on-split-income-canada), [when a holding company is worth the cost](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/holding-company-canada-when-it-makes-sense), [the lifetime capital gains exemption](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/lifetime-capital-gains-exemption-canada-small-business), [associated corporations and the shared SBD](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/associated-corporations-small-business-deduction). ## Related reading Keep up with what changed this year. [OAS clawback planning: why an owner-manager has more control than most retirees How the OAS recovery tax works, the income threshold where it starts, how the amount is calculated, and what an incorporated owner can control.](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/oas-clawback-planning-canada) [Partnership Tax Returns (T5013) Not every partnership files a T5013 — thresholds and partner types decide it, and the deadline moves with who the partners are.](https://www.everstonecpa.com/partnership-tax-return-canada) [Amalgamation vs wind-up: the tax differences Combining two corporations or collapsing one into its parent are different transactions with different tax results.](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/amalgamation-vs-wind-up-canada) [Tax accounting services everything your business needs from a local CPA Corporate tax, personal tax, bookkeeping, payroll & advisory for BC small business.](https://www.everstonecpa.com/services) [The medical expense tax credit: the threshold, what counts, and the alternative for owners How the medical expense threshold works, which expenses qualify, and why an incorporated owner may be better served by a private health services plan.](https://www.everstonecpa.com/blog/medical-expense-tax-credit-canada) [Accounting for incorporated professionals How professional corporation accounting differs in Canada — regulator share rules, associated corporations, passive income, TOSI and buy-in structuring.](https://www.everstonecpa.com/incorporated-professionals-hub) [Just incorporated? The 12-step setup checklist Just incorporated in BC? The 12-step setup checklist — CRA accounts, bank, year-end, GST, PST, payroll, WorkSafeBC and bookkeeping.](https://www.everstonecpa.com/incorporation-checklist) [Recent Canadian tax updates The 20 latest changes, and whether each is law yet](https://www.everstonecpa.com/tax-updates) [Hiring and capacity planning Hiring and capacity planning: what a hire actually costs, when the business can carry it, and what must be true…](https://www.everstonecpa.com/hiring-and-capacity-planning) ## The forms and the dates The instruments are ordinary and the timing is everything: the salary-versus-dividend split and its T4 or T5 consequences, the small business deduction and the passive-income grind that reduces it, capital cost allowance and the half-year rule on year-end purchases, RRSP room created by salary, and the corporation’s year-end date itself, which can be chosen once. The output is a written plan before the year-end, not an explanation after it. ## Who this is for in the Fraser Valley Planning conversations in the Fraser Valley tend to be about the same handful of decisions: an Abbotsford or Chilliwack farm or trades corporation deciding between salary and dividends before the year-end, a Langley professional weighing a holding company, a Mission owner timing an equipment purchase for the capital cost allowance. None of them is answered well in April. They are answered in the autumn, with the year’s numbers in front of both of us. Want a CPA’s answer on a tax planning question before committing to anything? The [45-minute Advice Call](https://www.everstonecpa.com/advice-call) is a flat fee of $225 + GST for one question, credited against your first invoice if you engage us within 60 days. ## What sets the fee Planning is quoted as a fixed fee for a defined piece of work — a salary-versus-dividend decision, a holding-company question, a year-end date review — after we review your enquiry that establishes which question it is. What moves the fee is the number of entities involved and whether a written plan with figures is wanted or a decision memo will do. For clients on a monthly bookkeeping or controller engagement the autumn planning conversation is included in that fee. ## Other corporate tax work The rest of what this covers, and the page each one is on. [T2 corporate return T2 corporate return preparation for Canadian incorporated businesses: what is filed, what it needs…](https://www.everstonecpa.com/corporate-tax-return-t2) [GST/HST & PST filing GST, HST and PST returns prepared and filed on your schedule, with input tax credits supported and…](https://www.everstonecpa.com/gst-hst-filing-services) [CRA review & audit support A CPA between you and the CRA: reviews, information requests, audits and objections, answered with…](https://www.everstonecpa.com/cra-review-and-audit-support) [All corporate tax T2 returns, GST/HST and PST filing, tax planning and CRA support for incorporated Canadian…](https://www.everstonecpa.com/tax-services) ## Ready to plan ahead instead of react? We’ll build a year-round tax plan around your corporation and revisit it before every deadline. Send an enquiry to a CPA. [Get My Fixed Quote](https://www.everstonecpa.com/book-online)[Ask a Free Question](https://www.everstonecpa.com/quick-question) ★★★★★ “…have been completing my bookkeeping, taxes and financials for the last 2 years and they have been amazing. Thank you!” R. H. · Google review --- Source: https://www.everstonecpa.com/tax-planning-services-canada Prices: https://www.everstonecpa.com/pricing · Contact: info@everstonecpa.com · https://www.everstonecpa.com/book-online