Wellington-Altus Private Wealth
April 1st, 2026
Planning Ahead: Six Ways to Minimize Taxes on Your Estate
While many of us focus on reducing this year’s tax bill, it’s also a good time to consider how to manage future tax obligations. Planning ahead can help preserve more of your hard-earned wealth for your heirs, rather than the tax authorities.
In Canada, unlike the U.S., there is no estate tax in the traditional sense.
Instead, you are deemed to have disposed of your assets at fair market value at death, and your estate is subject to tax on any accrued gains. For many estates, the greatest tax exposure comes from registered accounts such as Registered Retirement Savings Plans (RRSPs) or Registered Retirement Income Funds (RRIFs), capital gains in non-registered accounts and appreciated assets like vacation properties or other real estate.
Recent Changes to the U.S. Estate Tax
For those Canadians holding significant U.S. situs assets, the U.S. estate tax was scheduled to “sunset” as of January 1, 2026, reverting to between US$5 million and US$6 million per person, indexed for inflation. However, under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the U.S. estate tax exemption was “permanently” increased to US$15 million per person (US$30 million for married couples) as of January 1, 2026, with future indexing for inflation. Of course, no tax-related legislation can truly be considered permanent, but the increased exemption provides near-term planning certainty for high-net-worth Canadians with significant U.S. situs assets.
