A realtor incorporated a Personal Real Estate Corporation. We structured it for deferral and compliant income splitting.
A high-earning realtor was taking all commission income personally at top rates. We incorporated a Personal Real Estate Corporation, set up a compliant salary-and-dividend mix, and structured retained earnings for tax deferral within the small business limit. The structure now defers tax on income not needed for living costs each year.
Real estate turns on the income-versus-capital question, the anti-flipping rule and GST self-supply on new residential construction.
The first fiscal year-end must fall within 53 weeks of incorporation and sets every filing deadline that follows. Share structure decided at incorporation governs who can receive dividends later.
Why it bites: Year-one choices are cheap to make and expensive to undo. Restructuring share classes after value has accrued triggers its own tax consequences.
Planning has to be in place before the transaction. The salary-versus-dividend mix, the timing of a capital purchase and the choice of year-end all change the outcome, but only prospectively.
Why it bites: Almost every planning opportunity we see missed was available and simply not taken in time; very few are recoverable after year-end.
A CCPC files its T2 within six months of year-end, with the balance due two months after (three where the small business deduction is claimed). The 9% federal small business rate applies to the first $500,000 of active business income.
Why it bites: The filing and payment deadlines differ, and interest runs from the payment date. Filing on time while paying late still costs money.
Every engagement above was priced as a fixed fee agreed before the work started, and paid only once the client had reviewed the result. If any of this looks like your situation, the first step is a free 15-minute call — we will tell you plainly whether there is anything worth doing.
Reviewed for the 2025 tax year by Udit Gupta, Certified Tax Accountant. Figures describe a real engagement; outcomes depend on your own facts. Client details are omitted for confidentiality.
