Not exact matches
Depending on the situation (like if your
spouse is out of work, or if they
are in a
lower tax bracket than you), contributing to an RRSP might
be a great idea even if you have enough retirement savings.
On so - called «income sprinkling,» it
's hard to justify letting, say, a doctor split income with a
spouse or kid who doesn't have much to do with the practice, just so a chunk of income can
be taxed in a
lower bracket.
The general idea
is to shift assets to the
lower - earning
spouse, who can withdraw more
in retirement at a
lower tax bracket.
If your
spouse or common - law partner
is in a
lower tax bracket than you, shifting this income to his or her hands helps
lower the total family
tax bill.
This
is because the IRS views each
spouse as earning half the total income which essentially keeps more income
in lower tax brackets.
Setting up a spousal RRSP
is a good idea if you expect your
spouse or common - law partner to
be in a
lower tax bracket than you on retirement.
If you have a
spouse, partner or kids
in a
lower tax bracket than you, consider a prescribed rate loan strategy whereby the higher - income
spouse or partner loans funds to the
lower - income
spouse or partner to invest at the record
low prescribed rate, which
is at one per cent until at least March 31.
For couples
in different
tax brackets, pension income splitting allows some of their RRIF income to
be taxed in the hands of the
lower - earning
spouse.
Under the old
tax law, because the
spouse receiving alimony or spousal maintenance
is usually
in a
lower tax bracket after a divorce, more money stays with the divorcing couple rather than going to the Federal Government.