Legal and Accounting Fees for Succession Planning - Deductible?

Question

Are legal and accounting fees for succession planning tax deductible? If they are not tax deductible, can the GST be claimed on the expense because they are somewhat capital in nature (costs are partly to do with sale of a capital assets)?

Answer

 The legal and accountancy fee for succession planning would be capital in nature so not deductible for tax purposes. GST is claimable on the those expenses if it is applicable.

Recall, however, that if the total of all of your legal fees combined for the year are $10,000 or less, you do not need to distinguish between capital and revenue and can claim a deduction for the legal expenses involved. Once the total of your legal fees exceeds the $10,000 threshold, all the fees become subject to the test of capital vs revenue.