Jason Pisesky
Tax lawyer, leads Maxim Tax
Jason is a tax lawyer and partner at Maxim. He leads Maxim Tax and reviews the plan.
Full profileMaxim Tax
Corporate tax accountant for business owners, professionals and families across Canada Tax strategy built for a lifetime
For business owners, professionals and families building something bigger.
We build your tax strategy first, or pick up the one you have, then run it all year. That covers how you pay yourself, what stays in the corporation, and every corporate and personal return that follows.
- Led by
- Jason Pisesky
- Team
- Tax lawyer and CPAs
- Clients
- Across Canada
- Office
- Calgary, Alberta
A traditional accountant looks at last year. We look at the years ahead.
| Maxim Tax | Traditional accountant |
|---|---|
| Starts from a written plan for you and your corporation. | Starts from last year’s return. |
| Talks to you before each decision, through the year. | Talks to you at tax time. |
| Sets how you pay yourself, each year. | Reports how you paid yourself. |
| Brings in Maxim Law on the same plan. | Sends you to a lawyer when it gets complicated. |
| Judged on what your family keeps over a lifetime. | Judged on this year’s bill. |
Who we work with
You’re a physician, dentist, or other professional with a professional corporation.
You own a corporation and pay yourself through salary, dividends, or both.
Some of your income, accounts, or property is in the US or another country.
Your current accountant files your returns, but nobody connects them to your plan.
If one of these sounds like you, whoever files your returns should know your plan.
What we handle
The plan decides what gets filed. We handle the planning conversations through the year and every return that follows.
- Planning and advice. Through the year, as decisions come up
- Corporate instalments. Monthly, or quarterly for some small CCPCs
- Jan
- Feb
- SlipsT4 and T5 slips Feb 28
- CorporateT2 balance due Feb 28
- Mar
- Trusts and partnershipsT3 and T5013 returns Mar 31
- CorporateBalance, most small CCPCs Mar 31
- Personal instalmentsDue Mar 15
- Apr
- PersonalT1 return and balance Apr 30
- Cross-borderUS 1040 and FBAR Apr 15T1135 with your T1 Apr 30
- May
- Jun
- CorporateT2 return, with any T1135 Jun 30
- PersonalT1 if self-employed Jun 15
- Cross-borderUS 1040, living abroad Jun 15
- Personal instalmentsDue Jun 15
- Jul
- Aug
- Sep
- Personal instalmentsDue Sep 15
- Oct
- Cross-borderFBAR, extended Oct 15
- Nov
- Dec
- Personal instalmentsDue Dec 15
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Pay, dividends and what stays in the corporation
- When
- Through the year
We weigh salary against dividends, and what to leave in the corporation, by what each does to your combined tax bill. Lawyers and financial planners are down the hall.
-
T2 corporate tax returns
- When
- Every year, after your corporation’s year-end
We prepare and file your corporation’s yearly tax return, the T2, and the financial statements behind it.
-
Personal returns for owners
- When
- Every spring
We prepare your own T1 return next to your corporation’s. How you paid yourself changes both.
-
Trust and partnership returns
- When
- Every spring
Family trust returns (T3) and partnership returns (T5013), with the slips that go to beneficiaries and partners.
-
Cross-border tax filings
- When
- When you hold assets or earn income outside Canada
We file foreign property reports (T1135) and returns for clients with US ties.
-
Instalments, elections and year-end
- When
- Through the year
We work out your instalments, the tax the CRA collects during the year, and close your books at year-end. We also file the elections your plan needs, the choices you make in writing to the CRA.
Your returns, your plan and your structure, in one place
How you pay yourself affects more than this year’s tax bill. An investment inside the corporation changes your business taxes and your retirement. Maxim Tax plans and files with all of it in view, and brings in Maxim’s financial planners or Maxim Law when a decision needs them.
Getting started
Your strategy comes first
Maxim Tax runs a plan. If you don’t have one yet, Maxim builds it with you before we file anything.
We scope the work around it
Send your last two years of corporate and personal returns and your latest financial statements. You’ll know what’s included and what it costs before any work starts.
We run it through the year
We handle each deadline, file what the plan calls for, and raise decisions before year-end. If you’re switching accountants, we get what we need from them.
Your returns, from anywhere in Canada.
Tax advice doesn’t need an office visit. You send your documents, we meet by video, and we file with the CRA from Calgary. A client in Vancouver or Halifax gets the same service as one down the street.
Who does the work
Jason leads Maxim Tax. Maxim’s CPAs prepare your returns and run the plan through the year. Jason reviews the plan and steps in when a decision needs a lawyer.
Anass Mebtoul
CPA
Anass has worked in accounting and tax since 2016 and earned his CPA in 2022. He handles corporate and personal tax planning for business owners.
Obed Maurice
Partner, CPA, CA, CFP
Obed has been a CPA since 2010. Before Maxim, he founded one of Canada’s first cloud-based CPA firms.
Full profileDo I need a plan before working with Maxim Tax?
Yes. Maxim Tax runs a strategy, so the strategy comes first. If you already have one, send us your last two years of returns and we’ll pick it up from there. If you don’t, Maxim builds it with you, and Maxim Tax takes over once it’s set.
When would I need Maxim Law instead?
When something has to be written into a legal document, or argued with the CRA. Buying out a partner, setting up a family trust, changing your share classes, getting a legal opinion, or appealing a reassessment all go through Maxim Law. Maxim Tax handles the planning and the filings that follow. If you’re not sure which you need, ask. We’ll tell you.
Can you help me decide between salary and dividends?
That’s most of what we do through the year. We look at your corporation’s income, your family’s cash needs, your retirement savings and your combined tax position, and recommend the mix and the timing. Then we file the returns the decision produces.
How do my corporate investments affect my taxes?
Investment income inside a corporation is taxed differently from business income, and past a certain level it can reduce the small business deduction. We model how much to hold inside the corporation and how that fits your retirement and estate plans.
When is a T2 corporate tax return due?
It’s due six months after your corporation’s fiscal year-end. Any tax you owe is usually due earlier. That’s two months after year-end, or three for most small private corporations. So the payment comes before the return.
How much does a corporate tax return cost?
It depends on how complex the corporation is and how clean the books are. You get a scope and a fee before any work starts.
What do I need to send for a corporate tax return?
Send your corporation’s bank and credit card statements for the year, plus last year’s return. Include its bookkeeping records if you keep them. If you’re switching from another accountant, their working files help as well.
Can I switch accountants partway through the year?
Yes. We get what we need from your previous accountant and pick up your corporate tax filing from the next deadline.
Do you work with clients outside Alberta?
Yes. We file for clients across Canada, and all of the work can be done remotely.
What’s the difference between Maxim Tax and Maxim Law?
Both teams work on the same plan, from different sides. Maxim Tax works with the numbers. It figures out what a decision does to your corporate and personal tax, then prepares and files the returns that follow. Maxim Law works with the law. Jason writes the agreements and the share changes that put the plan in place, gives a legal opinion when you need one, and represents you if the CRA disagrees. Say you want to bring your daughter into the business. Maxim Tax works out what that does to everyone’s tax bill. Maxim Law drafts the share changes and the shareholder agreement. Either way, you deal with one firm.
Do I need a corporate tax accountant for my professional corporation?
You aren’t legally required to use one. But a professional corporation files a T2 return and financial statements every year. The salary vs dividends choice affects your personal taxes too. Most owners hand this to someone who does it every day.
Further reading
Incorporated physicians
Planning for incorporated physicians and their medical corporations.Snowbird tax rules and Form 8840
Spending winters in the US without becoming a US taxpayer.Departure tax in Canada
What you owe when you stop being a Canadian resident.Our fees
How we scope and quote our fees.
Corporate and personal tax, run from one plan. Start with your plan.
Bring your plan and last year’s return, and we’ll show you how we’d run it. No plan yet? Maxim builds one with you first. The first call is a paid consultation. See our fees.