Paying yourself: salary or dividends?
Incorporate in Saint-Basile-le-Grand from $999, fees included. Understanding the choice between salary and dividends. Reviewed by Quebec lawyers.
Services and professionals in the Richelieu Valley
Complete legal filings
Each incorporation includes all legal filings required to create a compliant and operational corporation from day one.
Share capital structure
Depending on the option selected, your share capital structure is prepared in a simple or advanced format to support the future evolution of your business.
Digital minute book
All corporate documents are delivered in a digital minute book, ready for electronic signature and secure record keeping.
Professional validation
Documents are prepared according to established legal standards and reviewed before delivery.
Human support
Our team supports you throughout the process and provides guidance when decisions need to be made, without unnecessary complexity.
Incorporate your business
Build your company in Quebec or federally with a strong legal structure from day one.
Keep your company’s annual filings up to date and maintain compliance of your corporate minute book.
Access professional legal templates to structure relationships with your employees, partners, and suppliers.
By opening a NBC business account.
A guided process, from information gathering to final document delivery.
Each step is designed to ensure compliance and legal consistency.
Tailor your incorporation to your needs (simple or advanced structure).
Each file is reviewed before delivery to ensure a reliable outcome.
Our incorporation guides
Clear resources to help you understand the legal aspects of starting a business.
Incorporation
Discover the complete guide to incorporation in Quebec. Essential steps, expert tips and key information to create and manage your corporation.
The Complete Guide to Incorporating in Quebec (QBCA)
Everything you need to know to incorporate under the Quebec Business Corporations Act. Key actors, articles, costs and the process explained simply.
The Complete Guide to Federal Incorporation in Canada (CBCA)
Incorporate your business under the Canada Business Corporations Act. Key actors, articles, annual costs and the federal incorporation process explained clearly.
The Complete Guide to Incorporating in Ontario (OBCA)
Incorporate your business under the Ontario Business Corporations Act. Key actors, articles, annual costs and the provincial incorporation process explained clearly.
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Saint-Basile-le-Grand: a town of professionals and managers
Saint-Basile-le-Grand has an educated residential profile, with a high proportion of workers in management, engineering, health care and professional services. Many work for themselves or run a small business serving all of Montérégie.
For those entrepreneurs, one question returns every year: how do you pay yourself from your corporation?
Two mechanisms, two logics
Salary is an expense for the corporation, therefore deductible from its taxable income. It generates source deductions and contributions, but creates employment income that gives access to the pension plan, allows RRSP contributions and eases mortgage approval.
A dividend is paid from the corporation's after-tax profits. It requires no deductions and triggers no contributions, which often makes it simpler. In exchange, it generates no RRSP contribution room and does not count as employment income for several programs.
There is no universal answer. The right mix depends on your income level, retirement goals, borrowing plans and the presence of other shareholders. It is an annual decision to make with an accountant, not a once-and-for-all choice.
Online incorporation, reviewed by lawyers
Our role is to properly form the corporation that makes those choices possible. Our pricing includes government fees. See our online incorporation guide or start your incorporation.
By opening a NBC business account.
What the structure must allow
To keep that flexibility, the corporation must be formed with adequate share capital from the start. An overly simple structure can limit your options later, notably if you want to pay different dividends to different shareholders. That is a reason to have the articles reviewed rather than filing a generic template.
Provincial or federal for a Saint-Basile-le-Grand business?
For a Quebec clientele, the provincial regime fits. The choice of regime has no effect on the salary or dividend question, which is a tax matter.
Your obligations once incorporated
Annual updating declaration, a current minute book, a separate corporate tax return and resolutions recording major decisions. Paying a dividend must in fact be supported by a resolution.
Common questions from Saint-Basile-le-Grand entrepreneurs
Can I combine both? Yes, and it is common. Many pay themselves a base salary and top up with dividends based on results.
Are dividends always better? No. They sometimes are on immediate tax, but they forgo RRSP room and eligible income for certain programs.
Compare your options in REQ, platform or notary, or start your incorporation.