6 American Moving to Canada Tax Planning tax and accounting engagements in full — what the client came to us with, what we did, and what it was worth. Each one is specific to american moving to canada tax planning work, not a general example.
Case Study 1 · Backlog brought current
Collections Halted And $44,000 Cut From A 7-Year Backlog — Non-Resident Owning Canadian Rental, Burnaby
Client: A non-resident owning Canadian rental property · Where: Burnaby, British Columbia · Engagement: 7 weeks, fixed fee
Balance reduced by$44,000
Backlog cleared7 years
CollectionsHalted
The situation
By the time a non-resident owning Canadian rental property in Burnaby, British Columbia called, 7 years were outstanding and the CRA had assessed on estimates. Underneath it sat foreign accounts that had passed the $100,000 T1135 threshold three years earlier.
What we did
We reconstructed the records year by year and filed the section 216 election with the supporting rental statements and recovered the excess withholding as a refund. Each filing replaced an arbitrary assessment with a real one.
The result
The account is current. Filing on real numbers rather than CRA estimates reduced the balance by $44,000, and a relief application addressed part of the accumulated interest.
Case Study 2 · Records and systems rebuilt
11 Months Reconciled And $9,000 Of Input Tax Recovered — US Citizen Living in, Saskatoon
Client: A US citizen living in Canada · Where: Saskatoon, Saskatchewan · Engagement: 10 weeks, fixed fee
Months reconciled11
Input tax recovered$9,000
Close time4 days
The situation
A US citizen living in Canada in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan was carrying a departure year filed as a normal resident return with no deemed disposition reported. Nothing reconciled, and every filing started with 11 months of cleanup.
What we did
We rebuilt from source rather than correcting on top of the existing file. We reported the deemed disposition properly on the departure return and claimed the foreign tax credits that had been left unused, then set the routine that keeps it clean.
The result
11 months reconciled to the bank. The close now takes 4 days, and $9,000 of previously unclaimable input tax was recovered in the process.
Client: An inbound transferee on assignment · Where: Surrey, British Columbia · Engagement: 3 weeks, fixed fee
Overpayment refunded$111,000
Late remittances sinceZero
ScheduleAutomated
The situation
Remittances at an inbound transferee on assignment in Surrey, British Columbia were consistently late by a few days, which was enough to trigger penalties every quarter. Behind it sat a US LLC taxed as a corporation in Canada, producing double tax on the same income.
What we did
We filed the outstanding T1135 disclosures through the Voluntary Disclosures Program, which eliminated the penalty exposure entirely, then moved the remittance dates into a scheduled process rather than a monthly decision.
The result
Penalties stopped from the following remittance onwards, and $111,000 of overpaid instalments was refunded.
Case Study 4 · Missed incentive claimed
Incentive Review Recovered $132,000 Across 5 Open Years — Dual Citizen with a, Winnipeg
Client: A dual citizen with a US retirement account · Where: Winnipeg, Manitoba · Engagement: 3 weeks, fixed fee
Recovered$132,000
Open years claimed5
Ongoing trackingIn place
The situation
An incentive review at a dual citizen with a US retirement account in Winnipeg, Manitoba started from a simple question: what has never been claimed? The answer ran to 5 years, driven by a departure year filed as a normal resident return with no deemed disposition reported.
What we did
We restructured the US holding so the Canadian and US characterisations aligned, ending the double taxation going forward, documenting eligibility to the standard a reviewer would apply rather than the standard a claim form requires.
The result
The credits produced $132,000 across the open years, and the tracking now in place means the following year's claim is documented as the work happens rather than reconstructed afterwards.
Case Study 5 · Sale and succession
Intergenerational Transfer Completed With $895,000 Deferred — Canadian Corporation with US, Edmonton
Client: A Canadian corporation with US customers · Where: Edmonton, Alberta · Engagement: 6 weeks, fixed fee
Tax deferred$895,000
TransferCompleted
RecordsReview-ready
The situation
A generational transfer at a Canadian corporation with US customers in Edmonton, Alberta had been discussed for years without a plan. A minute book with no resolutions behind a decade of dividends meant the transfer as contemplated would have been fully taxable.
What we did
We filed the section 216 election with the supporting rental statements and recovered the excess withholding as a refund, sequencing the steps so each one was complete and documented before the next depended on it.
The result
$895,000 of tax was deferred through the transfer, and the successor generation took over a corporation whose records stood up to review.
Case Study 6 · Deadline rescue
8-Week Turnaround Beat The Deadline And Saved $122,000 — Shareholder of a US, Vancouver
Client: A shareholder of a US LLC · Where: Vancouver, British Columbia · Engagement: 8 weeks, fixed fee
Late-filing penalty avoided$122,000
Filed with16 days to spare
Next yearPapers ready
The situation
With the deadline for american moving to canada tax planning weeks away, a shareholder of a US LLC in Vancouver, British Columbia was carrying foreign accounts that had passed the $100,000 T1135 threshold three years earlier. The exposure if the date slipped was around $122,000.
What we did
We reported the deemed disposition properly on the departure return and claimed the foreign tax credits that had been left unused. The filing went in complete rather than provisional, so there was no amended return to follow.
The result
Filed with 16 days to spare. $122,000 in late-filing penalties avoided, and the working papers are ready for the following year.
Reviewed for the 2025 tax year by Udit Gupta, Certified Tax Accountant. Figures describe representative engagements of this type; outcomes depend on your own facts. Client names and identifying details are omitted for confidentiality.
