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Tips and Tricks
How you can save tax this year by lending to
your family Small and Home-Based Businesses
The Canadian
Income Tax Act has “stop loss” rules that limit a
taxpayer’s ability to claim losses in certain specific
situations. Interest on money
borrowed for investment purposes is deductible for Canadian
Income Tax purposes for as long as you own the investment or a
replacement investment. Once you dispose of the investment the
interest ceases to be deductible. All amounts that
you incur as current expenses related to the business are
deductible for Canadian income tax purposes. Capital
expenditures can be depreciated. If your business never earns
a profit the deductions may be challenged on the basis that
you have no reasonable expectation of profit. When buying or
selling the assets of a business be sure to allocate the
purchase price among the different asset types, as this will
determine the values for Canadian income tax purposes. If you operate a
business from home you are entitled to deduct the cost of your
home office for Canadian Income Tax purposes only if a
separate part of your home is used to carry out the business. An amalgamation
under the Canadian Income Tax has the effect of combining 2 or
more corporations into a new corporation with no adverse tax
consequences to the shareholders or the combining
corporations. Prior to 1995,
self-employed businessmen and professionals were allowed to
report their income for Canadian income tax purposes on a
non-calendar year basis. Starting in 1995 they have been
required to report their income on a calendar year basis.
Taxpayers were permitted to claim a reserve for the additional
income. A decision to leave a professional practice, or close
down a business, and become an employee can trigger unexpected
taxes payable if part of the 1995 reserve is outstanding. The Canadian
Income Tax Act renders a director jointly and severally liable
with his corporation for failure to deduct, withhold or remit
income tax, payroll or GST amounts required, along with any
related interest or penalty. Legal or accounting fees incurred
to challenge a tax assessment are a deductible expense for
Canadian income tax purposes. Assets of a
business, or shares of a corporation, can be transferred on a
tax deferred basis by a taxpayer to a corporation by electing
under section 85 of the Canadian Income Tax Act. Failure to
prepare and file the election can result in a tax liability. If you earn more
than $30,000 per annum you are required to register for GST. If you run a
business, your spouse and children can be paid reasonable
salaries which become a business expense that is deductible
for Canadian income tax purposes. Offshore income
earned by a Canadian resident is fully taxable in Canada and
must be reported for Canadian income tax purposes. Failure to
do so is tax evasion. If you have income
which is not subject to deductions at source you may have to
pay quarterly income tax installments. If you fail to pay the
installments when due you will be charged interest. A loss realized on
shares of a small business corporation or debt owed by a small
business corporation may give rise to an allowable business
investment loss (ABIL), 75% of which is deductible in
computing your Canadian income tax liability. If you’re
incorporating your existing business you will have to carry
out a tax free rollover of the assets into the corporation and
elect to defer income tax under section 85 of the Canadian
Income Tax Act to avoid an immediate tax liability. All amounts that
you incur as current expenses directly related to your
business are deductible for Canadian income tax purposes.
Capital expenditures can be depreciated at the prescribed tax
depreciation rates. If your business never earns a profit the
deductions may be challenged on the basis that you have no
reasonable expectation of profit. Reasonable
expenses for meals and entertainment incurred for the purpose
of earning business income are deductible for Canadian income
tax purposes. However, only 50 per cent of these costs are
allowed as a deduction for tax purposes. The costs of
restaurant gift certificates used for promotion are also
subject to this limitation. If you are self
employed and work out of your home and move to a new home more
than 40 kilometres away, a recent Tax Court decision means
that you may be able to deduct your moving expenses for
Canadian income tax purposes in the same way as an employee
who moves to take a new job or an employment transfer. For a home based
corporation to write off rent related expenses you have to
charge "rent" to your corporation. The amount is
taxable to you, but will be offset by the equivalent amount
which you have paid such as utilities or property taxes. The purchase price
paid for a domain name (URL) may not be immediately deductible
for Canadian income tax purposes. It may constitute an
eligible capital expenditure (ECE) in which case only 75% of
the purchase price can be deducted at a rate of 7% per annum. If you are
starting a business register for GST/HST immediately. This way
you can recover all the GST/HST you have paid on your business
expenses.
You can only
deduct the "self-employment use" or "business
use" portion of your automobile expences; it is essential
that you track the kilometers you drive for self-employment.
Restrictions have
been put on the lease and interest cost in respect of the
automobiles.
Capital Cost
Allowance (CCA) is considered an "optional" or
discretionary tax deduction. You can claim or maximum amounts
To maximize the
speed at which CCA is claimed on the cost of your business's
leasehold improvements, negotiate your lease to be 4 years
with a renewal period of 1 year. We are
currently working on this section. If you have a TIP or
TRICK article you would like to share with our site, email
us today. |
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Copyrighted 1999-2008 All Rights Reserved This page last modified:
15 Mar 2008
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