For incorporated professionals & professional corporations
Accounting & Advisory for Incorporated Professionals
Your corporation changed the financial decisions you have to make.
Corporate tax, what you pay yourself, the cash the corporation holds and your longer-term plans are now one connected system. FAS is a boutique CPA and advisory firm that manages them together, throughout the year, rather than as separate year-end tasks.
Why incorporation is different
Incorporation turns one financial picture into a chain of decisions.
Every dollar the business earns passes through several decisions before it reaches you or gets invested. Each one changes the next. Lowering this year's tax with one choice can reduce RRSP room, strain corporate cash or raise the cost of a later withdrawal.
The useful question is rarely "what is the lowest tax this year?" It is "what works across the whole chain?"
- 1The business earns revenue
- 2The corporation pays expenses and corporate tax
- 3You decide what to withdraw
- 4Salary, dividends or shareholder transactions
- 5Personal tax and personal cash
- 6Capital that stays in the corporation
- 7Investment, reinvestment or a later withdrawal
Common exposures
The patterns we see most often.
None of these come from careless owners. They come from decisions made one at a time, without a current view of how they add up.
Draw Creep
Withdrawals rise a little at a time without a plan behind them. Nothing feels wrong month to month, but by year-end the total can create a shareholder balance or personal tax bill nobody priced in.
Cash Fog
The books show a profit, yet it is hard to say where the money went or how much is actually free. Decisions get made on the bank balance rather than on what the corporation can afford.
Reserve Mirage
Cash is either left idle with no purpose, or treated as available when it already belongs to corporate tax, sales tax, payroll remittances or a slower season.
Phantom Runway
The balance suggests months of stability. Once upcoming tax, payroll and operating commitments are netted out, the real runway is considerably shorter.
Year-End Shock
Decisions made through the year only meet each other at filing time, when the tax result is fixed and the options for changing it have largely closed.
Who FAS works with
Owner-led professional practices.
Lawyers
Sole practitioners and incorporated partners balancing trust-account discipline, partner draws and corporate cash.
Consultants
Independent consultants and contractors, where how the corporation is structured and paid matters as much as what it earns.
Doctors & healthcare professionals
Physicians, dentists and other practitioners operating through a professional corporation alongside practice expenses.
Therapists
Psychologists, therapists and other clinicians building a practice that has outgrown a personal return.
Realtors / PRECs
Agents earning through a personal real estate corporation, with uneven commission income to plan around.
Creatives & other professional services
Designers, producers and other owner-led service businesses with project-based revenue.
What FAS connects
One team around the owner, not a list of services.
Each piece below informs the others. Having them with one firm means a decision in one area is made knowing its effect on the rest.
- Corporate accounting & year-end
- Corporate tax
- Personal tax integration
- Owner compensation
- Bookkeeping
- GST/HST/QST
- Payroll
- Corporate cash planning
- Tax planning
- CFO / lifecycle advisory
- Major financial decisions
- Retirement, succession & exit
Owner compensation
Salary or dividends is not just a tax-rate question.
The option with the lowest tax this year is not always the right one. The mix you choose affects retirement savings, borrowing, and how much the corporation keeps for later. We set it each year around your actual plans.
For a worked comparison, read Salary vs. Dividends in Canada.
- How much personal cash you actually need
- RRSP contribution room, which only salary creates
- CPP or QPP contributions and future benefits
- The corporation's own tax position
- Your personal marginal rate this year and next
- Income a lender will recognise for a mortgage or financing
- Retirement planning
- How much cash should stay inside the corporation
Corporate cash
Your bank balance is not what you have available.
A large corporate balance can be mostly spoken for. Working down from the balance to what is truly free is how withdrawals and investment decisions should be sized.
Start
Bank balance
What the account shows today.
Less
Tax obligations
Corporate tax owing or building up for the year.
Less
Sales-tax & payroll liabilities
GST/HST/QST collected and source deductions held on behalf of government.
Less
Operating reserve
A cushion for expenses and quieter months.
Less
Planned owner withdrawals
What you intend to take out in the months ahead.
What remains
Investable corporate capital
What genuinely remains for investment or reinvestment.
Not sure how your numbers break down? The Exposure Scorecard takes about four minutes and shows where your corporation may be exposed.
Year-round advisory
Accounting is most useful while decisions are still open.
Year-end reporting
An accurate record of the year, prepared once the year has closed. Essential, but by then most decisions that shaped the result have already been made.
Ongoing visibility
Current numbers and an advisor available during the year, so compensation, withdrawals, purchases and investment can be adjusted before the year closes. Read more about lifecycle advisory.
Relevant insights
Further reading for professional corporations.
Salary vs. Dividends in Canada: How Should an Incorporated Professional Pay Themselves?
Salary or dividends? For most incorporated professionals the tax gap is smaller than expected. What matters more: your cash needs, RRSP room, CPP/QPP, financing, and documentation.
Mastering Retained Earnings & Passive Income Rules for Canadian Corporations
Navigate Canadian retained earnings and passive income rules for your professional corporation. Learn strategies to optimize taxes and avoid the passive income clawback.
T2 Corporate Tax Filing Deadlines & Key Dates for Canadian Corporations
Master T2 corporate tax filing deadlines and payment dates for your Canadian corporation. Avoid penalties with our expert guide for incorporated solopreneurs.
Income Splitting Strategies for Incorporated Professionals in Canada (Post-TOSI)
Navigate income splitting strategies for Canadian incorporated professionals after TOSI. Discover legitimate ways to optimize tax and maximize household wealth with expert guidance.
Is Incorporating Still Worth It? A Guide for Canadian Solopreneurs
Wondering if incorporating your business in Canada is still beneficial? Explore the pros, cons, tax advantages, and costs for solopreneurs earning $250K-$1M annually.
Strategic Lifecycle Advisory for Canadian Professional Corporations
Navigate every stage of your professional corporation's journey with strategic lifecycle advisory. Optimize compensation, manage retained earnings, and plan for succession with expert guidance from FAS for Canadian solopreneurs.
FAQ
Questions incorporated professionals ask us.
Do I need an accountant who specializes in incorporated professionals?
Not necessarily, but it helps. The work is less about the return itself and more about how corporate tax, owner compensation and corporate cash interact. An accountant who sees that pattern regularly will usually raise the right questions earlier.
When should I incorporate?
It usually makes sense once you earn more than you need to live on, so that income can be left in the corporation. Your province, profession rules, liability and future plans also matter. It is a decision worth modelling on your own numbers before acting.
Should I pay myself salary or dividends?
There is no universal answer. Salary creates RRSP room and CPP/QPP pensionable earnings and contributions; dividends can reduce payroll obligations. Most owners use a mix chosen around personal cash needs, financing plans and retirement goals, reviewed each year.
How much money can I safely withdraw from my corporation?
Start from the bank balance and set aside corporate tax, sales tax, payroll remittances, an operating reserve and known upcoming costs. What remains, and the personal tax on taking it out, sets a sustainable withdrawal level. That figure changes through the year.
Can my corporation invest excess cash?
Yes. Passive investment income inside a corporation is taxed differently, and above certain levels it can reduce access to the small business rate. How much to invest, and in what, should be planned with the corporation's overall position in mind.
Does FAS work with professionals outside Quebec?
Yes. FAS is based in Montreal and works with incorporated professionals across Canada.
Can FAS handle both my corporate and personal tax?
Yes. Handling both is what allows compensation, withdrawals and planning decisions to be made with the full picture rather than one side at a time.
What is year-round or lifecycle advisory?
Ongoing access to current numbers and an advisor while decisions are still open, from compensation and cash planning to major purchases, investment and eventually succession or exit.
See where your corporation may be creating unnecessary exposure.
The Exposure Scorecard is 15 questions across cash, tax, compensation and operational risk. If you already know you want to talk, book a conversation instead.