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Sole proprietorship after marriage

3K views 13 replies 9 participants last post by  kevlar 
#1 ·
What happens when a guy farming as a sole proprietorship, no corp, gets married? This is in Alberta.

Do they form a partnership and split the income 50/50? Does the wife technically need to contribute labour and decision-making in order to make it a partnership in the eyes of the CRA, like how they view cropshare arrangements? What needs to be done to create the partnership?

Both spouses have off-farm income but the hubs has much more, especially with the farming income. So splitting farm income would save on tax.
 
#7 ·
Not a good idea to form a partnership with your spouse if she gets maternity leave with good benefits from her employment. What happens than is any such farm sales goes against her E I payments and you end up with no Benefit for you spouses child maternity leave. In this case just leave it under your name if you are planning for a family. No she doesn't need a gst number. I went thru this with my first child and revenue Canada clawed back any E I maternity benefits from her employment when ever We sold commodities. I changed the farm to sole proprietorship for our second child so she could collect her whole maternity benefit. That's only if your planning a family. You will have to weigh what saves more taxes, sounds like in your case getting incorporated might be the better choice than a partnership.
Talk to a good accountant.
 
#9 ·
You just need the split to be in a lawyers document. The % can be any amount you choose. No need to verify contribution to the partnership or the like. But put some thought into it because it is hard to change later on. Also remember that your wife may have a career will affect how the future income split looks. For example is her salary or income increases dramatically the split you use in your partnership may have her paying way too much tax later on. Or if she has a job now and decides to quit working later on a small partnership % now may be way too small later on.
 
#10 ·
Another way you can setup is to incorporate where you have 100% of the shares and she has no legal connection to the corporation. This enables you to employ your wife (in whatever capacity you and her want). This enables her to collect maternity benefits even if she doesn't work off the farm. Pay just enough out of the corporation to get the benefits but not too much to reduce child tax benefits. It's a good arrangement for a lot of farm families. In your will you can just sign the entire corporation over to her in the event you fall of a grain bin. This likely won't work if you're married to a feminazi.
 
#11 ·
Just paid a salary to wife till kids were 6 and 9. Made a 50-50 partnership because she could get out of the house and help. Luckily Grandma stayed with boys after school. CRA might check on what you pay and for what jobs wife does. They assume you trying to avoid tax. Incorporate sooner the better, we stayed 50-50 with shares but any amount can be paid out to shareholders as custom work or rent. Lot more options for less TAX. Again CRA frowns on "income sprinkling" as TAX avoidance by a personal Corp.
 
#14 ·
I believe it has something to do with rolling assets into a corporation. CRA wants you to prove that you are working together and not just letting random people join a company to save on taxes. Think it is a 3 year minimum?? as a partnership first.
 
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