Home
>
Tax
>
Rearrange Your Affairs For Maximum Tax Savings

Rearrange Your Affairs For Maximum Tax Savings

One way to maximize your business profits is by reducing your taxes. Frequently, income and other taxes could be lowered significantly if only the taxpayer were willing to plan ahead. By taking some simple steps to rearrange your affairs, you could save a fortune!

1. Are You Splitting Your Business Income?

You may pay reasonable salaries to spouse or children through your incorporated or unincorporated business. If you are not doing so, you may be missing out on some real tax savings.

In the Canadian Federal Budget of February 16, 1999, measures were introduced to discourage income splitting with minor children through family trusts. However, these measures do not apply to paying reasonable wages to family members. Thus, this may be one of the last ways of legally splitting income left for the small business person with minor children.

Obviously, the amounts paid must bear some relationship to the work performed. Of course, all required payroll taxes should be remitted and proper records need to be maintained.

Why not rearrange your affairs so that family members with little or no income can perform duties for and be paid by your business? Then, they can contribute out of their own income towards the operation of the household. In this way, little or no tax will be paid by your dependants and you will have successfully shifted taxable income out of your hands.

2. Should You Register For The Goods And Services Tax?

Even if your business grosses less than $30,000.00 per year in taxable sales, you may still benefit by registering your business to collect the Goods and Services Tax (G.S.T.). If you are not doing so, you may be missing out on some real tax savings.

For example, you will be paying G.S.T. on many of your business expenses. If not registered for G.S.T., you must absorb this cost. If registered, you may deduct the G.S.T. paid on such business expenses (input tax credits) from the tax collected. Many business persons expect to pay G.S.T. and it doesn`t really cost them anything since they deduct such amounts as input tax credits from the G.S.T. they collect from their customers.

In some cases, the quick method of calculating G.S.T. may actually allow you to retain more of the G.S.T. collected than you would have just claiming the G.S.T. actually paid by you.

A factor to consider also: If you are not registered for G.S.T. in Canada, you are telling your clients that you do under $30,000.00 per year in taxable sales or that you cheat. Is this the image you want your clients to have?

3. Could You Benefit From Incorporating Your Business?

Although incorporating your business may result in increased accounting and legal fees (for setup, extra tax returns, and annual minutes), the advantages of incorporation may justify this added expense. Not only will you enjoy limited liability by incorporating, but you may reap significant tax savings as well.

Corporations are often subject to lower tax rates on small business income. In Canada, sales of shares of qualifying small business corporations can obtain a lifetime $500,000.00 capital gains exemption. Certain tax incentives and government programs are only available to incorporated entities. Additionally, corporations can be used for income-splitting and estate, retirement, and succession planning objectives.

4. Do You Engage in Tax Planning Year-Round?

Some people only worry about their taxes during tax season. However, you will save a fortune in taxes, legally, if you make tax planning your year-round concern.

Can you make some changes to turn your hobby into a moneymaking business? Can you use that extra room in your house as a home office for your business? Can you arrange to use your car more for business purposes and have you documented your business use mileage? Can you arrange for more of your entertainment expenses to be business related and have you listed the business purpose on the back of each receipt?

Do you make business and personal purchases, investments, and other expenditures with tax savings in mind. Do you document your expenses well so that you they would survive a tax audit? Whenever you are faced with a business or personal financial decision, do you consider the tax consequences?

Make year-round tax planning part of your business management mindset and, thus, enjoy maximum tax savings. Yes, by rearranging your affairs to account for tax implications, you will save a fortune in taxes.

RESOURCE BOX

J. Stephen Pope, President of Pope Consulting Inc., http://www.popeconsultinginc.com/ has been helping clients to earn maximum business profits for over twenty-five years.

For valuable Work at Home Small Business Ideas, visit: http://www.popeconsultinginc.com/

quick home cleaning Arlington Heights ..

In The News:

In response to infostealer activity increasing 500% in a year and harvesting 1.7 billion user credentials, the CyberGuy offers four ways to stay safe from infostealer malware.

Looking Glass has developed a 27-inch light-field display that allows you to see digital objects in three dimensions without headsets or glasses.

A CCTV video purportedly originating from a Chinese factory shows a robot appearing to lash out at two men in an unexplained incident.

After years of delays, travelers must now show a REAL ID, a valid passport or another federally approved ID to travel. May 7, 2025, is the deadline.

Driverless tractor-trailers are already traveling on Texas roads, raising questions about safety, reliability and the future of trucking.

Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson reveals that a new AirPlay bug lets hackers take over Apple devices via Wi-Fi with no clicks needed.

This Mother's Day, gift Mom tech gadgets that simplify life, connect and show love. Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson offers some ideas.

Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson reports that Tesla owners are facing threats as hackers weaponize leaked data. Are you next?

Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson discusses how a paper pill bottle could revolutionize pharmacy packaging and cut plastic waste drastically.

The private information of about 4 million people was exposed after a major data breach involving VeriSource Services, a Texas-based HR firm.

Archer Aviation and United Airlines have teamed up to offer a more environmentally friendly way to skip New York City's traffic jams and reach your destination more quickly.

Healthcare company data breaches have leaked personal data of millions of people in recent years, and the CyberGuy offers ways to keep your information safe.

Stay up to date on the latest AI technology advancements and learn about the challenges and opportunities AI presents

Police around the world are adding robots powered by artificial intelligence to their departments, and Thailand has emerged as one of the key players.

Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson explains five cleanup hacks — a few smart automations and tools — to declutter your technology and keep things running smoothly.

Kurt the CyberGuy breaks down whether it’s better to remove your personal information from the web yourself or use a data removal service.

Google’s scam detection features, powered by artificial intelligence, are a significant step forward in safeguarding Android users from fraud.

The FBI has issued a warning that scammers are impersonating doctors, police and banks using spoofed numbers as "smishing" texts surge nationwide.

Communities with unreliable internet service stand to gain after Amazon's Project Kuiper launched its first full batch of satellites into orbit April 28.

Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson says unsubscribing from spam might actually backfire. Learn when to avoid it and stop junk effectively.

Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson talks about how the first nonstop beating heart transplant, called zero ischemic time, at Taiwan hospital changes surgery.

Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson: FBI warns of "time-traveling" hackers.

Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson talks about a soft, vine-like robot called SPROUT that aids safe survivor rescues in collapsed buildings.

Health insurance giant Blue Shield of California confirmed it had been sharing private health data of 4.7 million users with Google for three years without even realizing it.

Delta and JetZero’s blended wing body aircraft marks a meaningful step toward a cleaner, quieter and more efficient future for air travel.