The Canadian demographic landscape is shifting as more Canadians (i.e., baby boomers) approach or navigate their way through retirement.
You are allowed to split qualified retirement income with your spouse,1 which can result in a significant reduction of family taxes and can also minimize the impact on valuable income-tested tax credits and benefits. If you have a spouse who is in a lower tax bracket, you and your spouse can elect to transfer up to 50 per cent of eligible pension income to the lower income spouse. Eligible pension income is defined as income eligible for the pension income credit.
What types of income are eligible for the pension income credit and pension income splitting?
If you are under age 65 for the entire year, the following types of income qualify for pension income splitting:2
If you are 65 or older, in addition to the above, income from RRIFs and annuities purchased with your RRSP and DPSP are eligible for pension income splitting. Government benefits such as Canada/ Quebec Pension Plan (CPP/QPP) and Old Age Security (OAS) do not qualify under the federal pension income-splitting rules.
Generally, income from non-registered investments will also not qualify. One exception is income from an annuity, including a guaranteed interest contract (GIC) provided by an insurance company. A GIC from a life insurance company reports the interest accrued as annuity income, which qualifies for the pension income credit and thus pension income splitting for those age 65 or older. The interest element of a non-registered annuity contract (prescribed and non-prescribed) also qualifies for those 65 or older.
See Tax Managed Strategy #14: The Pension Income Tax Credit Using an Insurance Company GIC (MK2071E) for more information on the pension income credit and insurance company GICs.
Income splitting options
Eligible pension income
You can split up to 50 per cent of eligible pension income with your spouse. Because of income-tested tax credits and benefits such as the age and medical expense tax credits and OAS, the optimum transfer may be less than 50 per cent. Analysis will be necessary each year to determine the optimal amount to split to maximize the reduction in taxes and minimize the impact on income-tested tax credits and benefits.
If you are between age 65 and 71, don’t have eligible pension income and would like some, consider converting a portion of your RRSP to a RRIF and then making a withdrawal. The RRIF withdrawal qualifies for the pension income credit and pension income splitting. This is particularly attractive if you plan to withdraw funds from your RRSP anyway. If you aren’t otherwise withdrawing from your RRSP, you should weigh the benefits of this strategy against the fact that you are withdrawing funds early from the tax-sheltered RRSP and paying tax before you otherwise would.
Pension income splitting can potentially allow the recipient spouse to claim the pension income tax credit if they haven’t already claimed it. The pension income being split retains its “character” so the receiving spouse would have to qualify as if they earned the pension income themselves (i.e., be 65 or older if the eligible pension income is RRIF income, though there would be no age requirement for income from a pension plan).
Canada/Quebec Pension Plans
Although not part of the federal initiative with respect to pension income splitting, these government plans already allow spouses who are at least 60 years of age to share up to 50 per cent of the benefits earned while you were living together.
Spousal RRSPs
Contributing to a spousal RRSP can also result in tax savings. Unlike the pension income-splitting rules, spousal RRSPs provide income splitting at any age and are not restricted to 50 per cent if the attribution rules don’t apply.
Withdrawals made from any spousal RRSP when a spousal contribution was made in the same calendar year or the two previous calendar years will be attributed back to the contributing spouse and included in their income. The amount attributed back to the contributing spouse is the lesser of the spousal RRSP withdrawal and the spousal contributions during that time. Otherwise, a withdrawal from a spousal RRSP will be taxed like any other RRSP withdrawal, to the withdrawing spouse. These attribution rules carry through and apply to spousal RRIFs with one important exception – they don’t apply to withdrawals of the RRIF minimum from a spousal RRIF.
See Tax Managed Strategy #23: Spousal RRSPs (MK2680E) for more information on using spousal RRSPs.
Example :
Assume two spouses, both over age 65, living in British Columbia. The greatest benefit occurs by splitting an amount close to or equal to the maximum eligible. We have assumed a full 50 per cent split of eligible pension income and CPP.
NO SPLITTING ($) | WITH SPLITTING ($) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
SPOUSE 1 | SPOUSE 2 | SPOUSE 1 | SPOUSE 2 | DIFFERENCE ($) | |
Company pension | 90,000 | 45,000 | 45,000 | ||
RRIF/Spousal RRIF | 22,000 | 12,000 | 12,190 | 21,810 | |
CPP | 13,370 | 13,370 | |||
OAS | 6,942 | 6,942 | 6,942 | 6,942 | |
Gross Income | 132,312 | 18,942 | 77,502 | 73,752 | |
Tax2 | -33,419 | -1,475 | -15,533 | -14,634 | |
OAS Clawback | -6,942 | -562 | |||
Age Credit3 | 1,315 | 160 | 244 | ||
Net Taxes Owing | -40,361 | -160 | -15,935 | -14,390 | Decrease 10,196 |
After Tax Income | 91,951 | 18,783 | 61,567 | 59,363 | Increase 10,196 |
For illustration purposes only. Assumes 2018 British Colombia tax rates.
Other income splitting strategies before retirement
Inter-spousal loan
The higher-income spouse lends money to the lower-income spouse at the prescribed rate so that investment income is taxed at their lower marginal tax rate. For more information on inter-spousal loans, see Tax Managed Strategy #6: Lower the family tax bill – income splitting using loans (MK1355E).
Contributing to your spouse’s TFSA
Provided your spouse is a Canadian resident who is at least 18 years of age and has available TFSA contribution room, you can transfer property or funds to your spouse to contribute up to that amount to a TFSA in their name without any tax consequences or income attribution.
Family budgeting
Have the higher income earner pay for all family expenses while the lower income earner invests their income. This allows the couple’s investment income to be earned in the hands of the lower income earner and taxed at a lower marginal tax rate.
1. Includes a spouse or common‑law partner as defined by the Income Tax Act (Canada).
2. Quebec taxpayers under 65 can’t split pension income for provincial tax purposes as of January 1, 2014.
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