@calmmoneycoach: The AMT ambush after you sell your Canadian corporation You sold your incorporated business. The gain was over a million dollars. The exemption wiped the tax to zero. Then a second bill shows up. About 41,000 dollars. Federal alone. This is the alternative minimum tax, the most misunderstood tax in Canada. Here's the part people get wrong. It isn't stacked on top. Your tax is the higher of the two. And it's usually not a loss, it's an interest-free loan you carry forward 7 years and claw back. But only if you build the right income to claim it. The twist that catches founders. To recover it you need full-rate income. Salary, interest, RRSP withdrawals. Retire on eligible dividends, the most tax-efficient way there is, and you can strand the credit forever. Know the second number before you celebrate the first.