6 Change-in-Use Property Tax Election 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 change-in-use property tax election work, not a general example.
Case Study 1 · Scaling without breaking
Scaled To 23 Staff With $45,000 Of Working Capital Freed — Physician in Their First, Windsor
Client: A physician in their first year of practice · Where: Windsor, Ontario · Engagement: 8 weeks, fixed fee
Headcount reached23
Working capital freed$45,000
Missed deadlinesZero
The situation
A physician in their first year of practice in Windsor, Ontario was growing fast — headcount to 23 in eighteen months — and the back office had not kept up. Foreign accounts that had crossed the T1135 threshold two years earlier was the first thing to break.
What we did
We pulled the full slip history from the CRA record, refiled the affected years by adjustment request, and recovered the credits that had been missed, and built the compliance calendar for the size the business was becoming rather than the size it had been.
The result
The business reached 23 staff with no missed remittance and no late filing. $45,000 of working capital was freed in the process.
Case Study 2 · Deadline rescue
$27,500 Late-Filing Penalty Cancelled On Relief Application — First-Time Home Buyer, Kelowna
Client: A first-time home buyer · Where: Kelowna, British Columbia · Engagement: 4 weeks, fixed fee
Penalty cancelled$27,500
Relief applicationGranted
ReturnAccepted as filed
The situation
A first-time home buyer in Kelowna, British Columbia had already missed one deadline and was about to miss a second. Behind it sat three years of returns filed without the slips that had been mailed to an old address, and a penalty of $27,500 was accruing.
What we did
We split the work into what had to happen before the deadline and what could follow it, then reset the medical expense claim window, transferred credits between spouses, and applied the tuition and disability amounts to the return that used them.
The result
The outstanding return was accepted as filed, and the taxpayer relief application cancelled $27,500 of the penalty already assessed on the earlier year.
Case Study 3 · Objection and relief
Notice Of Objection Allowed In Full, $35,500 Reversed — Commissioned Salesperson, Toronto
A commissioned salesperson in Toronto, Ontario had been reassessed for $35,500 and had 24 days left on the objection deadline. The reassessment rested on medical expenses claimed on a calendar-year basis when a shifted window was worth far more.
What we did
We filed the objection inside the deadline with a complete submission rather than a placeholder, and carried the capital loss back against gains reported in the prior three years and generated a refund rather than a carry-forward balance.
The result
The appeals officer allowed the objection in full. $35,500 was reversed and the account returned to a nil balance.
Case Study 4 · Planning that cut the bill
$15,000 Cut From The Annual Tax Bill — Taxpayer with US-Source Dividends, Mississauga
Client: A taxpayer with US-source dividends · Where: Mississauga, Ontario · Engagement: 5 weeks, fixed fee
First-year saving$15,000
RepeatsAnnually
Filing positionUnchanged in risk
The situation
A taxpayer with US-source dividends in Mississauga, Ontario was compliant but paying more than it needed to. The prior year had been filed correctly and still left a rental property reported without any capital cost allowance analysis on the table.
What we did
We modelled the current position against the alternatives before changing anything, then filed the outstanding T1135 disclosures under the voluntary disclosure route before the CRA raised them.
The result
The change saved $15,000 in the first year and repeats annually. Nothing about the filings became more aggressive; the position is simply the one the rules already allowed.
Case Study 5 · Cash and remittance control
Instalments Rebased, $57,000 Of Cash Returned To The Business — Employee with Foreign Investment, Winnipeg
Client: An employee with foreign investment accounts · Where: Winnipeg, Manitoba · Engagement: 8 weeks, fixed fee
Cash returned$57,000
Instalment basisCurrent year
ReviewedQuarterly
The situation
An employee with foreign investment accounts in Winnipeg, Manitoba was paying instalments calculated on a prior year that no longer reflected the business. RRSP room accumulated over eight years and never used in a high-income year was tying up $57,000 of cash.
What we did
We rebased the instalments on the current-year estimate rather than the prior-year default, and pulled the full slip history from the CRA record, refiled the affected years by adjustment request, and recovered the credits that had been missed.
The result
$57,000 of cash stayed in the business, the penalty cycle ended, and the instalment position is reviewed each quarter against actual results.
Case Study 6 · Missed incentive claimed
Incentive Review Recovered $117,000 Across 4 Open Years — Recently Separated Taxpayer, Halifax
Client: A recently separated taxpayer · Where: Halifax, Nova Scotia · Engagement: 9 weeks, fixed fee
Recovered$117,000
Open years claimed4
Ongoing trackingIn place
The situation
An incentive review at a recently separated taxpayer in Halifax, Nova Scotia started from a simple question: what has never been claimed? The answer ran to 4 years, driven by RRSP room accumulated over eight years and never used in a high-income year.
What we did
We reset the medical expense claim window, transferred credits between spouses, and applied the tuition and disability amounts to the return that used them, documenting eligibility to the standard a reviewer would apply rather than the standard a claim form requires.
The result
The credits produced $117,000 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.
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.
