Prescribed-Rate Loan

Tax

A prescribed-rate loan is an income-splitting strategy where you lend money to a spouse or family trust at the CRA's prescribed interest rate to shift investment income legitimately.

The attribution rules can be sidestepped with a properly documented prescribed-rate loan. You lend money to a lower-income spouse or a family trust at the CRA's prescribed rate, and as long as the borrower pays you that interest by January 30 each year, the investment income earned above the interest is taxed in the borrower's lower-rate hands, not yours.

The rate is locked in for the life of the loan at the rate in effect when it was made, so loans arranged when the prescribed rate is low are especially effective. Strict compliance, a real loan, real interest paid on time, is essential, or attribution applies.

Example

You lend your spouse $200,000 at the 1% prescribed rate to invest. They earn 6% ($12,000), pay you 1% ($2,000) interest by January 30, and the remaining $10,000 is taxed at their lower rate instead of yours.

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Prescribed-Rate Loan Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions regarding our compliance workflows and service guarantees.

By lending to a lower-income family member at the CRA's prescribed rate. The investment return above the interest is taxed in their hands, provided the interest is actually paid by January 30 each year.
If the annual interest is not paid by January 30, the attribution rules apply for that year and all future years, taxing the income back to you.
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Prescribed-Rate Loan: The Questions People Search

The questions Canadians actually search on this topic, answered plainly. Browse every question in the Canadian tax answers directory.

Multiply the pre-tax price by the combined rate for the province where the supply is made, then add that amount to the price. If the price already includes tax, divide the total by one plus the rate to get the pre-tax amount, and the difference is the tax. The rate depends on the province of supply rather than where your business sits, so verify the current rate for that province and confirm the item is not zero-rated or exempt.

Most enquiries are settled without a phone call in My Account, My Business Account or Represent a Client, where assessments, balances, slips and CRA mail all sit. When you need a person, use the enquiries line for your programme from the contact page on canada.ca, and have your social insurance or business number plus a figure from a recent return ready for identity checks. Written enquiries go to the tax centre named on your notice of assessment.

Most municipalities do not take credit cards for property tax directly. They accept pre-authorised debit, online or telephone banking, cheque, and in-person payment. Third-party payment processors will charge a property tax bill to a card for a service fee, which normally costs more than the rewards earned. The CRA works the same way for income tax and GST/HST: no direct card payment, but authorised third-party providers accept cards for a fee.

The three levers are deductions that reduce the income you are taxed on, credits that reduce the tax itself, and moving savings into registered plans. RRSP room is the lesser of 18% of prior-year earned income and the year's dollar limit — $32,490 for 2025 and $33,810 for 2026 — then reduced by any pension adjustment and increased by unused room carried forward. A TFSA shelters growth instead of deferring tax. Claim every eligible expense, split eligible pension income where the rules allow, and carry unused amounts forward rather than losing them.

Udit Gupta, founder of Tax Filings Canada

Reviewed and fact-checked by Udit Gupta

Ex Big 4 — Ernst & Young, Deloitte · International & cross-border tax specialist · CPA Canada (In-Depth Tax Program) · Chartered accountant, ICAI & MIA

Udit Gupta has over 15 years of experience helping corporations and business owners with corporate structuring, corporate tax filing, bookkeeping, payroll, GST/HST, cross-border tax and CRA representation. Big 4 trained at Ernst & Young and Deloitte, and qualified as a chartered accountant in India and again in Malaysia, he founded his accounting practice in 2014 to serve entrepreneurs, startups and non-resident business owners across Canada. View full member bio.

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India — member 521458 · Malaysian Institute of Accountants — member CA 44667 · Ex Big 4: Ernst & Young, Deloitte · CPA Canada (In-Depth Tax Program), completed 19 Dec 2023 · In-Depth GST/HST Part I, 12 Jul 2022 · Part II, 5 Jul 2023

Editorial policy. Every page is researched against primary sources — the Income Tax Act, CRA publications and CPA Canada guidance — and every rate or threshold is stated with the tax year it applies to.

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