Should I Incorporate My Real Estate Business? 5 factors
Our most popular question when talking with real estate investors is “Should I incorporate?” Our most popular answer as real estate accountants is “It depends!” What factors influence the ultimate decision to incorporate your real estate business? We have reached back into our archives to walk though the five key decision points in making the […]
Tax season: 7 critical issues for real estate investors and business owners
As a business owner and/or real estate investor, what should your business and real estate accountant be advising you about for the 2017 tax season, and the coming of 2018? With big changes in 2017/2018 with the corporate tax changes being implemented by the Federal Government, including those on income splitting, these critical issues for […]
GST/HST Pitfalls of Buying Real Estate “In Trust”
Who pays the GST/HST can be tricky to answer on real estate purchases, especially when done “In Trust” for another corporation. A recent court case, 2252493 Ontario Limited vs the Queen, provided some direction on this situation, and an expensive lesson learned for the vendor of the property. Background on buying “In Trust” case The […]
Ontario’s Fair Housing Plan – Round-Up
Ontario’s Fair Housing Plan, and its potential impacts on real estate markets not only in the GTA but across Canada, has been dominating the conversations of real estate and construction industry members. We have pulled together a series of articles from BDO Canada around these topics to provide overview and opinion on the latest developments, […]
Saskatchewan PST now applies to property services
In March, the Saskatchewan government delivered its 2017 Provincial Budget which increased the rate of Provincial Sales Tax (PST) from 5% to 6%. However, more importantly there was a fundamental change in the way Saskatchewan PST will apply to services related to real property. Effective April 1, 2017, the PST applies to services to real […]
The “Canadian” real estate market: 4 key cities
Canada is a vast country with many unique regions. The same can be said for the Canadian real estate market. Specific geographic regions have unique qualities that affect the real estate market for investors, construction, and home builders. BDO Canada’s latest gifographic covers four key cities in the Canada real estate market and the qualities that […]
Brownfield development: Factors to consider
Developing “brownfields” – those abandoned or underused places where past activities may have left behind environmental contamination – is a more and more common practice for real estate investors and developers. Why? Brownfields are often located in places that would otherwise be considered ideal for development, including downtowns, waterfronts, and next to residential areas that provide […]
7 must-read tax season tips for real estate investors
As a real estate investor, what should your real estate accountant be advising you about for the 2016 tax season, and the coming of 2017? We previously published this post last year, but with changes that have occurred in 2016, we thought it was worth reviewing, and updating with the latest information. 1) NEW for 2016: Principal […]
Principal residence exemption & your 2016 taxes
In October, the Federal Government created some major headlines when they announced changes to the principal residence exemption rules for Canadian taxpayers. The details of the principal residence exemption rule changes were outlined in this BDO Canada article, but as a real estate investor, what do they mean for you? Starting in 2016, anyone who […]
GST/HST New Housing Rebate: 4 things every real estate investor must know
Receiving a GST/HST new housing rebate can mean a substantial chunk of money back in a real estate investors pocket to re-invest. However, the new housing rebate forms and process has some built-in difficulties that can mean the money that should be coming to you will stay firmly in the government’s hands. While the process […]
