Financial advisor for chiropractors

Financial planning for chiropractors in Calgary and across Canada: irregular income, the professional corporation, buying into or selling a clinic, and retirement. Kaetyn St. Hilaire, CFA, plans the clinic and the household together.

Most chiropractors are self-employed, as associates paying a share of their billings to a clinic or as clinic owners. That means no employer pension, no withholding and an income that moves from month to month.

Associates often work as independent contractors and pay the clinic a share of what they bill. They report business income, pay both halves of CPP, deduct their own expenses and may be able to incorporate.

With no tax withheld, the CRA expects quarterly instalments once your tax owing passes $3,000 in the current year and in either of the two before it. A cash reserve for tax and slower months keeps the plan on track.

Owning a clinic adds staff, rent, equipment and associates. A professional corporation lets profit you do not need stay in the business at the small business rate, ready to repay debt or to invest.

Without an employer plan, your retirement income comes from what you build: CPP, RRSP, TFSA and, for incorporated owners who draw a salary, possibly an Individual Pension Plan.

The benefit comes from income you do not need to spend. Retained earnings are taxed at the small business rate (11% in Alberta and British Columbia, 12.2% in Ontario) instead of your top personal rate, and the difference compounds inside the corporation. A common rule of thumb is $50,000 or more a year that you do not need for personal spending. If you spend everything the practice earns, a corporation adds accounting cost without much deferral.

Salary builds RRSP room (18% of the prior year's earned income, up to $33,810 for 2026), funds CPP and keeps an Individual Pension Plan possible. Dividends need no payroll and leave more in the corporation to invest. Dividends to family members who are not active in the practice are generally taxed at the top rate under the tax on split income (TOSI) rules. For most owners the answer is a blend, reviewed every year before year end.

Much of a clinic's value is goodwill tied to the people who practise there. Buying in or selling well takes planning on both the price and the structure.

Buyers usually prefer to buy the assets of a chiropractic practice, so they can claim capital cost allowance on the equipment. Sellers usually prefer a share sale, because the lifetime capital gains exemption ($1.25 million in 2026) can shelter the gain on qualifying shares. The difference in what you keep after tax can run to hundreds of thousands of dollars, so model both structures before you agree to a price.

To qualify for the exemption, at least 90% of the corporation's assets must be used in the active business at the time of sale, and more than 50% throughout the 24 months before it. Investments left inside the corporation can fail that test. Moving surplus investments to a holding company two to three years ahead keeps the shares qualified.

Buying a chiropractic practice, or a partner's shares, is usually financed with a loan repaid from corporate cash flow. Only the interest is deductible, not the principal. Model how the payments affect your salary, RRSP room and personal savings before you sign. Paying no salary through a ten-year repayment gives up ten years of RRSP room for good.

Buyers often ask the seller to stay through a transition, and part of the price may depend on how many patients stay. Plan for that before you set a retirement date.

“If you haven't been consistently putting money into your TFSA and using that contribution room over the years, this tool has almost nothing to work with when you actually need it most.”

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An IPP is a defined benefit pension registered for the owner of a corporation. From the late forties on, it typically allows larger deductible contributions than an RRSP, past service can be funded, and pension assets do not count toward the passive income limit. It requires T4 salary, so a dividends-only history rules it out.

Salary creates RRSP room; dividends do not. The TFSA ($7,000 of new room for 2026) is open to everyone, grows tax free and its withdrawals do not count toward the OAS clawback. Which comes first depends on your tax rate today against the rate you expect in retirement.

After a sale, what remains in the corporation still has to come out. Dividends spread over lower-income years, the capital dividend account and planned withdrawals keep the tax on the way out as low as the rules allow.

Chiropractic is physical work, so an injury to your hands, back or shoulders can stop your income. Own-occupation disability coverage pays if you can no longer practise, and owners also need overhead expense coverage for the clinic.

Kaetyn is a Calgary-based financial advisor who works with high earners and medical professionals. He focuses on actionable strategies: the salary-dividend mix inside a professional corporation, RRSP and TFSA contributions, pensions and a long-term investment plan that spans the corporate and personal sides.

A complimentary, no-obligation conversation about your clinic, your income and your goals, and a clear explanation of how we can help.