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.
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 rules
- Using the small-business deduction and managing passive income
- Planning for the lifetime capital gains exemption on a future sale
- Coordinating your corporate and personal tax as one picture
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, 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.
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 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.
Working with EverStone, start to finish
We learn your numbers
A free consult and a look at your corporate and personal picture — income, structure, goals — so advice is specific to you, not generic.
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.
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 and business advisory work. Start with our guides on salary vs dividends and whether to leave money in the corporation.
Tax planning questions
Isn’t salary vs dividends basically a wash because of tax integration?+
When is the best time to do tax planning?+
Can I split income with my spouse or kids?+
Do you do both corporate and personal planning?+
Is this worth it for a small corporation?+
Why clients stay with EverStone
Verified 5-star Google reviews from EverStone CPA clients.
“Sunny and his team have been completing my bookkeeping, taxes and financials for the last 2 years and they have been amazing. Thank you!”
“Personal. Professional. Responsive. Plus he saved me a bundle!”
“Highly recommend working with Sunny. We switched to him last year for both our personal and small-business taxes — responsive, knowledgeable and quick.”
Ready to plan ahead instead of react?
We’ll build a year-round tax plan around your corporation and revisit it before every deadline. Book a free consultation with a CPA.