My name is Mark Goodfield. Welcome to The Blunt Bean Counter ™, a blog that shares my thoughts on income taxes, finance and the psychology of money. I am a Chartered Professional Accountant. This blog is meant for everyone, but in particular for high net worth individuals and owners of private corporations. My posts are blunt, opinionated and even have a twist of humour/sarcasm. You've been warned. Please note the blog posts are time sensitive and subject to changes in legislation or law.

Monday, December 13, 2021

Get Your Bucket List Done!

This is my last blog post of 2021 and I wish you and your loved ones a Merry Christmas and/or a Happy Holiday and a Happy New Year. Today I veer off from my usual financial fare to potentially provide you impetus for a New Years resolution; creating and crossing items off on your bucket list.

In 2010, after I watched the movie the Bucket List starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman, I created my own bucket list. Over the years I have occasionally written about some of the larger bucket list items I have been fortunate enough to cross off my list from playing golf at Pebble Beach to my safari to Africa. I have also discussed some of the smaller bucket list items I crossed off my list such as going to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland and attempting to learn how to play the guitar (ended up with tennis elbow) and writing my book Let’s Get Blunt About Your Financial Affairs.

What has been crucial in working through my bucket list was writing down my actual list and talking about the list often to others which functioned as a catalyst to actually move forward on many of these items. I discuss this in greater detail below.

My firm BDO Canada LLP (until December 31st when I officially retire) is celebrating its 100 birthday this year an impressive milestone for any company. BDO was also recently selected as one of Canada’s Top 100 Employers for 2022. One of the reasons BDO was selected as a top employer was for the various programs it has implemented in respect of mental health. This priority was reinforced during a recent firm-wide webcast when BDO had Ben Nemtin speak to everyone about mental health and the use of bucket lists.

Wikipedia states that Ben was “the creator, executive producer and cast member of the MTV series The Buried Life”. He also is” co-author of the book What Do You Want To Do Before You Die?, which entered The New York Times Best Seller list”. Today I am going to discuss how Ben used a bucket list/buried list to not only accomplish the above producing and writing achievements, but even more importantly, how he payed forward his accomplishments to help others.

During his BDO presentation, Ben started his talk by discussing the depression and anxiety he had in part due to the pressures of being a member of the Canadian Under 19 National rugby team. He told us how his friends got him out of the house and how he and his friends (again per Wikipedia) eventually ended “up on a two-week road trip with a camera and a borrowed RV to complete a list of "100 things to do before you die." Along their journey, they asked people the question, "What do you want to do before you die?" For each item they accomplished on their list, they helped a complete stranger do something on their own list”.

If you have ten minutes, watch this inspiring Ted Talk by Ben, which includes the key steps to creating and crossing items off your Bucket List and a great story how he and his friends payed it forward to help someone in an incredible way.

Here are Ben’s six key steps:

1. What is important to you – listen to your heart and stop and think about what you really want to do

2. Write down your list – as I note above, it is so important to put your thoughts to paper

3. Talk about your list – if you don’t talk about it, you won’t accomplish it yourself and no one is going to help you (Ben notes many people help you accomplish your list when they hear about your items)

4. Be persistent – for bucket list items that may note be easy to accomplish, be persistent, you may be surprised what you can accomplish - no may mean not now

5. Be audacious – have some items that are not mainstream and go for them

6. Help others – Ben and his friends have done some incredible things for others (as noted in the Ted Talk).

While on YouTube you can find many other great talks on bucket lists, buried lists, life lists etc. Many of these talks are ways for you to reconnect with your true values and what you are enthusiastic about and to live life as your “true self”. So, whatever you want to call it, a bucket list is a wonderful way to not only create a list about things you want to do and accomplish, but it may be a means to self exploration. Anyways, I will get off my soap box/bucket and let you decide for yourself whether creating and/or acting on a bucket list is a worthwhile New Year's resolution for you.

This site provides general information on various tax issues and other matters. The information is not intended to constitute professional advice and may not be appropriate for a specific individual or fact situation. It is written by the author solely in their personal capacity and cannot be attributed to the accounting firm with which they are affiliated. It is not intended to constitute professional advice, and neither the author nor the firm with which the author is associated shall accept any liability in respect of any reliance on the information contained herein. Readers should always consult with their professional advisors in respect of their particular situation. Please note the blog post is time sensitive and subject to changes in legislation or law.

Monday, November 29, 2021

Tax Gain/Loss Selling 2021 Version

In keeping with my annual tradition, I am today posting a blog on tax-loss selling, except this year, I changed the title to tax gain/loss selling (to include some planning for stocks with capital gains). I am posting on this topic again because every year around this time, people get busy with holiday shopping (or at least online shopping these days) and forget to sell the “dogs” in their portfolio and consequently, they pay unnecessary income tax on their capital gains in April. Alternatively, selling stocks with unrealized gains may be beneficial for tax purposes in certain situations.

Hopefully, based on the strong stock markets of both 2020 and 2021, you do not have many unrealized capital losses. However, the last half of 2021 has been very sector oriented and you may have stocks that were hit on the sector rotation. In fact, in a November 22nd Globe and Mail article by Tim Shufelt, he noted that 17% of S&P/TSX composite stocks were down by at least 10% year to date. That was before the large market drop on Black Friday.

In any event, if you have an advisor, ensure you are in contact to discuss your realized capital gain/loss situation and other planning options by next week and if you are a DIY investor set aside some time this weekend or next to review your 2021 capital gain/loss situation in a calm, methodical manner. You can then execute your trades on a timely basis knowing you have considered all the variables associated with your tax gain/loss selling.

I am going to exclude the detailed step by step capital gain/loss methodology I usually include in this post. If you wish the detail, just refer to last year's post and update the years (i.e., use 2021, 2020 & 2019 in lieu of 2020, 2019 and 2018). 

You have three options in respect of capital losses realized in 2021:

1. You can use your 2021 capital losses to offset your 2021 realized capital gains

2. You can carry back your 2021 net capital loss to offset any net taxable capital gains incurred in any of the three preceding years

3. If you cannot fully utilize the losses in either of the two above ways, your can carry your remaining capital loss forward indefinitely to use against future capital gains (or in the year of death, possibly against other income)

Tax-Loss Selling

I would like to provide one caution about tax-loss selling. You should be very careful if you plan to repurchase the stocks you sell (see superficial loss discussion below). The reason for this is that you are subject to market vagaries for 30 days. I have seen people sell stocks for tax-loss purposes with the intention of re-purchasing those stocks, and one or two of the stocks take off during the 30-day wait period—raising the cost to repurchase far in excess of their tax savings.

Thus, you should first and foremost consider selling your "dog stocks" that you or your advisor no longer wish to own. If you then need to crystallize additional losses on stocks you still wish to own, be wary if you are planning to sell and buy back the same stock. Your advisor may be able to "mimic" the stocks you sold with similar securities for the 30-day period or longer or utilize other strategies, but that should be part of your tax loss-selling conversation with your advisor.

Identical Shares


Many people buy the same company's shares (say Bell Canada for this example) in different non-registered accounts or have employer stock purchase plans. I often see people claim a gain or loss on the sale of their Bell Canada shares from one of their non-registered accounts but ignore the shares they own of Bell Canada in another account. Be aware, you must calculate your adjusted cost base over on all the identical shares you own in all your non-registered accounts and average the total cost of your Bell Canada shares over the shares in all your accounts. If the cost of your shares in Bell is higher in one of your accounts, you cannot pick and choose to realize a gain or loss on that account; you must report the gain or loss based on the average adjusted cost base of all your Bell shares.

Superficial Losses

One must always be cognizant of the superficial loss rules. Essentially, if you or your spouse (either directly or through an RRSP) purchases an identical share 30 calendar days before or 30 days after a sale of shares, the capital loss is denied and is added to the cost base of the new shares acquired.

Tax-Gain Selling 

While typically most people are looking at tax-loss selling at this time of year, you may also want to consider selling stocks with gains for the reasons discussed below.

Donation of Marketable Securities

If you wish to make a charitable donation, a great way to be altruistic and save tax is to donate a marketable security that has gone up in value. As discussed in this blog post, when you donate qualifying securities, the capital gain is not taxable and you get the charitable tax credit. Please read the blog post for more details. 

2022 Budget

While I don’t comment on rumours and conjecture, there are many tax commentators who feel there is a good chance the capital gains inclusion rate will increase from 50% to a higher rate in a future budget. If you are in that camp, you may wish to lock in capital gains at the lower rate. As no-one knows if the capital gains rate will change, you need to review this with your advisor as the sale will be taxable immediately, even if you buy-back the same security (there are no superficial gain rules).

Settlement Date

It is important any 2021 tax planning trade be made by the settlement date, which my understanding is  the trade date plus two days (U.S. exchanges may be different). See this excellent summary for a discussion of the difference between what is the trade date and what is the settlement date. The summary also includes the 2021 settlement dates for Canada and the U.S.

Corporations - Passive Income Rules


If you intend to tax gain/loss sell in your corporation, keep in mind the passive income rules. This will likely require you to speak to your accountant to determine whether a realized gain or loss would be more effective in a future year (to reduce the potential small business deduction clawback) than in the current year.

Summary


As discussed above, there are a multitude of factors to consider when tax gain/loss selling. It would therefore be prudent to start planning now with your advisors, so that you can consider all your options rather than frantically selling at the last minute.

This site provides general information on various tax issues and other matters. The information is not intended to constitute professional advice and may not be appropriate for a specific individual or fact situation. It is written by the author solely in their personal capacity and cannot be attributed to the accounting firm with which they are affiliated. It is not intended to constitute professional advice, and neither the author nor the firm with which the author is associated shall accept any liability in respect of any reliance on the information contained herein. Readers should always consult with their professional advisors in respect of their particular situation. Please note the blog post is time sensitive and subject to changes in legislation or law.

Monday, November 15, 2021

Some People are so Poor, all they have is Money

The quote “Some people are so poor, all they have is money” has been attributed to Patrick Meagher (a Canadian journalist and author), Bob Marley (the famous reggae singer) and others. I cannot confirm who first uttered these insightful words, however, for purposes of today’s blog post, it is the words that matter, not who said it and the attribution. 

When I first read this quote, it reminded me of two blog posts I wrote in 2012, “Are Money and Success the Same Thing” and “Are Money and Success the Same Thing – Part 2”.

In Part 2, I looked at money and success and how they impacted five key aspects of all our lives: family, career, health, spiritualism, and impact on society. My conclusion was that money and success are not one and the same but do impact one another. Meaning in certain circumstances, money can influence success, and success can determine how much money you have. These 5 key aspects can also be applied to understand why “some people are so poor” even when they have money. 

During my personal and professional life, I have met many people who have made substantial fortunes and are also rich in many non-monetary ways. But unfortunately, I have also met many people who in my opinion have only money and yet are very poor in other aspects of their lives. Today I will delve into how this can be (for some readers, entitled children of wealthy individuals often come to mind when considering this quote, however, for today's post, I am only considering those who worked to create the wealth, not their children).

How can you have Money and be Poor?


In searching the internet for comments on this quote, some commentators assumed being poor meant being spiritually poor. My interpretation is that they think such a person is spiritually poor if they are lacking in religious, human and societal values. Others focused on the concept money does not buy happiness and that there are things money cannot buy such as values and relationships. Finally, some people took for granted many people want money and/or success. Yet, they felt it was important people chasing the almighty dollar also attempted to find happiness in day to day living as chasing wealth without chasing happiness would leave you empty and only with money.

Monetarily Successful People


While some successful people may sacrifice spiritualism, in my experience, spiritualism is typically not present or strong to begin with in those who sacrifice that aspect of their life. 

There are people who in the name of money that have impacted society negatively, either environmentally or in other nefarious ways. But those are typically a small minority. Societal values are one area where successful people can sometimes just use their money to improve society, by just signing their name to a cheque. This can be done by funding projects for those less fortunate or giving generously to charitable causes even if they have limited personal involvement or are just donating for image purposes. 

Based on the above, it is therefore my perception that those who are “poor because all they have is money” typically sacrificed family and health to achieve their monetary wealth.

Sacrificing Family and Health


Health

The health topic is unfortunately often clear-cut. Many people work so hard to make money that they do some or all of the following: don’t exercise, don’t eat properly, drink to much or take time to deal with their mental health, which often leads to poor health or even death.

Family

For me, family is the largest casualty of those who are so poor, all they have is money. These people are just so busy chasing money and/or their dreams that they have no time left for their family. I personally do not think most people have any intention to “sacrifice” their family in their chase for financial success. It just incrementally occurs as they excuse themselves to meet a client, work all weekend to meet a deadline, go to business dinners or travel to that extra convention to drum up more business. The energy spent trying to earn every last dollar and workaholic behaviour leads to missing a child’s birthday party, play/recital/teacher parent meeting and Valentine’s dinner with your spouse and the trip you promised your family after you closed that “big deal”. Suddenly, you are not there as a parent, spouse or friend and you compensate by buying gifts and material things, rather than giving your time. 

This is the cost I have seen over the years. Marriages dissolved and children estranged and spouses and/or children with personal, mental or health issues. In the end, the parent becomes solely a bank with little to no actual familial involvement. That is my interpretation of “Some people are so poor, all they have is money.”

Life Balance


At the risk of being simplistic (I am sure some psychologists have 100 page papers on this topic) and/or “preachy,” in my experience, the difference between those who had money and were not poor versus those that were poor was life balance. They did not need to make that last dollar by sacrificing their family time for every deal. Yes, they did occasionally or more than occasionally work too hard or too late and yes, they did sacrifice family time where the business or job demanded it, but overall, they ensured they had their date night with their spouse, attended as many children functions as possible, showed their children charitable actions both financially and by personal actions and just made family time a priority.

This site provides general information on various tax issues and other matters. The information is not intended to constitute professional advice and may not be appropriate for a specific individual or fact situation. It is written by the author solely in their personal capacity and cannot be attributed to the accounting firm with which they are affiliated. It is not intended to constitute professional advice, and neither the author nor the firm with which the author is associated shall accept any liability in respect of any reliance on the information contained herein. Readers should always consult with their professional advisors in respect of their particular situation. Please note the blog post is time sensitive and subject to changes in legislation or law.

Monday, November 1, 2021

Gifting or Loaning Money to your Children to buy a Home

Last week, CIBC Economics released a report titled “Gifting for a down payment -perspective” by its Deputy Chief Economist, Benjamin Tal. The report provides a wide range of statistical data in relation to the value and type of gifts parents are providing to their children to purchase houses.

Some of the key statistics in the CIBC report include the following:

1. Over the last year, CIBC estimates gifting totaled just over $10 billion for family member house purchases, which accounts for 10% of total down payments in the market as a whole for that period

2. Almost 30% of first-time home buyers received assistance from family members 

3. The average gift is now approximately $82,000 

4. Where the gift is the primary source of the down-payment, the gifts average $104,000 for first-time home buyers no less than $157,000 for mover uppers 

5. CIBC reports that only 5.5% of the gifting parents used debt to finance the gifts (that percentage rises substantially for gifts for homes in Vancouver and Toronto) and therefore it appears parents are using their savings to make these gifts

Whether a gift is $50,000 or $200,000, the amounts are substantial and many parents never planned or conceived of gifting such large amounts of their savings. Whether parents are encroaching upon their retirement savings for these gifts is an interesting topic for another day.

However, what I want to discuss today is; whether some parents should be making loans in lieu of gifts, to protect their family money under the various provincial family law acts (in the case of a marital breakdown), where the child will use the gift to buy a home.

Before I go any further, I want to note that I am not a family lawyer. This blog post is general in nature and should not in any manner be considered as legal advice. This blog is being posted to caution parents who are considering making a housing gift to seek family law advice before doing such. I say this because not only is the family law complicated in regard to monies used to purchase a matrimonial home, but the question of whether the monies are better made as a loan versus a gift is a legal minefield of its own. I humbly suggest the legal costs will be worth the piece of mind and/or the potential financial savings to the family.

Gifts vs Loans


Where there is a marital breakdown, one of the key issues in respect of money given to a child to purchase a home is whether the money was a gift or loan. That characterization can be the difference between a family keeping or losing thousands of dollars. I will assume for purposes of this discussion, there is no pre-marital agreement dealing with this issue, which is often a suggested option by lawyers, but very rarely acted upon.

Gifts


Family lawyers (in Ontario) have told me, that in general, gifts or inheritances received during a marriage that are kept separate from the family property will typically be excluded property and not be considered family property subject to division (I am not aware if all the provinces have the same general rule, you will have to check with a family lawyer in your province). Thus, children are often told by their lawyer or their parent’s lawyer to keep a gift or inheritance invested only in their name and not to co-mingle these funds in a joint spousal bank/investment account or pay joint expenses. I have also been told however, that if a gift is used to buy a matrimonial home, it will no longer be excluded property. Again, confirm this all with a family lawyer.

Loans


A loan would typically be secured by a promissory note, which lawyers have told me in general should be deducted as a liability as net family property. Sounds simple, but as per this article "Promissory Notes Between Parents and Their Married Children" by Nathalie Boutet, Managing Partner, Boutet Family Law & Mediation, properly documenting and executing a promissory note is far from just writing a note out on a piece of paper. The importance of legal advice is further strengthened when you read in Ms. Boutet’s article that a debt can be discounted even if a promissory note is valid and has not been forgiven, if there is a low probability that the parents will collect it. Ms. Boutet notes the discount can be as high as 90%-100% making the promissory note effectively a gift.

Legal Interpretation of a Gift vs Loan


But what constitutes a gift vs a loan? This is far beyond the scope of this post, but the case of Barber v. Magee, 2015 ONSC 8054 (Ont. S.C.J.) provides some clarity of the documentation required for a family transfer to be categorized as a loan. The characterization of whether funds advanced are a gift or loan are detailed in this law firm’s summary, "Inter Family Gifts vs. Inter Family Loans". As I understand this as a layperson, in this case the husband received $157,000 or so from his father which was used to purchase the matrimonial home and pay for other costs. The husband argued the $157k was a loan he still had to repay, and it would still form a liability and be deducted from his net family property. 

The wife argued the funds were a gift and since the funds were used to purchase the matrimonial home, the husband had to record the house as an asset to be split as part of the family property. The courts held the funds were a gift.

It was my intention in writing this post to:

1. Reflect the complexity of family law and the jurisprudence in respect of whether funds given to a child are a loan or gift 

2. Urge you to consult a family lawyer before making a gift or loan to your child/ren to help in buying a house, since as the CIBC report reflects, 30% (likely rising even higher) intend or will be asked to assist our children in buying a starter or mover upper.

I hope I accomplished these objectives.

Bloggers Note: On my @bluntbeancountr Twitter account, a tax expert tweeted that the last couple times their clients wanted to reflect monies from the parents as loans for house down payments, the banks instead requested a written parental declaration that the funds transferred were a gift (this is related to the payment tests for CMHC and mortgaging) and they were unable to use a promissory note loan backed by a 2nd mortgage. You should discuss this upfront with your real estate and family lawyer and bank to see if this is problematic in your case.

This site provides general information on various tax issues and other matters. The information is not intended to constitute professional advice and may not be appropriate for a specific individual or fact situation. It is written by the author solely in their personal capacity and cannot be attributed to the accounting firm with which they are affiliated. It is not intended to constitute professional advice, and neither the author nor the firm with which the author is associated shall accept any liability in respect of any reliance on the information contained herein. Readers should always consult with their professional advisors in respect of their particular situation. Please note the blog post is time sensitive and subject to changes in legislation or law.

Monday, October 18, 2021

Considerations in selecting an executor and accepting the executor appointment!

Last week, Rob Carrick the personal finance columnist for The Globe and Mail, in his Carrick on Money Newsletter (the newsletter is generally only available to Globe subscribers) asked David Edey a Certified Executor Advisor questions on his experience as an executor. These experiences and frustrations are detailed in Mr. Edey's book Executor Help: How to Settle an Estate Pick an Executor and Avoid Family Fights.

The book summary states “The grief, frustration, and stress of that experience were life-altering for David. He was determined to write this book in order to help others successfully navigate the difficult tasks of estate planning and executorship—so that their families could stay together”. 

I have not yet read the book, but as an accountant on numerous estates and a multi-time executor, I understand what drove David to author the book. Rob’s discussion of the topic in his newsletter provided me the impetus to offer a few comments of my own on the topic. So today, I discuss some considerations in selecting an executor and some of the less pleasant tasks that may be part and parcel of being appointed an executor.

Who Makes a Good Executor?


I have noted in blog posts over the years that a potential executor should have the following characteristics:

(1) Financial acumen and investing experience
(2) Be detailed oriented
(3) Handle stress well
(4) Be able to deal with people, including those acting irrationally (inheriting money does funny things to people)
(5) Be results driven

I have been involved with a couple of executors who did not have the above characteristics, especially the financial acumen and ability to handle stress. Those estates went off the rails and took years to settle. So carefully consider the above characteristics in selecting an executor.

Should you name your children as executors?

This is the $64,000 question. Assuming there are no “black sheep” in the family and all the siblings get along, you would think naming all your children would be a good idea. Sometimes the answer is yes, as they can share the burdensome and time-consuming duties as co-executors and utilize their individual strengths. Other times, being named co-executors can adversely affect your children’s relationship as the stress of settling the estate and distributing money creates discontent amongst the children.

So, should you select only one or two children who meet the above characteristics? Again, the answer can sometimes be yes, where the other children trust they are competent and even-handed. On other occasions, children may feel resentment that the parent did not name them as an executor and their siblings are favoured or given preferential treatment by their parents.

You may be saying to yourself, Mark has not answered whether I should name my children as executors, he has just given me a maybe yes and maybe no answer. But that is the reality. You need to look at your children with a cold realistic view and not your rose-colored glasses to decide if they have one of more of the characteristics to be an executor. You also need to speak to them and ask them if they feel they can work together (see discussion below). If you are not satisfied on all accounts, you may want to consider a professional corporate executor so that your children will only have to deal with an independent third party.

Do you think the executor would like to know they are being named?


Many years ago, I wrote a blog post titled "Speak to your Executor – Surprise only works for Birthday Parties, not death". You would be shocked at how many people are named an executor without prior notice. You always want to inform your executor they are being named and confirm they are comfortable with being named an executor. The last thing you want is to die and have your executor renounce their executorship. As noted above, where you have more than one executor, you want to ensure they are willing to work together, whether they are your children, friends, professional advisors, or any combination of the above.

Does an executor have to do all the work?

A well-run estate utilizes accountants for tax preparation and estate planning advice and a lawyer for estate and legal advice. You may also have to hire a specialist to prepare the passing of accounts (a summary for the court of the estate). While these costs can add up, the expression penny wise pound foolish has applied to many executors. The accountants and lawyers can also act as buffers for the family, as they act as independent advisors and can deflect some of the pressure put on the executor(s) by the beneficiaries. I have heard many an executor say, "it was the accountant's/lawyer's suggestion".

There is typically a significant amount of mundane work in settling an estate. Writing and dealing with financial institutions, games of hide and seek to find assets etc. An executor may consider asking for the assistance of their family members who are not executors to help with some of these administrative tasks; assuming they are willing and the other family members are fine with their assistance.

Sadly, I must inform you, even where you delegate and use professionals, you are likely in for a very time consuming task as an executor.

I want my Money!

In my experience, an executor will be asked to distribute money sooner than later by one or more of the beneficiaries. This is one of the most stressful aspects of being an executor, since in many cases you are unsure of what will be left of the estate following the sale of the estate's assets and the income taxes on the estate. 

It is important you do not make an interim or final distribution (see this blog post on obtaining a clearance certificate) of money until you consult with your accountants and lawyers. The last thing you ever want to have to do, is go back to the beneficiaries and tell them they were overpaid, and they must return money. This is very messy, and you could end up having personal liability for the estate. So always ensure you review any distributions with your professionals before distributing any money or assets to the beneficiaries.

An executor’s job is arduous, time consuming (it can take years to settle some estates), stressful and a messy estate can fracture family relationships. You therefore need to consider the selection of your executor(s) very carefully (especially when you will involve your children), ensure you advise them and confirm that they are willing to accept the appointment. If you are asked to become an executor, consider carefully whether you wish to accept the appointment; you may also want to consider buying David's book.

This site provides general information on various tax issues and other matters. The information is not intended to constitute professional advice and may not be appropriate for a specific individual or fact situation. It is written by the author solely in their personal capacity and cannot be attributed to the accounting firm with which they are affiliated. It is not intended to constitute professional advice, and neither the author nor the firm with which the author is associated shall accept any liability in respect of any reliance on the information contained herein. Readers should always consult with their professional advisors in respect of their particular situation. Please note the blog post is time sensitive and subject to changes in legislation or law.

Monday, October 4, 2021

The Implications of Receiving an Inheritance

There is a large wealth transfer occurring in Canada, with estimates as high as $750 billion dollars.

While I have written on issues and concepts related to inheritances (with a bit of a caustic tone, based on my actual experiences), I have written very little on receiving an inheritance. Thus, today, I will discuss the income tax implications of receiving an inheritance and some of the issues to consider upon receiving an inheritance.

If you are interested, the posts I referenced in the prior paragraph are:"Is it Morbid or Realistic to Plan for an Inheritance?", and “Taking it to the Grave or Leaving it all to your Kids?” and “Inheriting Money – Are you a Loving Child, a Waiter or a Hoverer”.

The Income Tax Implications of Receiving an Inheritance


In Canada, there are generally no direct income tax consequences to receiving an inheritance. I say generally because there are a couple very rare circumstances where you could pay tax. The first is where you are the beneficiary of a deceased’s RRSP/RRIF and the estate does not have enough money to pay the estate taxes. Surprisingly to most people, the CRA has the right to go after the beneficiary of a RRSP as the CRA considers the beneficiary jointly liable with the estate. The second rare situation is where a will makes a beneficiary liable for taxes arising on the transfer of assets from the deceased. However, both these exceptions are highly unusual and in almost all situations, there are no taxes due upon the receipt of an inheritance.

So, to be clear. If your inheritance is in cash, you receive those funds tax-free. If your inheritance is a capital property of some kind such as stocks or real estate, you again receive the capital property tax free.

However, in the case of capital property, you generally inherit the cost base of the property to the deceased, which is typically equal to the deemed proceeds of disposition for the deceased. Usually, this amount is the fair market value ("FMV") of the property right before the person's death.

So for example, if your mother passes away as the last surviving spouse (it is likely when your father passed away he left his estate to your mother – which is typically a tax-free spousal transfer at his passing) and she owned 100 shares of Bell Canada that originally cost $25 a share, but were worth $65 a share at her passing; her estate would file a final (terminal) income tax return reporting a deemed capital gain of $4,000 (FMV at death of $6,500-$2,500 original cost). This deemed capital gain is known as a deemed disposition on death and occurs despite the fact the Bell Canada shares were not sold, because your mother was the last surviving spouse. Your mother’s deemed disposition FMV of $6,500 becomes your new cost base of the inherited shares. So, if you sell the Bell Canada shares in the future, the gain would be equal to your sales proceeds less $6,500.

If you wish to learn more about how your estate is taxed on death if you are the last surviving spouse, see this blog post I wrote a few years ago, The Two Certainties in Life: Death and Taxes - Impact on Your Personal Income Tax Return

Dealing With an Inheritance


Receiving a large inheritance can be overwhelming, especially if you are not financially sophisticated. I wrote a detailed blog on this topic in 2011 if you wish to read it Dealing with Financial Windfalls & how to stave off the Money Leeches

However, today I will give you the Coles notes version.

Practically, it is almost impossible for a large inheritance to go unnoticed. A family member or friend will advise someone of the passing of your parent /sibling/relative etc. and somehow someway it is likely an investment person will be amongst those to find out and you will get a call. If you avoid the above, a large deposit at the bank will likely trigger someone at the bank to speak to you. It is almost unavoidable.

If you already have an investment advisor/manager you work with and trust, selecting an advisor is a non-issue. But if you have not really worked with an investment advisor/manager or their practice is built around smaller net worth clients and your inheritance is substantial, you will want to review your situation. The best advice is often to “park” the money in a GIC for a couple months until you have regained both your emotional and financial equilibrium and have had time to speak to family and friends to get a couple good referrals and absorb your new situation.

The “parking” of the inheritance would also apply to any decision to give money away (as you may receive subtle or less than subtle hints about gifting part of your inheritance to various family members) as well as holding off investing part of your inheritance.

Putting the money in a GIC or similar investment also provides you a built-in excuse to not be able to make any decisions in the near-term, since if anyone has the audacity to ask, you answer, “my money is locked in for 3 or 6 months and I cannot touch it”.

Inheritances typically come on the heels of emotional distress and in many cases, significant changes in your financial situation. The good news is that in almost all circumstances the cash or capital property inherited is tax-paid money and you have no additional tax concerns. However, the “new-found” wealth can be stressful from both an investing and gifting perspective and you need to ensure you have a clear mind before making any decisions on both fronts.

This site provides general information on various tax issues and other matters. The information is not intended to constitute professional advice and may not be appropriate for a specific individual or fact situation. It is written by the author solely in their personal capacity and cannot be attributed to the accounting firm with which they are affiliated. It is not intended to constitute professional advice, and neither the author nor the firm with which the author is associated shall accept any liability in respect of any reliance on the information contained herein. Readers should always consult with their professional advisors in respect of their particular situation. Please note the blog post is time sensitive and subject to changes in legislation or law.

Monday, September 20, 2021

The Basics and Uses of Term and Permanent Life Insurance

I am back after a summer of R&R, which proved more golf does not mean you will play better golf. 😊 I hope everyone had a good summer and had a chance to decompress from the stress of the last year and a half.

With the ability to finally get together with friends and family (socially distanced) this summer, there was lots to catch-up on and discuss. I guess because of COVID contemplation, the topic of insurance surprisingly came up a couple times during these get togethers and I noted some confusion on the topic.

So, I thought today, I would post on the basics and uses of insurance and discuss the two main types of insurance: term insurance and permanent insurance.

Term Insurance

In its most basic form, term insurance covers you if you die during the term of the insurance; but there is no cash value, guarantee or payment if you die once your term insurance has lapsed. Term insurance is often limited to a certain age (75-85) and becomes very expensive as you age (for example, my term insurance increased substantially when it renewed at the end of the 10-year term when I turned 60 years old). Thus, many term policies are either cancelled as your need for term insurance diminishes (see discussion below) or people allow them to lapse due to the age/premium cost constraints. It should be noted there are variations on term insurance and certain polices allow you to convert the term policy to permanent insurance.

On an overly simplistic level, term insurance can be compared to renting versus buying a home. When you pay rent on your apartment, condominium, or home, you have a place to live, but the rent paid does not build any equity and the monthly rent paid is cash forgone. The same holds with term insurance. If you are healthy throughout the term of the policy, you do not build any cash value/equity and the monthly insurance cost paid is forgone (although obviously, if you die while owing term insurance, your estate is paid the insurance).

As term insurance is temporary and has no cash value, it is the most cost-effective type of insurance available and is generally used to insure a specific need or a couple needs, such as one or two of the following:

1. Income replacement – term insurance can be used as a "replacement" of income for the deceased person. This is particularly important where one spouse/partner is the breadwinner, but is still often, a very good idea even when both spouses work. The objective of the term insurance in this situation is to allow your family to live in the manner they are accustomed to even if you or your spouse/partner passes away.


2. Financial security for dependents – this is really just a subset of #1, but term insurance ensures your spouse/partner is taken care of the rest of their life, and your dependents are financially covered until they are ready to join the workforce.

3. Debt and Mortgage protection - insurance can be used to pay off debt, typically the mortgage on your home when you pass away so that your family is relived of the debt burden.

4. Funding of University - many parents want to ensure their children are educated and use insurance to backstop that goal in case they were to pass away.

Permanent Insurance


The two main types of permanent insurance (although there are several variations and permutations) are:

1. Whole Life

2. Universal Life (“UL”)

These policies provide insurance coverage for life, so your estate is guaranteed an insurance payout of some quantum. I provide some brief comments on whole and UL insurance below:

Whole Life


With a whole life policy, the risk is typically shared between you and the insurance company. The insurance payments are generally fixed, have a cash surrender value (that can be borrowed against during the life of the policy or withdrawn if the policy is surrendered) but the premiums growth of the cash and death benefit can be affected by a calculation called the dividend scale. If the dividend scale drops too low, there will be less cash value and potentially require further premium payments by the policyholder to ensure the policy does not lapse. So, when looking at a whole life policy, you should ensure your advisor provides different dividend scale scenarios in their proposals, so you have an expected scenario and a worse case scenario to compare.

Universal Life


The premiums for a UL policy are typically more flexible and generally do not provide a significant cash surrender value and the risk of the policy typically falls to the insurance company. There is an insurance component and a tax sheltered “savings” component.

There are various opinions on whether whole life or UL are better choices, but really, they are dependent upon your personal risk and insurance needs. In all honesty, both whole life and UL are complex to understand. I plan in the future, to have a guest post to discuss in greater detail the differences, advantages and disadvantages of whole life and UL.

Where to use Permanent Insurance


Whether you purchase whole or UL, permanent insurance usually makes sense for the following situations: It should be noted that because insurance proceeds are credited to the capital dividend account (see this prior blog post on the capital dividend account) permanent insurance if very often used by corporations, which can make the policies tax effective.

Uses of Permanent Insurance


As noted previously, unlike term insurance which typically covers temporary needs, permanent insurance if often used for longer term needs, such as the following:

1. Estate planning – Upon death, your estate will be allocated in some combination to the CRA in taxes, your family or charity. Permanent insurance can be used to provide the liquidity for paying your estate tax liability (typically in a much more tax effective manner than self-funding), estate equalization with your family or even estate growth/maximization by leaving a larger estate to your family from the insurance pay-out.

2. Business or partnership agreements – Permanent insurance can be a very tax effective way to buy out a deceased partner or shareholder under the terms of a partnership or shareholder agreement. As noted above, permanent insurance if very often utilized where corporations are involved because of the capital dividend account.

3. Passive Income rules- Permanent insurance can shelter income tax free within a policy, which effectively reduces taxable passive income for a corporation and therefore can potentially reduce the small business claw back for corporations.

4. Charitable – You can name a charity as beneficiary of a policy or make a bequest of the death benefit from a permanent policy to a charity of your choice and your estate will receive a charitable tax credit upon your death. You can also purchase or transfer a policy (this may result in a taxable deemed disposition, so speak to your accountant first) to a charity and you would receive a tax credit on the yearly premium payments.

5. Alternative for Fixed Income – I have seen some sophisticated investors use a permanent insurance policy to replace the fixed income component of their portfolio, as even when you factor in the cost of insurance, the return of a permanent policy may exceed the return from fixed income investments.

When you use the word insurance most people wince and only focus on the premium costs. But as discussed above, insurance can protect you short-term or be used to assist with longer term business and estate planning needs. In addition, with permanent insurance, the after- tax returns of an insurance policy versus alternative investments are often higher even after accounting for paying the insurance premiums.

This site provides general information on various tax issues and other matters. The information is not intended to constitute professional advice and may not be appropriate for a specific individual or fact situation. It is written by the author solely in their personal capacity and cannot be attributed to the accounting firm with which they are affiliated. It is not intended to constitute professional advice, and neither the author nor the firm with which the author is associated shall accept any liability in respect of any reliance on the information contained herein. Readers should always consult with their professional advisors in respect of their particular situation. Please note the blog post is time sensitive and subject to changes in legislation or law.

Monday, June 28, 2021

Gone golfing for the summer—Plus sign up for newsletter

This summer, as usual, I will take a break from the blog and spend some time golfing and enjoying the good weather—I hope with family and friends. I will likely post a couple Best of The Blunt Bean Counter posts during this time.

I will also use my time this summer for some life contemplation, including where and how the blog fits into the picture as I wind down to my retirement.

I wish my readers a great summer and ensure you take some time off; you deserve it after the last 16 months or so.

With my summer break approaching, it’s a great time to sign up for BDO’s newsletter. It goes out every two weeks and gives great business insights on a variety of timely and critical business topics. I often link to them in my posts.







The content on this blog has been carefully prepared, but it has been written in general terms and should be seen as broad guidance only. The blog cannot be relied upon to cover specific situations and you should not act, or refrain from acting, upon the information contained therein without obtaining specific professional advice. Please contact BDO Canada LLP to discuss these matters in the context of your particular circumstances. BDO Canada LLP, its partners, employees and agents do not accept or assume any liability or duty of care for any loss arising from any action taken or not taken by anyone in reliance on the information on this blog or for any decision based on it.

Please note the blog posts are time sensitive and subject to changes in legislation.

BDO Canada LLP, a Canadian limited liability partnership, is a member of BDO International Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, and forms part of the international BDO network of independent member firms. BDO is the brand name for the BDO network and for each of the BDO Member Firms.

Monday, June 14, 2021

Let me tell you! William Bengen knows how to define success

Today I bring back my old “Let me tell you!” series, where I delve into topics that are more philosophical than financial. In this blog post, I discuss the three life questions financial guru William Bengen asks himself each night before he goes to sleep.

Mr. Bengen is a bit of legend in financial circles. He created the ubiquitous 4% retirement rule: that people can withdraw 4% of their savings every year in retirement and still support themselves financially. I have written about this rule several times in my “How much do you need to retire” posts. The last time was in February.

But Mr. Bengen also has some interesting thoughts beyond finances. In February he joined the Rational Reminder Podcast to discuss retirement planning, and also shared his thoughts on success in general. (By the way, I was also interviewed for this podcast last year.)

Bengen defines success  


Podcast hosts Benjamin Felix and Cameron Passmore typically ask all guests the same last question: “How do you define success in your life?” I found Mr. Bengen’s answer fascinating.

“That's a wonderful question for everyone, I guess," he said. "Before I go to bed each night, I've done this for a number of years, I ask myself three questions.

"And the first question is, today, did I learn anything new, or did I create something? The second question is, did I do anything to help anybody, particularly people I love, but even if for a stranger, maybe helping an old lady across the street, or helping a child understand a math problem? And the last point is, have I given proper attention to this, the mystery and wonder of the world in the universe, and being alive and being able to experience all this? If I can answer yes to all those three questions during the day, I felt I've had a successful day.”

While the above quote has nothing to do with Mr. Bengen’s brilliant financial planning, it shows a truly insightful mind that looks at success as more than just fame and financial success. As I wrote two fairly popular blog posts on money and success in 2012 (see here and here), his comments intrigued me. Today I break down his thoughts.

"Did I learn anything new ... or did I create something?"


Wow, did this answer strike a chord. In 2018 I wrote a post making the case that if you are not learning, you are forgetting. My father-in-law has espoused this mantra all his life, and his children and grandchildren live by it. A hunger for learning has so many positive aspects. It keeps your mind active, allows you to pass knowledge down to your family and friends, helps you in your day-to-day business interactions and opens your mind to concepts and thoughts you may have previously dismissed. I do not want to dismiss the second part of Mr. Bengen’s question - “did I create something” - but that would be a more limited question in most cases.

"Did I do anything to help anybody today?"


While Mr. Bengen initially spoke about helping family, he expanded that to helping anyone. As I think most of us tend to help our family as a given, I will veer off into the topic of helping anyone.

While helping an old person across the street or holding a door open is quick and simple (is it me, or is holding the door open a lost courtesy? I do this all the time but constantly have doors slammed in my face when walking behind other people), I personally appreciate those who give time to causes.

Time is precious and to give to others is incredibly special. I have a good volunteering track record compared to the average person: being a Big Brother, granting wishes under the Make-A-Wish Foundation framework, and sitting on a couple charity boards. But when I see how much more others do, I am often humbled. Coming out of COVID, I suggest you consider giving of yourself whenever and wherever.

One can also help financially. One can argue this is an easy way out, but I disagree. Organizations need volunteers, but they also need money. I recently wrote a post explaining why donating marketable securities provides an altruistic benefit and a tax benefit.

"Have I given proper attention to this, the mystery and wonder of the world in the universe?"


I really like this last question. We are often startled by nature and the general wonders of the world; however, I would suggest this happens far too little. My only comment here is that COVID took many of us to negative places, mentally and physically (offset by some heroic front line and other efforts by special people). It would probably do us some good as we start moving back to a “new normal” to appreciate some of the mystery and wonders of the world, to recharge our positive selves.

My concern with any of my “Let me tell you!” posts is they become preachy. But I hope today’s post on Mr. Bengen’s nighttime routine provides you some helpful thoughts for reflection.

Note on new email system


For those of you who are subscribers and received this post via email, you may have noticed a small difference in the email notification. I have changed to follow.it as my email provider, part of my ongoing efforts to use the most up-to-date technology. If you would like to subscribe to the blog, enter your email in the box at the top right corner of this page.

The content on this blog has been carefully prepared, but it has been written in general terms and should be seen as broad guidance only. The blog cannot be relied upon to cover specific situations and you should not act, or refrain from acting, upon the information contained therein without obtaining specific professional advice. Please contact BDO Canada LLP to discuss these matters in the context of your particular circumstances. BDO Canada LLP, its partners, employees and agents do not accept or assume any liability or duty of care for any loss arising from any action taken or not taken by anyone in reliance on the information on this blog or for any decision based on it.

Please note the blog posts are time sensitive and subject to changes in legislation.

BDO Canada LLP, a Canadian limited liability partnership, is a member of BDO International Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, and forms part of the international BDO network of independent member firms. BDO is the brand name for the BDO network and for each of the BDO Member Firms.

Monday, May 31, 2021

“My Kids Will Never Fight Over My Estate”

In December 2019, I reviewed the book “Bobby Gets Bubkes: Navigating the Sibling Estate Fight.” In that book, estate lawyer Charles Ticker attempts to explain how to avoid, or at least limit, sibling estate fights when drafting your will. In the comments section to that post, Michael James, who writes the excellent finance blog Michael James on Money, made the following remark:
Sounds like an interesting book. Sadly, I'm guessing most people incorrectly think that their own kids would never squabble in these ways, so they think they don't need to follow the book's advice.
Michael’s “guess” is very perceptive. Based on my experiences over 35 years as an accountant, many parents look at their children and their sibling relationships with rose-coloured glasses or, in some cases, with blinders. As a consequence, they ignore clear warning signals that their children have significant sibling rivalry issues and don’t work well together. In some cases, you can almost predict a sibling estate fight.

Let me be clear. I am not saying every estate has a sibling fight. Many families settle and distribute the estate in accordance with the will and their parent’s wishes with little acrimony. However, this is far from the case in many estates, as human nature can turn ugly when there is money and sentimental items at stake, especially where sibling issues have reared their heads during the parents’ lifetimes.

Today, I am going to list factors in no particular order that can cause siblings to squabble over an estate.

Why siblings squabble over an estate


  • Greed – Very simply, money causes some people to lose their minds and perspective. This can destroy sibling relationships.
  • Grabbers – I have seen this many times. One child “grabs,” or takes, items before the will is considered, or even ignores the wishes of the will, which starts a spiral of hurt and mistrust among the siblings.
  • Sentimental items – Children often fight over these items. In many cases, this issue can be avoided if the parent simply provides a specific item-by-item allocation in their wills of sentimental items such as jewelry. Parents can also cause huge sibling issues when they promise or tell a child they will receive a certain item and then do not specifically allocate that item to the child in their will—or worse yet, allocate the item to another child. Parents: always make your will consistent with what you have told your children, or communicate the change to them.
  • Grandchildren – There is no right or wrong answer here, but parents really need to think through how to allocate their estate when one of their children does not have children of their own or each family has a different number of grandchildren. Is the estate split equally by family? And if giving money directly to grandchildren—does each grandchild receive the same amount, or is the allocation equal by family and a grandchild with no siblings receives more than a grandchild with siblings?
  • Business assets – When parents leave a business to one sibling and equalize other siblings in cash or investments of equal value, one would think they have accomplished peak fairness. Yet some businesses explode after the parents die, making the child that took over the business very wealthy. Alternatively, the business may stumble or even fail, leaving that child in far worse financial situation than their siblings. Either way, the disparity in financial position creates acrimony. And it’s just one specific nuance of conflict in family business succession.
  • Asset in one child’s name – Parents often put assets in a child’s name for probate or tax planning purposes. But as the saying goes, ownership is nine-tenths of the law. Some siblings may depart from the parents’ assumption that they will act just as trustees of that asset for their siblings. They make think of themselves as the actual owner of the asset.
  • No parents, no buffers - One comment from Charles’ book I found truly relevant was “that once the parental referees are out of the picture, the gloves come off.” I have seen this so often. Parents really do act as buffers and referees for their children. Without a referee, disagreements can break out.
  • Spouses and in-laws – Spouses and in-laws in the ear of one child stoking their belief that the parents divided assets unfairly have caused many a sibling fight.

Parents: Have that discussion


Many of the above issues are human nature, which can’t be avoided entirely. But parents need to consider all the above possibilities when drafting a will. Readers of my blog will know that I am a huge proponent of discussing your will to a full or partial extent with your family and explaining your intentions. I think this can sometimes avoid or minimize sibling estate issues.

It is sad that sibling estate fights are even a topic, but they do unfortunately often become an issue. Parents, my suggestion to you is consider these issues, get good estate planning advice, consider a family meeting, and take off your rose-coloured glasses when planning your estate.

The content on this blog has been carefully prepared, but it has been written in general terms and should be seen as broad guidance only. The blog cannot be relied upon to cover specific situations and you should not act, or refrain from acting, upon the information contained therein without obtaining specific professional advice. Please contact BDO Canada LLP to discuss these matters in the context of your particular circumstances. BDO Canada LLP, its partners, employees and agents do not accept or assume any liability or duty of care for any loss arising from any action taken or not taken by anyone in reliance on the information on this blog or for any decision based on it.

Please note the blog posts are time sensitive and subject to changes in legislation.

BDO Canada LLP, a Canadian limited liability partnership, is a member of BDO International Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, and forms part of the international BDO network of independent member firms. BDO is the brand name for the BDO network and for each of the BDO Member Firms.

Monday, May 17, 2021

The stunning story of a patient investor who made good

Investment managers and professionals swear by two mantras. The one that gets the most buzz is to understand your risk tolerance. But it’s the other that I want to discuss today: have patience and conviction with your investments. This holds true whether you have hired an investment manager or investment advisor to manage your investments, or are a do-it-yourself investor.

I recently encountered a stunning example of the value of patience in investing. I was preparing a client’s tax return (note: the client has given me permission to discuss this example, without using their name). In preparing her return, I flagged that she may need a T1135 Foreign Income Verification form, which reports foreign holdings. My client had about 2500 shares of Apple stock, and I was unsure whether the shares has an adjusted cost base of more than C$100,000—the threshold to require that form.

The client said no, the original cost was far below the $100,000 threshold. It was just that she had held her Apple shares for around 14 years and not sold them. The client also provided me a summary of her stock purchase history. She had purchased 100 shares of Apple stock in 2008 for around C$16,000 and basically held onto them. She had only sold off a small portion once: in 2012, to help fund a house purchase.

The summary provided was startling. The 2,500 Apple shares that she owns had a fair market value of $375,000 (as of mid-April). Yet all she did was buy the original 100 shares 13 years ago for $16,000 and wait. Time and stock splits, and Apple’s overall strong performance, took care of the rest. What a textbook case of a patient investor (especially so given Apple’s stock price has been all over the place).

As someone who in shredding my tax returns a couple years ago realized how many flyers I had taken, how many disruptive stocks I had purchased looking for the big winner, I felt really ridiculous. I felt even worse when I realized that my first blog post on The Blunt Bean Counter in Sept 2010 was called Why Didn't You Buy Apple for $25?

In that post I discussed famed money manager Peter Lynch, who among many other suggestions noted that by just paying attention to what is going on around you and having some basic common awareness, both the novice and the sophisticated investor can find growth stocks in their day-to-day lives. I then commented in the 2010 post: “think of how much money any of us could have made paying attention to the iPod fad. Kids were suddenly walking around with white wires hanging out of their ears attached to these newfangled ‘Walkmans.’ In retrospect, how could we have missed this and not bought Apple?”

Why I did not buy Apple after writing that blog post is beyond me—and my clients’ timeline is fairly similar to that initial post.

Apple is just an example. You could have purchased most any Canadian bank in 2008 and had spectacular gains if you held the stock. Maybe not as large as Apple, but still substantial with significant less volatility.

So the moral of the story: Patience and conviction in your investing are especially important. That does not mean once you buy a stock you hold it for life; you still must review whether your original reasoning and thesis for purchasing the stock is still valid and whether the company is still growing. But good companies tend to stay good companies, and flipping from one to another or looking for the next disruptor is not necessarily the best strategy. Take it from me.

The content on this blog has been carefully prepared, but it has been written in general terms and should be seen as broad guidance only. The blog cannot be relied upon to cover specific situations and you should not act, or refrain from acting, upon the information contained therein without obtaining specific professional advice. Please contact BDO Canada LLP to discuss these matters in the context of your particular circumstances. BDO Canada LLP, its partners, employees and agents do not accept or assume any liability or duty of care for any loss arising from any action taken or not taken by anyone in reliance on the information on this blog or for any decision based on it.

Please note the blog posts are time sensitive and subject to changes in legislation.

BDO Canada LLP, a Canadian limited liability partnership, is a member of BDO International Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, and forms part of the international BDO network of independent member firms. BDO is the brand name for the BDO network and for each of the BDO Member Firms.

Monday, May 3, 2021

The tax benefits of donating stocks to charities

There were many intriguing issues a couple months ago when the Reddit subgroup WallStreetBets drove the shares of GameStop, BlackBerry, AMC Entertainment, and others skyrocketing. The issues ranged from retail vs institutional investors to the power of social media stock groups to the way the Reddit group used excessive shorting to manipulate the stock price against the shorters themselves.

I will not comment on these issues today. What I want to discuss is the altruism shown by members of the WallStreetBets group. When I logged on to the forum to see what all the fuss was about, I noticed a lot of digital trash. But what I found remarkably interesting was the numbers of posters saying they would contribute x amount of their proceeds to charity and urging others to do the same. What a congruence of capitalism and altruism.

This blog post deals with the tax benefits of charitable giving and, more particularly, donating public stocks with unrealized capital gains to your charity of choice.

The Reddit folks were not the only winners this year. Those lucky enough to have kept their jobs during COVID in many cases built up excess cash reserves as their spending plunged on entertainment, travel and some retail. Many of those people and other Canadians shut in by COVID turned to stock market trading to entertain themselves and make money (as seemingly any number of stocks and sectors produced outsized gains during various periods throughout the fall and into 2021).

So, if you have significant realized or unrealized gains in 2021, how can you help society and improve your tax situation? The answer: donating part of your winnings or shares in public securities with large gains.

I have discussed this topic before, but given the current circumstances, I think it is a good time for a refresher on the tax benefits of making donations, especially as many charitable organizations are hurting due to COVID. Please note I will only discuss the donations of cash and public securities today.

Donation of cash


If you have realized capital gains on stocks in 2021, you can make a cash donation (the same holds for any cash donation whether from a realized stock gain or just excess cash in your bank account). You can claim a donation credit of up to 75% of your net income. Where an individual makes a charitable donation of cash, there is a federal non-refundable tax credit of 15% on the first $200 of donations. For donations in excess of $200, the non-refundable tax credit increases to 29%. In addition, the provinces provide provincial tax credits.

In Ontario, my home province, the actual tax savings for a donation range from approximately 40% (if your net income is around $50,000) to 50% (if you are a high-rate taxpayer) of your actual donation, for any donations in excess of the $200 limit. Thus, from a cash perspective, your donation only costs you 50-60% of what you donate to the charity. A good deal for all parties.

Donation of public securities


For those of you sitting with large unrealized gains on public securities, a donation of these shares is even more tax effective than a donation of cash from the sale of your shares (this applies to non-registered account donations only, not RRSPs etc.). That is because when you donate public securities listed on a prescribed stock exchange, the taxable portion of the capital gain is eliminated, and the net after-tax cost of the donation is reduced substantially.

For example, if a high-rate Ontario taxpayer sells a stock for a $10,000 gain (say the proceeds were $12,000 and the cost was $2,000), they would owe approximately $2,700 in income tax on the capital gain in the following April. If they donate the gross proceeds of $12,000, the donation would result in income tax savings of approximately $6,000 when they filed their return. The net after-tax cost of the donation is approximately $8,700 ($12,000 + $2,700 tax - $6,000 tax credit).

However, if the taxpayer donated the stock directly to a charity, the organization would receive $12,000, the taxpayer would receive a refund of approximately $6,000, and they would owe no taxes on the capital gain, making the net after-tax donation cost only $6,000.

Clearly, where you have a stock or bond you intend to sell and you plan on donating some or all of the proceeds, a direct contribution of the security to a charity is far more tax efficient. Also note that most charities make the process relatively pain-free.

Donation of securities from a private corporation


Canadian-controlled private corporations (CCPCs) can be taxed in various ways, so I am not going to get into the ins and outs of donating. Speak to your accountant, but it generally won’t matter that much after tax whether you do a personal or corporate donation. When it does matter, the choice of personal vs. corporation depends on your situation.

However, for most CCPCs, they will be able to add 100% of the capital gain ($10,000 in the example above) to their capital dividend account (CDA) and get this money out tax-free (assuming there are no negative attributes to the CDA account). For a detailed discussion of the CDA, see this blog post.

COVID has been far from equal in how it’s impacted different industries and the people working in them. If are one of the lucky ones whose job has not been affected—perhaps it even thrived—and you played the market and had capital gains, you may wish to donate some of your gains to help a good cause. You will help make the world a better place. And as an added bonus, you will reduce your taxes.

The content on this blog has been carefully prepared, but it has been written in general terms and should be seen as broad guidance only. The blog cannot be relied upon to cover specific situations and you should not act, or refrain from acting, upon the information contained therein without obtaining specific professional advice. Please contact BDO Canada LLP to discuss these matters in the context of your particular circumstances. BDO Canada LLP, its partners, employees and agents do not accept or assume any liability or duty of care for any loss arising from any action taken or not taken by anyone in reliance on the information on this blog or for any decision based on it.

Please note the blog posts are time sensitive and subject to changes in legislation.

BDO Canada LLP, a Canadian limited liability partnership, is a member of BDO International Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, and forms part of the international BDO network of independent member firms. BDO is the brand name for the BDO network and for each of the BDO Member Firms.

Monday, April 19, 2021

Solving the sibling wealth gap

We Canadians are famous for staying private about money. But finances can undermine family unity in insidious ways. At the top of this list is wealth disparities among siblings.

To help address wealth gaps among siblings, I’ve asked my colleague Jeffrey Smith to share his experiences on this subject when advising high net worth families. Jeff is a Senior Manager in BDO’s Wealth Advisory Services practice, based in Kelowna, BC.
________________

By Jeffrey Smith

As a child, I never really noticed wealth disparities at family gatherings. Everyone seemed to be the same: grandparents, parents, aunts, and uncles. No one had a lake house or cottage, or did multiple family vacations; everyone met Fridays at my grandparents to visit. We were all the same, or so I thought.

Now, many years later, I see these differences within families—in both my own and others. The issue comes up regularly when doing financial and estate planning for families and advising them on how to manage their wealth.

Many families suffer from friction caused by one sibling having more money than the other. Whether this is due to differing lifestyle choices or career impairment due to health, sibling relationships can break down due to income and wealth disparity. Parents can’t solve all these problems for their children—sometimes the biggest challenge is to not intervene—but they can at least avoid increasing the conflict.

Two siblings, two lifestyles


Consider this fictional example with some true-to-life themes.

A large family with many children includes two brothers who have been very close from the time they were toddlers. That all changed when they graduated university. The older one (let’s call him “Dan”) finished his schooling a few years before the younger one (let’s call him “Stewart”). By the time Stewart graduated, Dan had married into a wealthy family. This allowed Dan to live a life of leisure, at least in Stewart's eyes. Meanwhile, Stewart began looking for his first job.

He also began to feel jealous of Dan. For the first 25 years of their lives, they were equals; now Dan leads a privileged life, where money is almost no object. Animosity grew as Dan invited Stewart to expensive events and enjoyed his possessions, which Stewart couldn’t afford. Unfortunately, what was once the closest of childhood relationships deteriorated into occasional chats based more on obligation than brotherly love.

Sibling wealth disparities are so different from other differences in wealth. Comparing yourself to a friend or co-worker, you can internally justify why they may appear to be ahead of you financially. Maybe they inherited a large sum or came from a wealthy family; however, when comparing your financial success to your brother or sister, those justifications sometimes fall. (Though not in Dan and Stewart’s case.)

From the perspective of an outsider, siblings would have had the same advantages and disadvantages growing up, been influenced by the same parents, and had access to the same financial and academic resources. Therefore, when one sibling finds more financial success, people can make assumptions about intelligence and work ethic.

Is that reasonable, though? What if one sibling suffered from a medical impairment or financial hardship early in life? What if finances are different because of divorce or one having more children than the other? What if one married into wealth? What if the wealth variances are solely a reflection of drive, determination and work ethic?  Obviously, a complex and delicate area.

When wealth gaps occur, it can impact the sibling relationship. As wealth is generated, lifestyle changes naturally occurpeople may eat out more or travel more. The experiences and bonds that were created growing up on a level playing field now have unequal pressure. This can harm the relationship, sometimes irrevocably.

The role of planning


While sibling wealth variances based on independent individual circumstances are subject to many variables that cannot be controlled, family related wealth variances can be controlled or minimized in many circumstances. Families need to avoid negative pitfalls from poor planning that may inadvertently lead to significant wealth disparity for the next generation. Let’s consider a situation that is fictional but reflects real-life realities.

A successful farming family plans its family business succession. The parents decide to retire, and help their son continue the farm by giving him the equipment and an equivalent amount of cash to their daughter. The parents decide they wish to retain ownership of the land for retirement income via rent. 

At first glance this all seems fair. The son receives debt-free equipment and the daughter receives cash to do what she pleases. Everyone appears happy, except for one bit of information that is far more important than it seems: What price is the son paying to rent the parents’ land?

The question arises at a client review of their net worth and income. As the family’s advisor, I would ask why the son is paying far less than market value for renting the farm. The answer? Rent was based on the parents’ expected cash needs and did not consider fair market rents.

Here is where wealth disparity is inadvertently created by mom and dad. The son has been operating a farm. Depending on the amount of time, amount of savings, and how one wants to quantify the savings and overall impact on the son’s business, the total benefit could reach millions of dollars. Therefore, the son receives a significant benefit compared to his sister because of his parents’ retirement.

In this example, we can help this fictional family by identifying and quantifying the unintended wealth inequality. They would then be able to equalize it, and likely strengthen the sibling bond in the process. But it does underline that one must look at all factors when transitioning a business. If you don’t consider all related transactions, you too could be creating unintended consequences.

What grandparents can do


It’s not just parents who need to watch for planning missteps on wealth. Grandparents can cause hard feelings and friction when they name grandchildren directly in the will. When a sibling does not have children, they may feel like they’re penalized for not having children.

Depending on the amount of money and number of grandchildren, the estate may erode significantly. Consider whether instead your children should receive equal units and then they control how much is passed on to their children; or you still leave money to grandchildren, but allocate equal amounts to each family regardless of how many children. There is no right answer, but these important planning areas warrant conversation and consideration. There are ways to keep the playing field equal, and in doing so keep the peace within the family.

Managing emotions can be difficult when discussing finances. But money and success should never ruin the foundation of family and relationships. Having good, open conversations, being honest about how you feel, and expressing what is bothering each party can mend the most fragile of family relationships and create stronger bonds.

Jeffrey Smith - CPA, CA, CFP, CLU - is a Senior Manager in BDO’s Wealth Advisory Services practice and can be reached at 250-763-6700 or by email at jrsmith@bdo.ca.

The content on this blog has been carefully prepared, but it has been written in general terms and should be seen as broad guidance only. The blog cannot be relied upon to cover specific situations and you should not act, or refrain from acting, upon the information contained therein without obtaining specific professional advice. Please contact BDO Canada LLP to discuss these matters in the context of your particular circumstances. BDO Canada LLP, its partners, employees and agents do not accept or assume any liability or duty of care for any loss arising from any action taken or not taken by anyone in reliance on the information on this blog or for any decision based on it.

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