Taxation of Domestic Trusts - Fundamentals

Note: The Live Virtual course is presented in collaboration with CPA Western Provinces. The content is applicable to all participants. If you have questions regarding this course, please contact pdregistration@cpaalberta.ca. 

Overview:

You will build a practical foundation in the taxation of Canadian trusts and their beneficiaries, from basic trust law concepts through core income‑tax rules and compliance. You will work through common scenarios to identify risks, recognize planning opportunities, and complete fundamental filings with confidence.

Course Content:

In this course, you will gain knowledge about the following topics:

• Trust essentials: parties, legal nature, creation, and distinction from other relationships.
  
• Recognizing when a trust structure is appropriate and high‑level design choices (settlor, trustees, beneficiaries, protector, letters of wishes).
  
• Types of trusts and common family/estate variants (inter vivos, testamentary, spousal/alter‑ego/joint‑partner, minors).
  
• Taxation of trusts: residency, year‑end, income inclusions, designations, distributions, 21‑year rule, AMT, and property transfers.
  
• Taxation of beneficiaries amounts payable, designations, non‑resident issues, TOSI touchpoints.
  
• Trusts and estates: GRE basics, rollovers/elections, and post‑mortem planning highlights.
  
• Administration and compliance: records, filings, due dates, installments, and amending returns.
  

Learning Objectives:

Upon completing this course, you should be able to:

• Explain key trust‑law concepts (parties, three certainties, creation and variation) and how they interact with income‑tax rules.
  
• Describe core taxation principles for trusts (residency, income inclusions, flow‑through, 21‑year rule, AMT touchpoints) and their effect on beneficiaries.
  
• Identify attribution‑rule considerations and other risk areas when designing, funding, and administering trusts.
  
• Outline foundational planning uses of trusts (e.g., family, spousal/alter‑ego, estate contexts) and recognize common pitfalls.
  
• Complete essential compliance steps for T3 filings, elections, documentation, and basic post‑mortem considerations.
  

Who Will Benefit: 

• Practitioners who prepare trust returns or advise clients using trust structures and want a solid fundamentals refresher.
  
• Professionals seeking to recognize common trust‑related risks and foundational planning opportunities.