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Strategies for your Retirement Savings Plan
A formalized savings plan that uses a registered plan, such as a Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP), Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA) or a Registered Retirement Income Fund (RRIF), is one of the soundest ways to realize your retirement goals. Here are some strategies you can use to maximize the benefits of your RRSP, TFSA and RRIF.
Registered Retirement Income Fund (RRIF)
Selecting the right retirement income option for your Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) is one of the most important financial and estate planning decisions you’ll make. This is especially true today, when statistics show that Canadians are living longer, healthier lives. If you’re fortunate, your retirement will last 20 years, or longer. Therefore, it’s important to make sound investment choices that not only protect your savings but ensure that the purchasing power of your money lasts throughout your retirement.
Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA)
The benefits and flexibility provided by a Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA) make it ideal for saving for multiple financial goals. While TFSA contributions are not tax deductible, they grow tax-free, can be withdrawn tax-free at any time, and there are no restrictions on how you use the funds once they’re withdrawn from your TFSA. Whether you’re saving for a new car, advanced educational degree, home purchase, your child’s education or retirement, a TFSA can help you reach your financial goals sooner.
Education Savings Planning (RESP)
Most parents hope their children will pursue higher education – and for good reason. A post-secondary education can prepare your child for a fulfilling career, lead to enhanced earnings potential and, ultimately, steer them on the path to a successful and rewarding life.
Transition Planning
Whether you are taking on early retirement or have been displaced by corporate restructuring. You will soon be facing a number of important decisions.
Tax Planning
Strategies to Minimize Capital Gains Tax
Towards the end of the year, many investors review their investment portfolios to determine the anticipated tax impact of capital gains and losses realized during the year. For investors who have realized significant capital gains, this article examines various strategies to help reduce the impact of a potential tax liability. It also discusses other related considerations of the voluntary or involuntary sale of a security or other investment resulting in the realization of a capital gain.
Understanding Capital Losses
Each year fluctuations in the stock markets leave investors with plenty to think about. Does my portfolio need repositioning? If so, which stocks do I keep and which do I sell? When investments are held in non-registered accounts, these decisions can have immediate tax implications. For example, if you’ve decided to sell a security that has an accrued gain, you’ve increased your taxable income. When you sell a security that has an accrued loss, the capital loss will reduce your capital gains for the particular tax year. When losses exceed gains in a given year, there is no further reduction to your current taxable income. However, a net capital loss may be used to reduce your capital gains in other tax years.
Consider Tax Loss Selling in Your Planning
It’s always a good idea to periodically review your investment portfolio to consider possible investment reallocations. Upon review, if it makes sense to sell an under-performing security from an investment perspective, you may want to consider the possibility of engaging in a ‘tax-loss selling’ strategy before the end of the year, to reduce your overall tax liability or to receive a refund of tax from a previous year.
Tax Planning for the Family Business
The Capital Gains Deduction is available to shelter up to $813,600 of capital gains on the sale of shares of a qualifying small business corporation in 2015. As a result of the potential tax savings from accessing this deduction, it represents one of the most compelling tax planning opportunities for Canadian small business owners. The rules are very complex and only a general discussion is provided here. As with all tax planning, professional advice is critical to understand the specific implications in your situation.
Understanding Personal Holding Companies
Many individuals hold investment portfolios in a personal holding company. It is important for these investors to understand the various tax implications of earning investment income through a holding company. Tax implications can be quite different from owning investments personally, because a corporate structure introduces a number of other considerations.
Pension Income Splitting Provides Tax Planning Opportunities for Couples
The pension income splitting rules provide an effective yet simple strategy to lower family taxes. Being able to split pension income provides an opportunity for couples to reduce their overall family tax bill by taking advantage of a spouse’s or common law partner’s (hereinafter referred to as "spouse") lower marginal tax rate where retirement incomes of spouses are disproportionate.