Q4 Reset 2025: A Practical Money Playbook for Canadians

How individuals, business owners, and companies can finish strong and file smarter with Solstice Partners

The last quarter of the year has a rhythm of its own. Projects wind down, holidays ramp up, and quietly but critically your financial decisions lock in the tax outcome you’ll live with next spring. Q4 isn’t just “busy season.” It’s the decision season. Consider this your Q4 Reset—a time to take practical action. The moves you make between now and year-end can lower taxes, clean up compliance, boost cash flow, and give all Canadians a calmer filing experience.

At Solstice Partners, we treat Q4 like a structured sprint. Below is the same framework we use with clients across Canada, adapted into a playbook for individuals, incorporated owners, and companies to turn October–December into your competitive advantage.

The Q4 Mindset: Decide > Document > Defend

• Decide: Choose the actions that move the tax needle (what to contribute, what to defer, what to accelerate).
• Document: Make sure receipts, logs, policies, and board approvals exist before year-end.
• Defend: Prepare so your position stands up against missed slips, mismatched filings, or a CRA review.

Your 30/60/90-Day Roadmap (Oct–Dec)

Next 30 days (now)

• Close your books to September 30 (or the latest month done). Identify gaps, missing invoices, unposted expenses.
• Build your tax draft: a working estimate of taxable income, capital gains/losses, and available deductions/credits.
• Pick your levers: RRSP top-up planning (for the first 60 days of 2026), charitable giving, timing of income/expenses.
• Payroll and bonus planning: Model salary vs. dividend for owners; map T4/T5 implications.
• Sales tax: Reconcile GST/HST/QST returns and ITCs; fix coding now, not in March.

Days 31–60

• Investment housekeeping: Consider capital-loss harvesting (ensure trades settle in the current tax year) and superficial loss rules.
• Capital assets: Decide which purchases before year-end improve deductions/CCA (and which can wait).
• Owner compensation: Lock in bonus/dividend decisions and board resolutions.
• Charitable strategy: Bundle gifts before Dec 31 if you’re itemizing anyway; confirm donation receipts.

Days 61–90 (final stretch)

• Pre-year-end checklist: Mileage logs, home-office records, medical/childcare receipts, professional dues.
• AR/AP hygiene: Write off truly uncollectible receivables; confirm vendor balances; clear stale credits.
• Entity governance: Minute book updates, shareholder loan clean-up, intercompany reconciliations.
• Cash plan for Q1: Instalments, payroll remittances, T4/T5 prep, RRSP window (first 60 days), and any corporate tax balances.

Individuals: Your Q4 Tax Moves (Canada)

1) Optimize registered accounts

• RRSP: Map your gross income now to choose the right top-up amount. You have the first 60 days of 2026 to contribute for the 2025 tax year, but planning in Q4 prevents a rushed decision.
• TFSA & FHSA: If you’re saving for a home, the FHSA + RRSP/RRSP-HBP combinations can be powerful. Use Q4 to organize contribution room and receipts.

2) Investment positioning

• Capital gains/losses: Harvest losses to offset realized gains, watching the superficial loss rule and settlement timing.
• Asset location: Shift interest-generating investments into registered accounts where appropriate; keep higher-growth or eligible dividend assets placed tax-efficiently.

3) Deductions & credits you can still influence

Charitable donations (by Dec 31), medical expenses (timing matters for threshold rules), tuition amounts, and childcare receipts.

Work-from-home & employment expenses: Ensure you have logs and employer forms (e.g., T2200/T2200S, if applicable).

4) Life events & benefits

Marriage, separation, a new child, or moving provinces can change benefits and credits, capture them in your Q4 tax draft.

How Solstice Partners helps individuals:

We model RRSP top-ups, coordinate TFSA/FHSA strategies, run capital-gain/loss scenarios, and package your receipts into a CRA-ready file so your return is optimized and defensible.

Incorporated Owners: Align the Business With Your Personal Return

1) Salary vs. dividend (and “how much”)

Blend for RRSP room, CPP considerations, child-care deductibility, and corporate small-business rate usage. Set year-end bonuses now; paper them properly.

2) Family compensation & income splitting (within CRA rules)

Reasonable salaries for spouse/children working in the business; consider spousal RRSPs and attribution rules before moving money.

3) Shareholder loans

Clear or paper shareholder withdrawals to avoid unintended taxable benefits.

4) Asset and expense timing

Consider year-end purchases that unlock CCA/accelerated write-offs (where applicable) or that secure ITCs before your filing period closes.

5) Benefits mix

Health/dental plans, PHSPs, or allowances, optimize what is tax-efficient to you and deductible to the company.

How Solstice Partners helps owners:

We run integrated personal-corporate simulations, draft resolutions, clean up shareholder loans, and show the after-tax effect of every option so you can choose with confidence.

Companies: Close the Year Like a Pro

1) Taxable income management

Timing: Defer income or accelerate eligible expenses where it makes sense and aligns with GAAP and CRA guidance.

Losses/carry-forwards: Inventory non-capital/capital losses and credits; create an application plan before they expire.

2) Capital & investment decisions

• Prioritize capex that contributes to profitability and improves deductions or credits (e.g., CCA classes, eligible incentives).
• Consider R&D documentation if SR&ED may apply; capture contemporaneous time and technical evidence now.

3) Sales tax and payroll

• Reconcile GST/HST/QST, EHT/WSIB where relevant; fix mapping.
• Plan year-end bonuses (deductible when accrued if paid within the required timeframe) and ensure T4 prep won’t be a scramble.

4) Governance & controls

Refresh policies (expense, travel, gifts), sign off on intercompany balances, update minute books, and align your accounting policies with tax positions.

How Solstice Partners helps companies:

We deliver a Q4 “mini-close” with tax overlays, quantify scenarios, and set a filing calendar (T2, information returns, T4/T5, slips for investors, and sales tax). You get fewer surprises and a cleaner audit trail.

The Solstice Q4 Kit (What You’ll Get Working With Us)

• Tax Draft Pack: A one-pager showing your estimated 2025 taxable income, projected refunds/balances, and the top 3 actions to change the numbers.
• Owner’s Compensation Model: Side-by-side salary vs. dividend vs. bonus outcomes, including RRSP room and cash impact.
• Capital Decisions Brief: Buy-now vs. buy-later analysis for major assets and maintenance vs. improvement treatment.
• Receipt & Log Vault: A simple structure for mileage, home office, medical, childcare, donations, and employment expenses.
• Compliance Calendar: Key dates for instalments, slips (T4/T5), corporate filings, sales tax, and the first 60-day RRSP window.
• CRA-Ready Dossier: Documentation and memos that support your positions if reviewed.

Quick Checklists

Individual Year-End

• RRSP top-up plan (for the first 60 days of 2026)
• TFSA/FHSA contributions aligned to goals
• Realized gains/losses reviewed; settlement timing checked
• Medical, childcare, tuition, professional dues organized
• Donation receipts secured (dated by Dec 31)
• Employment/home-office logs complete

Owner Year-End

• Salary/dividend/bonus mix set and documented
• Shareholder loan accounts cleaned up
• Family compensation reasonable and papered
• Capex plan finalized; CCA classes confirmed
• GST/HST reconciled; instalments mapped

Company Year-End

• AR/AP reconciled; bad debts written off appropriately
• Inventory counts and valuation approach aligned
• Payroll accruals, bonuses, and vacation liability reviewed
• Intercompany and loan balances reconciled with resolutions
• SR&ED/time tracking captured (if applicable)
• Board minutes and policy updates recorded

Why Do This Now, Not in February?

Because Q4 is the last window where choice exists. In February, you’re reporting history. In October–December, you’re writing it.

Solstice Partners brings together assurance, tax, and FP&A to help you finish 2025 with intention. Whether you’re an individual optimizing your return, an incorporated professional balancing personal-corporate choices, or a company steering a cleaner close, we’ll map the moves, document them properly, and stand beside you at filing time.

Ready to make your tax outcome a decision, not a surprise?
Let’s run your Q4 sprint together. Reach out to Solstice Partners to start your Tax Draft Pack and compensation model this week.