A trust is its own taxpayer.
A trust files its own T3 return, generally due with any balance owing 90 days after its year-end. Its income, allocations, and transactions need their own record.
Entity types and their obligationsFamily holdings and trusts
The trust, the Holdco, and the companies. One record.
A family business is often held through a trust and a Holdco, set up years ago around an estate freeze. TaxDesk keeps the trust’s beneficiaries and T3 work, the share history, the Holdco’s tax balances, and the dates that matter, in one record the family and its advisors share.
Built for Canadian corporations Works with your external accountant
A typical family holding structure
Illustrative structure
- Ownership
- Intercompany activity
Discretionary trustFamily TrustFor the founder’s familyT3 · Sch. 1521-year date
Holding companyFamily HoldcoCorporate beneficiaryCDA · GRIPDividendsOwned by Family Trust · Common
Property companyProperty Co.Owns the premisesSch. 8 · UCCOwned by Family Trust · Common
IndividualFounderPreferred shares after the freezeTrusteePreferred
- Opco Inc. → Family Holdcodividends
- Property Co. → Opco Inc.rent
Sound familiar?
Where it gets hard.
- 01
The trust’s return comes due.
Without a shared recordThe T3 needs the trust’s income, what went to each beneficiary, and the Schedule 15 details. They’re spread across dividend records, a lawyer’s file, and last year’s return.
In TaxDeskThe trust’s beneficiaries, interest classes, income, and transactions are on its own record, beside the companies whose dividends it received. Its T3 and balance due are on the same list as everything else.
- 02
The trust’s 21st anniversary gets closer.
Without a shared recordNobody is watching the date, and the planning it calls for takes time with your advisors.
In TaxDeskTaxDesk works out the trust’s next deemed-disposition date from its type and creation date, and shows it on the trust’s profile.
- 03
The next generation asks who owns what.
Without a shared recordThe answer sits in a trust deed, two share registers, and the memory of the person who set it up.
In TaxDeskThe ownership chart shows the trust, the companies, and the family, with the date each change took effect. Export it for the family meeting or the lawyer.
Why it gets complicated
A family structure keeps its own calendar.
Trusts and Holdcos are set up for good reasons, usually once. The reporting, the dates, and the history keep going every year after.
Trusts report who is behind them.
Most trusts that file a T3 must also report every trustee, settlor, beneficiary, and controlling person on Schedule 15, each year, even when nothing has changed.
The 21-year rule.
Most personal trusts are treated as disposing of their capital property at fair market value every 21 years. The date is easy to miss when the deed is in a drawer.
Holdco balances carry history.
CDA, GRIP, and RDTOH affect how dividends from a Holdco are paid and taxed. Each balance is only as reliable as the record of where it came from.
CDA, GRIP, RDTOH and lossesThis is general information, not tax or legal advice. Ask your accountant how these rules apply to your group.
Inside TaxDesk · Ownership
The family, the trust, and the companies on one chart.
The ownership chart shows people, trusts, corporations, and partnerships with their percentages. See it as of any date, and export it for the family or the lawyer.
- Trusts, Holdcos, and operating companies on one chart
- See it as of any date
- Export a PDF, PNG, or SVG
- 1View the structure as of a date
- 2Export the chart
- 3Individuals, trusts, and corporations on one chart
- 4Ownership percentage on every link
Over a generation
What the record holds at each stage.
A family structure changes rarely, but each change matters for decades. The record should hold the reason and the date.
- 01
Founder
The founder owns the company.
- Cap table and share classes
- Returns and CRA accounts
- CDA and GRIP history
- 02
Freeze
A family trust takes the growth shares.
- Share transactions, PUC, and ACB
- The trust, its trustees, and beneficiaries
- Agreements and resolutions
- 03
Hold
Dividends flow and the trust files.
- T3 returns and balances due
- Trust income and transactions
- Dividends and their slips
- 04
21st year
The deemed-disposition date approaches.
- The date on the trust’s profile
- Ownership history as of any date
- The documents your advisor will ask for
Inside TaxDesk · Tax balances
The Holdco’s balances, with the history behind them.
CDA, ERDTOH, NERDTOH, GRIP, and safe income are built from dated entries with their sources. Open any balance to see how it got there.
- An as-of date and source on every balance
- The history behind each number
- Dividends linked to their slips
- 1CDA, ERDTOH, and NERDTOH, each with its balance
- 2Each balance carries an as-of date and its source
- 3Open the dated history behind any balance
- 4Balances built from dated entries, drawn as a running history
What’s in the record
One record for the family’s structure.
The trust and each company keep their own returns, balances, and documents, and ownership connects them. The family’s accountant and lawyer can work from the same record, and it stays with the family when advisors change.
- Trust beneficiaries and interest classes
- Trust income and transactions
- Holdco share history, PUC, and ACB
- CDA, GRIP, and RDTOH
- Dividends and their slips
- Deeds, agreements, and resolutions
Who does what
Returns and filing
YouYou or your accountant prepare and file the way you do today.
TaxDeskTaxDesk records the status, dates, and documents behind each filing.
CRA accounts
YouYou enter each company’s CRA accounts and filing settings.
TaxDeskTaxDesk turns them into due dates. It doesn’t connect to CRA.
Changes
YouYou decide when a document disagrees with the record.
TaxDeskTaxDesk links each fact to its source. A fact that conflicts with your records waits for your approval.
Who it is for
Especially useful when one person can no longer track the whole group.
- Families holding a business through a trust and a Holdco
- Owner-managers after an estate freeze
- Family offices coordinating several entities
- Families working with an outside accountant and lawyer
What it doesn’t do
TaxDesk keeps the tax record for the trust and the companies. It doesn’t prepare T3 or T2 returns, manage investments, or replace legal advice about the trust.
Free tools and guides
Run the numbers first.
Calculators and guides for groups like yours. They’re planning aids, not tax advice.
Entity types and their obligationsCorporations, partnerships, and trusts compared.Ownership and share classesClasses, PUC, ACB, and why the history matters.CDA, GRIP, RDTOH and lossesWhat the balances mean, and why their history matters.Shareholder loan calculatorRepayment deadlines under subsection 15(2).
Common questions
Know where TaxDesk fits.
Does TaxDesk handle family trusts?
Yes. A trust has its own record with its beneficiaries, interest classes, income, and transactions. Its T3 return and balance due appear with the rest of the group’s filings, and its 21-year date is on its profile.
Does TaxDesk prepare the T3 or Schedule 15?
No. Your accountant prepares and files the return. TaxDesk keeps the information the return draws on, with the documents behind it.
How does TaxDesk work out the 21-year date?
From the trust’s type and creation date. Trusts the rule doesn’t apply to, such as RRSP and TFSA trusts, get no date. Whether and how to plan for it is a decision for your advisor.
Can our accountant and lawyer use the same record?
Yes. Invite them to the workspace with a role that fits their work. If an advisor changes, the record stays with the family.
Does TaxDesk manage the family’s investments?
No. TaxDesk keeps the tax record for the trust and the companies. It doesn’t hold, value, or trade investments.
Request access
Give the whole group one tax record.
Tell us about your companies and the tax work you want in one place.