Glossary

The abbreviations.

Plain-English definitions for the abbreviations used across the menu, grouped by domain.

PERSONAL TAX

T1: Canadian personal income tax return. Filed annually by each adult by April 30 (June 15 for self-employed). Balance owing always due April 30 regardless of filing deadline.
RRSP: Registered Retirement Savings Plan. Tax-deductible contributions, tax-deferred growth, taxed on withdrawal. Contribution room is 18% of prior-year earned income up to an annual ceiling.
RRIF: Registered Retirement Income Fund. The post-71 vehicle a RRSP must convert into. Subject to a mandatory minimum annual withdrawal that scales by age.

CORPORATE

T2: Canadian corporate income tax return. Filed within 6 months of fiscal year-end. Balance owing due 2 months after FYE; 3 months for CCPCs claiming the Small Business Deduction.
T4: Annual information return reporting employment income paid by an employer to an employee. Slips due to employees and CRA by February 28.
T5: Annual information return reporting investment income (dividends, interest, royalties) paid by a corporation to shareholders or lenders. Same February 28 deadline.
GST/HST: Federal Goods and Services Tax and the harmonized federal/provincial sales tax. Filed by businesses exceeding the $30,000 small-supplier threshold. Filing frequency assigned by CRA: monthly above $6M annual taxable supplies, quarterly $1.5M-$6M, annual under $1.5M.
CCPC: Canadian-controlled Private Corporation. Tax status that grants access to the Small Business Deduction, the lifetime capital gains exemption on QSBC shares, and other CCPC preferences. Requires private status plus Canadian control.
SBD: Small Business Deduction. Reduced federal corporate tax rate available to CCPCs on the first $500,000 of active business income. Phased out as taxable capital exceeds $10M.
Holdco: Holding company. A corporation whose primary purpose is to hold shares of operating companies or investment assets, rather than to carry on active business.
Opco: Operating company. A corporation that carries on active business and earns active business income.

TRUST

T3: Canadian trust income tax return. Filed within 90 days of the trust's year-end. Includes the T3 information return with slips to beneficiaries.
APT: Asset Protection Trust. Discretionary trust set up to shield family assets from outside claims (creditors, divorce, professional liability) while preserving family control through trustee discretion and beneficiary class design.
Trustee: The person or institution that holds and manages trust property on behalf of the beneficiaries.
Beneficiary: The person entitled to receive distributions of income or capital from a trust under the trust deed.
Trust deed: The legal document that creates a trust and sets out the trustee's powers, the beneficiary class, and the rules governing distributions.

ESTATE

Estate freeze: Tax-planning structure that locks in the senior generation's accrued capital gains exposure on shares (typically via Section 85 or 86 rollover into fixed-value preferred shares) while transferring future growth to the next generation through new common shares.
Probate: Court process to validate a will and confirm the executor's authority. Subject to provincial estate administration tax in most provinces.

CROSS-BORDER

GILTI: Global Intangible Low-Taxed Income. U.S. tax regime that subjects U.S. shareholders of controlled foreign corporations to current tax on certain foreign-corporation earnings.
Subpart F: U.S. tax regime taxing certain categories of passive and related-party income earned by controlled foreign corporations to their U.S. shareholders.
Treaty election: Election under a tax treaty (most relevant here: Canada-U.S. Treaty Article XVIII) to defer or modify the tax treatment of cross-border retirement-account income.
Unified credit: U.S. estate tax credit available against the U.S. estate tax liability of U.S. citizens and certain Canadian residents under the treaty. Determines the threshold below which U.S. estate tax is zero.
IRA / 401(k): U.S. retirement vehicles. The Canada-U.S. treaty permits Canadian-resident holders to defer U.S. tax on internal growth (Article XVIII election).

INVESTMENT

IPS: Investment Policy Statement. Written document defining the family's return objective, risk tolerance, allowable asset classes and ranges, manager-selection criteria, liquidity rules, and rebalancing discipline.
Capital market assumptions: Forward-looking quantitative estimates (expected return, volatility, correlations) by asset class. Used as inputs for portfolio construction, financial-independence modeling, and rebalancing decisions.
Drawdown: Peak-to-trough decline in portfolio value from a prior high. Used to characterize the actual loss experience of a strategy, not just its volatility.

ACCOUNTING + FRAMEWORK

ASPE: Accounting Standards for Private Enterprises. The Canadian financial-reporting framework used by most private companies. Simpler than IFRS in several areas.
FYE: Fiscal year-end. The date a corporation or trust closes its books each year. Most personal trusts must use December 31; corporations can elect their own FYE.

PHILANTHROPY

Private foundation: Registered charity established by a family or other private group, controlled by a board of directors typically including family members.
Donation tax credit: Combined federal and provincial credit available on charitable donations to qualified donees. Two-tier structure with a higher credit rate above a small threshold.

FAMILY OFFICE

Family office: Organization providing integrated financial, governance, and lifestyle services to a wealthy family. Structures range from single-family offices (SFO) to multi-family offices (MFO) to hybrid models.
Family constitution: Written governance document covering shared principles, decision rights, conflict-resolution mechanisms, and shared expectations for the family across generations.