Belyea Colwell & Associates offers complete accounting, auditing and taxation services and also works in the areas of corporate finance and consulting for various clients. The typical services provided by our firm include financial statement preparation, preparation of income tax returns and tax planning for corporate owners and their families.

Services provided by Belyea Colwell & Associates are set apart from what you would get from a basic bookkeeper by virtue of the fact that our services are provided in accordance with professional standards set by the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants. We may prepare financial statements in an audit context, in an accountant’s review of financial statements or simply compile financial statements with information provided by management of the business. Put simply, clients often seek a more professional type service from our firm.

At Belyea Colwell & Associates, we can and often do perform bookkeeping services for clients, if required. But generally, we compile financial statements from records prepared by the owner-manager or bookkeeper and provide value added services such as helping the business set financial goals and plan for the future. This may include preparing tax planning models with the objective of increasing the wealth of the individual, family or corporate owners.

In summary, rather than just simply recording everyday business transactions, we take it to the next step and use that data or information to help our client’s business prosper.

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Belyea Colwell & Associates offers more than just the fundamental preparation of personal tax returns. We pride ourselves on really getting to know our clients. As a firm of Chartered Accountants, we draw on that knowledge and our experience to examine a client’s complete tax situation to ensure the maximum allowable deductions are claimed. We provide advice in such areas as pension splitting, capital gains, investments, rental properties and businesses.

Many clients operate their businesses as a proprietorship; knowledge of these situations can provide tax planning opportunities. We can recommend if or when you should incorporate your business or recommend income splitting opportunities with family members.

Belyea Colwell & Associates has expertise dealing with the issues of deceased tax payers. In addition to the preparation of the final tax return, the estate of the deceased may have an ongoing intervivos trust or spousal trust that have special filing requirements. The death of a taxpayer can be a complex tax event. Having a knowledgeable and experienced advisor like Belyea Colwell & Associates can help you through this time.

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Family Trusts

At Belyea Colwell & Associates, we have considerable experience in the use of Family Trusts as an income splitting and estate planning mechanism. A Family Trust is an instrument used in estate planning that provides substantial benefits over traditional corporation ownership. A Family Trust is a trust that is created by a taxpayer (business owner) for the benefit of their family. This trust differs from a testamentary trust (created on death) as it is created during the taxpayer’s lifetime.

The benefits of using a Family Trust include:

• • Creditor proofing of assets
• • Reduced income taxes
• • Multiple capital gains exemptions
• • Delayed taxation on death
• • Reduced probate fees on death

Examples of when a Family Trust should be considered:

• • Taxpayers who own a corporation and are seeking to spread income between family members
• • Taxpayers wishing to lock in their estate value to minimize tax on death
• • Taxpayers wishing to transfer wealth to family members while maintaining control over the assets
• • Taxpayers who own a corporation and are funding children’s post secondary education

The implementation and structure of a Family Trust is complex and should be discussed with both an accountant and a lawyer. Please contact our Tax Group for more information on Family Trusts or any other tax matters.

Testamentary Trusts

Testamentary trusts are automatically created upon the death of taxpayer. We have developed a considerable amount of expertise in this area. We can assist executors of estates in filing the final personal tax return of the deceased and filing of trust returns for the estate. We will help you understand how capital gains on assets are taxed upon death.

The importance of the executor’s role in keeping detailed accounting records for an estate cannot be emphasized enough. We can assist the executor in preparing financial statements for the estate including original assets at date of death and statements of receipts and disbursements.

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