Growing a portfolio is only half the job — what you keep after tax is what actually funds retirement, a home, or your next goal. At Insta Tax Services, we look at your investments the way a tax accountant does: which account should hold which asset, when to realize a gain or crystallize a loss, and how a trade today affects the return you file next spring. It's investment planning built on top of tax expertise, not the other way around.
Our investment services include:
We decide where each investment lives — RRSP, TFSA, or non-registered — so interest, dividends, and capital gains are taxed as lightly as the rules allow.
A written plan tied to your actual timeline: retirement date, a home purchase, education savings, or business succession — not a generic model portfolio.
Ongoing review of your holdings against drift, fees, and risk, with rebalancing timed to avoid triggering tax you don't need to pay.
RRSP contribution room, TFSA over-contribution risk, and RESP grant matching — planned every year, not scrambled at the March deadline.
Interest income, Canadian dividends, and capital gains are all taxed differently — and differently again depending on whether they sit in a registered or non-registered account. We map your holdings across your RRSP, TFSA, and non-registered accounts so the highest-taxed income sits where it's sheltered, and structure new contributions the same way going forward.
We start with what the money is for — retirement, a down payment, funding a business, or passing assets on — and work backward to a target allocation, a contribution schedule, and a review cadence. Because the same team handles your tax return, the plan is built with your actual marginal rate and deduction picture in mind, not a generic assumption.
Markets drift, and portfolios need periodic rebalancing to stay on target. We time trims and additions around your tax situation — realizing losses to offset gains before year-end, deferring gains where it makes sense, and keeping you informed before any trade that changes your tax bill.
RRSP contributions are deducted from income in the year you contribute and are taxed on withdrawal, which makes them most valuable while you're in a higher tax bracket than you expect to be in retirement. TFSA contributions get no deduction, but all growth and withdrawals are tax-free, which favours investments with high expected growth or accounts you may need to access early. Most clients benefit from using both, in a specific order based on their current income, contribution room, and short-term cash needs.
Only a portion of a capital gain is taxable, and it's added to your income in the year the investment is sold. Capital losses can offset gains in the same year, be carried back three years, or carried forward indefinitely — but the superficial loss rule can deny the loss if you (or an affiliated person) repurchase the same security within 30 days. We track your adjusted cost base and review realized and unrealized positions before year-end so losses aren't left unused.
Following are the common documents needed to report investment income accurately. This list isn't exhaustive — book an appointment to review your specific slips.
Exercising employee stock options creates a taxable employment benefit, which may qualify for a 50% stock option deduction depending on the employer type and the value of options granted. Shares in a Canadian-controlled private corporation come with their own rules, including possible access to the lifetime capital gains exemption on an eventual sale. We help you time the exercise, plan for the resulting tax liability, and confirm what documentation the CRA will expect.
Bring your account statements and slips to an appointment — we'll review your account mix, flag any tax-loss opportunities before year-end, and build a plan around your actual numbers.
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Efficiently enable trusted tax sources and cost-effective solutions. Serving the local Calgary community, we provide expert tax guidance, maximize your returns, and ensure you benefit from tax credits and deductions.
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