Plan Ahead. Keep More of What You Earn.
Tax Planning
Filing a return records what already happened. Tax planning changes what happens next. We help incorporated business owners, professionals and families across the GTA structure income, timing and investments so they pay what the law requires, and not a dollar more.
Overview
Tax planning is the legal arrangement of your income, expenses, investments and business structure to reduce or defer tax. Solstice Partners provides proactive tax planning for Ontario business owners and individuals. Planning is most valuable before your fiscal year-end, not after it.
Most tax savings are decided months before a return is filed. By the time your accountant sees your year-end numbers, the opportunities to change the outcome have usually passed. We look at your corporate and personal situation together, model the options with real numbers, and give you a written plan with specific actions and dates. Because we also prepare your returns, we make sure the plan is carried through.
Good tax planning is never about aggressive schemes. Every recommendation is grounded in the Income Tax Act and current CRA guidance, documented, and explained in plain language.
What We Offer
Owner Compensation Planning
Salary, dividends or a mix? We model the after-tax result for you and your corporation, including RRSP room, CPP and personal benefits.
Year-End Tax Planning
A pre-year-end review of your corporation and personal finances to time income, expenses, bonuses, capital purchases and instalments.
Incorporation & Structure Review
Whether incorporating makes sense yet, and whether a holding company, family trust or reorganization would help.
Family Income Splitting
Paying family members who genuinely work in the business and prescribed-rate loans, structured carefully around the TOSI rules.
Passive Investment Planning
Managing investment income inside your corporation so it doesn't erode your small business deduction, and deciding what belongs where.
Exit & Succession Planning
Preparing for a sale or transition years ahead, including lifetime capital gains exemption eligibility and estate freezes.
How Tax Planning Works
- Discovery session. We review your recent corporate and personal returns, financial statements and your goals for the next one to five years.
- Analysis and modelling. We run the numbers on the options that apply to you and quantify the difference.
- Written plan. You receive recommendations, estimated savings, risks and the specific steps and deadlines involved.
- Implementation. We carry out the plan through your bookkeeping, payroll and tax filings, coordinating with your lawyer or financial advisor where needed.
- Annual review. Tax law and your business both change, so we revisit the plan before each year-end.
Who Tax Planning Is For
- Incorporated business owners earning more than they need to live on, or deciding how to pay themselves
- Professionals such as physicians, dentists, lawyers and consultants operating through a professional corporation
- Self-employed individuals deciding whether and when to incorporate
- Families with business income, investment portfolios or rental properties
- Owners planning a sale, succession or retirement in the next five to ten years
What's Changing in 2026 and 2027
Ontario small business rate cut
Ontario's small business rate dropped from 3.2% to 2.2% on July 1, 2026. With the 9% federal rate, eligible active business income is now taxed at 11.2% (prorated for fiscal years that straddle July 1).
Higher personal tax on non-eligible dividends from 2027
Ontario is reducing its dividend tax credit on non-eligible dividends effective January 1, 2027. Owners who pay dividends should review the timing of 2026 and 2027 distributions.
Higher RRSP and CPP limits
The 2026 RRSP dollar limit is $33,810, and CPP's maximum pensionable earnings rose to $74,600 (with a second ceiling of $85,000), changing the salary-versus-dividend math for many owners.
Capital gains inclusion stays at 50%
The proposed increase was cancelled, and the lifetime capital gains exemption on qualified small business corporation shares remains $1.25 million, now indexed to inflation.
These are general highlights only; how they apply depends on your fiscal year-end and circumstances. This page provides general information and is not tax advice for your specific situation. Tax rules and rates change; figures shown reflect information available as of October 2026.
Why Choose Solstice Partners
Every recommendation is modelled with your actual figures, grounded in current legislation and explained in plain language.
Planning Backed by Real Numbers
Every recommendation is modelled with your actual figures, so you see the expected after-tax difference before you decide.
Corporate and Personal, Together
We look at your company and your household as one picture. Saving tax in one place while creating it in another isn't planning.
Compliant and Documented
Strategies are grounded in current legislation and CRA guidance, and documented so they stand up if the CRA ever asks.
Frequently Asked Questions
Start Planning Before Year-End
The best tax savings are decided early. Book a planning session and we’ll show you where your opportunities are, with numbers, not guesses. Call +1 647 502 6864.
