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  • Corporate Planning · Charitable Giving

Donate the shares —
not the cash.

Tax credits, capital gains elimination, the CDA credit, and replacing the wealth with life insurance.
PREPARED BY PETER LOUNT · RETURNONLIFE.CA · JULY 2026
DONATE $1M IN SHARES DIRECTLY
Tax on the $800K gain
$0
CDA credit (vs $400K)
$800,000
Extra tax-free dividend
+$400,000
The core idea

One rule change, three benefits.

When a corporation donates publicly-traded securities directly to a registered charity: instead of selling them and donating the cash, the capital gain on those securities is taxed at a 0% inclusion rate. That single rule change cascades through three benefits: no tax on the gain, a full donation deduction at fair market value, and a larger Capital Dividend Account (CDA) credit than a normal disposition would ever produce. The strategy is completed by using part of the resulting tax savings to fund a life insurance policy that replaces the donated capital for the family’s estate.
01
THE RULE

Why the Security Itself Matters More Than the Cash

Under the Income Tax Act, donations of qualifying publicly listed securities (shares, mutual funds, segregated funds) to a registered charity receive a 0% capital gains inclusion rate: down from the normal 50% inclusion that applies to an ordinary disposition. This applies whether the donor is an individual or a corporation. The moment the corporation sells the shares first and donates the cash proceeds instead, that benefit is lost entirely and the normal 50% inclusion applies to the gain.

The rate this avoids

2026 Ontario combined capital gains marginal rate at the top bracket is 26.76% (50% inclusion already applied); this is the tax that direct security donation avoids entirely on the gain portion.
StepCash donation · sell first, then donateDirect security donation
Recommended
Capital gain inclusion50% (normal rule)0% (donation of qualifying listed securities)
Taxable portion of gainHalf of the gain is corporate taxable incomeNone of the gain is taxable
Amount credited to CDAOnly the untaxed 50% of the gainThe entire 100% of the gain
Donation deductionEqual to cash proceeds donatedEqual to full FMV of securities donated
Charity receivesSame net proceeds (after any tax drag on the sale)Full FMV of the securities
02
THREE LAYERS

The Three Layers of Benefit, in Order

1

No tax on the gain

The accrued capital gain on the donated securities is not taxed at all: a 0% inclusion rate applies instead of the normal 50%.

2

A full donation tax deduction

The corporation receives a charitable donation deduction equal to the fair market value of the securities on the date of the gift, reducing the corporation’s taxable income (subject to the net income percentage limit, with a 5-year carryforward for any unused portion).

3

A larger Capital Dividend Account credit

Because the gain has a 0% inclusion rate, the entire gain: not just the normal untaxed 50%, is credited to the corporation’s CDA. That balance can then be paid out to the individual shareholder as a fully tax-free capital dividend.
03
THE MATH

Worked Example

Assume a holding company owns publicly-traded shares with an adjusted cost base of $200,000 and a current fair market value of $1,000,000: an accrued gain of $800,000.
The donation deduction is identical either way: the difference is entirely in how much of the gain is taxed and how much lands in the CDA. Corporate tax savings from the deduction depend on the corporation’s applicable tax rate and net income limits; confirm the exact deduction value with the corporation’s accountant.
ItemSell shares, donate cashDonate shares directly
Recommended
Fair market value donated$1,000,000$1,000,000
Accrued capital gain$800,000$800,000
Taxable capital gain$400,000 (50% inclusion)$0 (0% inclusion)
Amount credited to CDA$400,000$800,000
Donation deduction$1,000,000 (from cash donated)$1,000,000 (from FMV of shares)
Tax-free capital dividend available$400,000$800,000
Extra dividend from donating shares directly—+$400,000
ROUTED THROUGH THE CDA
$800,000
reaches the shareholder tax-free
IF PAID AS AN ORDINARY DIVIDEND
~$382,000
personal tax at the 2026 Ontario top combined rate (47.74%)

What this means for the shareholder

If that same $800,000 had instead been paid out of the corporation as an ordinary (non-eligible) dividend, the shareholder would face tax at 47.74% at the 2026 Ontario top combined rate: roughly $382,000 in personal tax. Routed through the CDA instead, the full $800,000 reaches the shareholder tax-free. The donation strategy does not just remove tax on the gain; it converts what would have been a heavily taxed dividend into a tax-free one.
04
BUY IT BACK

Buying Back the Wealth: The Insurance Replacement Layer

The family has now given $1,000,000 of value to charity. On its own, that permanently reduces the estate passing to heirs by that amount. The wealth replacement strategy closes that gap: part of the tax savings and the tax-free capital dividend generated by the donation is redirected into a corporately-owned permanent life insurance policy on the shareholder’s life, sized to replace the value that left the estate.
01

Retained capacity

The corporation retains the tax-free $800,000 capital dividend capacity and the value of the donation deduction: cash and tax savings that would not have existed had the corporation simply held the shares.
02

Premiums from freed-up value

A portion of that freed-up value is used to pay premiums on a permanent (whole life or universal life) policy owned by the corporation on the shareholder’s life, sized toward the $1,000,000 that left the estate.
03

A second CDA credit

At death, the policy’s death benefit is paid to the corporation tax-free. The proceeds, less the policy’s adjusted cost basis, again credit the CDA: generating a second tax-free capital dividend to the heirs.
04

Net result

The charity received the full $1,000,000 in securities, the family banked an immediate donation deduction and a tax-free capital dividend along the way, and the estate’s value is restored to heirs tax-free through the insurance death benefit: effectively letting the same dollar do three jobs.

What has to be true for this to work

  • The securities genuinely qualify as publicly listed securities under the donation rules
    The corporation has sufficient net income room (or carryforward capacity) to use the full donation deduction
    The insurance is underwritten and in force before the benefit is needed
    The shareholder is an insurable life
  • None of these are guaranteed: confirm eligibility, corporate tax position, and insurability before modeling this for a specific client.
05
WHY INSURANCE

The Life Insurance Asset-Class Perspective

This strategy is, at its core, a life insurance strategy: not just a donation strategy that happens to end with a policy. Participating whole life (PAR) insurance is increasingly framed as its own asset class because of five characteristics: diversification, stability, liquidity, tax-preferred growth, and Capital Dividend Account (CDA) benefits for corporate owners. The donate-and-replace structure above is really Reason 5, the CDA benefit, being deliberately engineered rather than left to arise passively at death.
Diversification
Stability
Liquidity
Tax-preferred growth
CDA benefits
In an ordinary corporate-owned PAR case, the CDA credit only appears because the death benefit itself is tax-free by nature; it is a byproduct of holding the policy. In the donation strategy, the CDA is built twice from the same initiative: once immediately, from the tax-free portion of the donated gain, and again later, from the policy’s own death benefit when it replaces that gift. The insurance is not simply a way to fund a future replacement; it is what lets the family capture a second CDA credit event using capital that would otherwise never have generated one.
Viewed this way, the securities donation is the trigger, and the permanent life insurance policy is the vehicle that makes the CDA benefit repeatable and durable: turning a one-time gift into an ongoing, tax-preferred, CDA-generating asset held inside the corporation for the rest of the shareholder’s life, with the same liquidity, stability, and tax-preferred growth characteristics that make PAR insurance a distinct asset class in its own right.
06
ALL TOGETHER

Summary Comparison

OutcomeDo nothingSell + donate cashDonate securities + insurance
Recommended
Tax on the $800,000 gainNone (until eventual disposition)Tax on $400,000 taxable halfNone: 0% inclusion
Donation deductionNoneEqual to cash donatedEqual to full FMV of securities
CDA credit generatedNone$400,000$800,000
Estate value after the giftFull $1,000,000 retained (no gift made)Reduced by $1,000,000, partially offset by CDAReduced by $1,000,000, offset by CDA now and insurance death benefit later
Family’s after-tax resultNo charitable impactPartial tax-free recoveryLargest tax-free recovery, plus estate value replaced at death

A team effort, not a single advisor

This structure spans corporate tax, charitable gift rules, and insurance underwriting at once; no single advisor covers all three. The accountant confirms the deduction and CDA mechanics, the insurance advisor structures and underwrites the replacement policy, and the charity’s gift-planning office confirms the donation is accepted in the right form. Coordinating all three before implementation is what makes the strategy work as designed.
Important — Figures use the 2026 Ontario combined federal/provincial marginal rates (26.76% capital gains, 47.74% non-eligible dividends) and illustrative round numbers. Actual results depend on the corporation’s net income limits, carryforward position, insurability and underwriting outcome, and the specific securities donated. This material outlines general mechanics only: confirm the donation deduction, CDA credit calculation, and insurance structure with the client’s tax and legal advisors before implementation.

Prepared by Peter Lount, Return on Life, for illustrative and educational purposes only; this does not constitute tax, legal, or insurance advice specific to any individual’s circumstances.

The same dollar, doing three jobs.
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