Opportunities for Business Owners and Real Estate Owners for 2025

Brian Gribben |

As a business owner, you're constantly juggling multiple responsibilities, serving clients, building your company, and trying to keep up with the demands of our fast-paced world. 

One of the biggest challenges we face is that "we don't know what we don't know" - there could be opportunities right in front of us that we're completely unaware of. This is equally true for Real Estate Investors who own properties beyond their primary residence.

In my role as a Strategic Planner specializing in advising business owners on financial and estate planning, I often witness the amazement on people's faces when I reveal the advantages and opportunities that come with owning your own business. There are tax-free methods to extract money from your company, tax-favoured ways to grow the unused portion of your corporate bank account, and strategies to pay future capital gains tax on your business or investment real estate without depleting the assets you've worked so hard to build and acquire.

Many savvy business owners and real estate investors set up Holding companies to protect and hold their assets. These corporations enjoy all sorts of tax-favoured treatment, including ways to grow money inside the corporation and eventually distribute it to family members "tax-free". In fact, during 2024, when the government introduced changes to the Capital Gains Tax (effective June 25, 2024), we helped clients extract millions of dollars from their Holding companies without paying a dime in personal taxes. As a business owner, did you know that was possible?

Maximizing Your Corporate Bank Account

Another golden opportunity lies within your corporate bank account. Most business owners, myself included, like to maintain a certain amount in their business account as a security blanket - money for a rainy day, the next couple of months of payroll, or a contingency fund for unexpected curveballs. But what about the excess money in your business account, beyond your rainy day fund?

GICs aren't ideal, as they tie up valuable capital you might need access to and produce interest income taxed at the highest rate in a corporation. A common misconception is that to earn a significant return on this excess money, you need to seek out risky investments and lock up your funds for extended periods. In today's world of electronic money transfers, that's no longer the case.

Imagine having an investment account owned by your business, whether it's a Holding company or an Operating company. This account can receive deposits whenever it suits you, has the potential to earn significant returns with a major life insurance company, and allows you to withdraw funds back into your business bank account anytime you need them. The earnings on these deposits are taxed favourably and even create opportunities to take out some returns "tax-free" from your corporation. There are no fees for deposits or withdrawals. All our corporate clients earned over 10% per year in 2023 and 2024 on these investments while maintaining access to their capital and enjoying the peace of mind that comes from having their excess corporate dollars with a major life insurance company.

Seizing Opportunities in 2025

It's time to consider that there might be opportunities ahead for you and your business in 2025 that you're not familiar with but could be key to your financial future. A 30-minute phone call, with no commitment required, could prove invaluable to you and your business. You can also stop by and see us at "The Investors Corner" (the BGIP office)  at the corner of Perry and Mary in Port Perry, or visit theinvestorscorner.ca

Remember, "we don't know what we don't know". So why not take the first step towards uncovering these hidden opportunities? Your future self will thank you for it.


Brian Gribben, Strategic Planner

Brian.gribben@bgip.ca