Business Owners
Everything you need to know about business owners in Ontario — in plain English.
Funding a Buy-Sell Agreement: Planning a Partner Buyout
How Canadian business partners fund a buy-sell agreement using insurance, promissory notes, and other methods to plan for a future buyout cleanly and fairly.
Business Succession Planning: Options for Ontario Owners
An overview of business succession planning options for Canadian owners, from family transfer to management buyout to third-party sale, with the key trade-offs.
Corporate-Owned Life Insurance: How Owners Use It
How Canadian business owners use corporate-owned life insurance for key person protection, buy-sell funding, and managing corporate surplus tax-efficiently.
Corporate Class Funds: Tax-Efficient Investing for Owners
How corporate class fund structures can help incorporated business owners manage taxable distributions and invest more tax-efficiently in a corporate account.
Estate Planning for Incorporated Professionals and Owners
How incorporated professionals and business owners align corporate and personal estate planning, from wills and shares to insurance and the taxes owed at death.
Family Trusts for Business Owners: Uses and TOSI Caveats
How business owners use a family trust to hold shares, and why the tax-on-split-income (TOSI) rules mean the strategy needs careful, current planning.
Exit Planning for Business Owners: Preparing Yourself
How Ontario business owners plan a business exit well ahead of time, covering valuation, tax, personal readiness, and the main routes to selling out.
Holding Company Benefits: Pros, Cons, and Costs
What a holding company does for an incorporated business owner, the main benefits and trade-offs, and what setting one up typically costs in Ontario.
How to Pay Yourself From a Corporation: Salary or Dividends
How incorporated Canadian owners decide between salary, dividends, or a blend to pay themselves, and why the answer often isn't all one or the other.
How to Value a Business: Valuation Basics for Owners
An Ontario owner's guide to the main business valuation methods, what drives value, and why the right approach depends on who is buying and why.
Individual Pension Plan (IPP) vs RRSP for Business Owners
How an individual pension plan (IPP) compares to an RRSP for incorporated Canadian business owners, including cost, contribution room, and who benefits.
Incorporation: Is It Worth It for Your Business?
When incorporating a business or professional practice in Ontario pays off, and when staying a sole proprietor still makes sense, in a practical comparison.
Management Buyout Basics: Selling to Your Team
How a management buyout works, how it's typically financed, and what Ontario business owners should weigh before choosing this exit route.
The Lifetime Capital Gains Exemption: How It Works
How the lifetime capital gains exemption works for Canadian business owners, the qualification tests involved, and why 24+ months of lead time matters.
Passive Income Rules for CCPCs: The Small Business Rate
How passive investment income inside a Canadian-controlled private corporation can reduce access to the small business tax rate, and what owners can do.
Purification of a Corporation: Keeping Shares LCGE-Eligible
What corporate purification means, why passive investments can disqualify shares from the lifetime capital gains exemption, and how owners plan around it.
Retained Earnings: What to Do With Surplus Cash
Options for Canadian business owners deciding what to do with retained earnings and surplus cash building up inside their corporation.
Selling Your Business: Tax Planning Before You Sign
Key tax planning steps for Ontario business owners before selling a business, from share vs asset sale to using the capital gains exemption.
Succession to Family Members: Passing the Business On
How Ontario business owners can plan a fair, tax-efficient transfer of the business to children or other family members over time.
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