Pension Income Splitting (Automatic)

This article explains how to use automated pension income splitting. Snap also allows you to perform pension income splitting manually and for details on this, please refer to the article  Pension Income Splitting (Manual).

Automated pension income splitting will calculate the optimal amount of Taxable Income to be shifted from one spouse to the other, up to the allowable maximum each year, with the goal of equalizing the taxable income between spouses. This way you can help your clients minimize their total tax liability. They will save more dollars by paying less tax, leading to an improved scenario for your clients.

This feature is automatically enabled for you. You'll be able to see the Pension Splitting column on the Planning page for the client or for the spouse.

You'll see dashes ("-") in the column for Pension Splitting if there is no pension that is eligible to be split that year. 

You can turn it off and on by clicking the blue button at the top of the column. You'll see the following dialogue box.

The amount being split for each year will show as a negative value for one spouse and as a corresponding positive value for the other spouse.

You'll be able to see the impact of the income splitting by examining the Marginal Tax Rate and the Effective Tax Rate on the Planning pages and the Capital and Estate section on the Combined Planning page.

Technical Details

The automated pension income splitting will only income split if this makes sense for the client. If the clients wouldn't benefit from income splitting, the income splitting column will contain $0 values.

The following income-splitting rules are currently implemented in Snap Projections:

PENSION INCOME SPLITTING RULES

1. Pension income, LIF income, RRIF income are considered eligible for splitting.
2. The optimal amount for splitting is calculated, up to the maximum allowable.
3. Income splitting start age for:
	a. Defined Benefit pension is pension start age.
	b. RRIF is the year RRIF starts (but no earlier than age 65).
	c. LIF is the year LIF starts (but no earlier than age 65).

Please note that the general CRA pension income splitting rules are followed, however, there are exceptions and additional provisions that may apply. These additional provisions should be consulted with a qualified professional. Further, the pension income splitting rules may change over time.