Most incorporated Ontario business owners have never seen their actual estate tax number — not a rough estimate, but the calculated figure based on their specific corporate structure, retained earnings, and current business value. This assessment produces that number.
If you own a corporation in Ontario, death triggers a deemed disposition. Shares, retained earnings, real estate, investment portfolios — everything is treated as if sold at fair market value the day before you died. The resulting tax bill can reach six or seven figures, payable within months, whether or not the estate has a single dollar of liquid cash.
The Estate Tax Exposure Assessment answers three questions that most incorporated Ontario owners have never been asked with a specific number:
How large is the tax bill today?
When does it hit?
Where does the cash come from to pay for it?
Without that number, every conversation about insurance, structure, and succession is theoretical. With it, every decision is justified and every dollar of planning is sized correctly.
In Ontario, accountants handle tax compliance. Lawyers handle documents. Financial advisors manage portfolios. None of them typically maps the full estate tax picture as a single integrated number — the capital gains on shares, the tax on retained earnings, the deemed disposition on real estate, and the RRSP inclusion on the final return, all combined.
Without that integrated number, planning is theoretical. With it, every decision about structure, insurance, and succession becomes concrete, defensible, and sized correctly.
Ontario families discover a $1.5M+ tax bill within months of death with no liquid assets to pay it. Businesses are sold under pressure. Personal savings are drained. Family relationships fracture under financial stress that could have been planned around.
Exposure is known in advance. The liquidity gap is quantified. Planning options — insurance, HoldCo restructuring, estate freeze — are evaluated against real numbers, not assumptions.
Every year a business grows in Ontario, the exposure grows with it. Every year that passes may reduce insurability. The cost of knowing your number is minimal. The cost of not knowing becomes permanent at death.
The CRA collects first. Ontario families deal with the consequences. Businesses are liquidated. Children inherit financial stress instead of security. None of this is inevitable — it is the default outcome without a funded plan.
A specific number representing your current Ontario estate tax liability — not jargon, not ranges.
What is available versus what is needed, and where the specific shortfall sits.
Whether HoldCo restructuring, an estate freeze, insurance funding, or a combination applies to your situation in Ontario.
Where your accountant and lawyer need to be involved and what they need to know.
Whether a deeper engagement is warranted and what that looks like.
A focused conversation about your Ontario corporate structure, asset base, family situation, and succession intentions. No forms, no product discussion. This is about understanding your picture before mapping your exposure.
We review your OpCo and HoldCo setup, share classes, retained earnings, existing insurance, and real estate holdings. Where relevant, we coordinate with your accountant to confirm the current numbers.
We model the capital gains, retained earnings, real estate, and registered asset exposure — producing an actual dollar figure for your current Ontario estate tax liability and the specific liquidity gap.
We present the options that apply to your specific situation with numbers attached to each. No assumptions. No generic templates. Every recommendation is built around your actual exposure.
We identify what your accountant and lawyer need to know, what actions are time-sensitive, and what a funded, coordinated plan looks like going forward.
Each question links directly to the answer on your FAQ page. Click to visit.
In Canada, death triggers a deemed disposition. You are treated as having sold all assets at fair market value the day before death. For Ontario incorporated owners, this creates a concentrated, immediate tax event covering corporate shares, retained earnings, real estate, and registered assets.
A structured, numbers-first engagement designed to answer one question precisely: if you died today, what would the actual tax bill look like — and is there enough liquidity to pay it without destroying what you built? You receive a specific dollar figure, a liquidity gap report, and a prioritised roadmap.
As a general signal: if your Ontario corporation has retained earnings exceeding $500,000, a business value above $1M, or significant real estate with accrued gains, you almost certainly have meaningful exposure worth quantifying. The cost of not knowing is almost always higher than the cost of finding out.
Book a complimentary 30-minute discovery call. You will leave with a clear picture of your exposure and whether a deeper engagement makes sense. No obligation. No sales pitch. Whether we work together or not, you leave with clarity.
Disclaimer: Individual circumstances vary. All planning is implemented in coordination with qualified legal and tax professionals.
