Accountant for realtors in Calgary

Income that arrives unevenly needs planning that does not

Commission income does not behave like a salary. A strong quarter can push a realtor into a position that no instalment schedule anticipated, and a quiet one can leave a tax balance owing from the year before with nothing set aside against it. The planning has to happen while the year is still running, which is the opposite of how most realtors engage an accountant.

Incorporating through a personal real estate corporation is the question that comes up most. It is not automatically the right move. A PREC does not make expenses deductible that were not deductible before, income splitting is constrained by the tax on split income rules, and transferring an existing practice can involve a section 85 rollover. HBT works the numbers for your actual earnings and tells you plainly whether the structure earns its cost yet, and what it would take to be worth it.

What a realtor engagement usually covers

How the work begins

1. 1

   Step 1: Look at a full year of earnings

   What came in, what the brokerage took, and what you actually need to draw.

2. 2

   Step 2: Model the options

   Unincorporated against incorporated, with the ongoing cost of each stated honestly.

3. 3

   Step 3: Set the structure and the rhythm

   Whichever route fits, with filing dates and set aside amounts written down.

Should a Calgary realtor set up a personal real estate corporation?

It depends on how much is being earned, how much is being drawn out to live on, and how stable the income is. A PREC mainly helps where meaningful earnings can be left in the corporation and deferred. It does not create new deductions, and income splitting is limited by the tax on split income rules. Whether and how a licensed agent can hold a corporation is a licensing question for the Real Estate Council of Alberta, so confirm it alongside the tax question. We will run your numbers and say whether it is worth it yet.