6 Charitable Donation Tax Review 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 charitable donation tax review work, not a general example.
Case Study 1 · CRA review defended
Audit Defence Closed In 3 Weeks, $129,000 Cleared — Two-Income Household with Rental, Calgary
Client: A two-income household with rental property · Where: Calgary, Alberta · Engagement: 3 weeks, fixed fee
Proposed tax cleared$129,000
Review duration3 weeks
OutcomeNo change
The situation
A two-income household with rental property in Calgary, Alberta was selected for review after a rental property reported without any capital cost allowance analysis showed up in the CRA's automated matching. The proposed adjustment on charitable donation tax review came to $129,000.
What we did
We filed the outstanding T1135 disclosures under the voluntary disclosure route before the CRA raised them. Every figure in the response traced to a source record the auditor could verify without asking a second question.
The result
The review closed with no change. $129,000 of proposed tax came off the table, and the documentation now in place makes the next review a short one.
Case Study 2 · Planning that cut the bill
$47,000 Cut From The Annual Tax Bill — Employee with Foreign Investment, Winnipeg
Client: An employee with foreign investment accounts · Where: Winnipeg, Manitoba · Engagement: 7 weeks, fixed fee
First-year saving$47,000
RepeatsAnnually
Filing positionUnchanged in risk
The situation
An employee with foreign investment accounts in Winnipeg, Manitoba was compliant but paying more than it needed to. The prior year had been filed correctly and still left medical expenses claimed on a calendar-year basis when a shifted window was worth far more on the table.
What we did
We modelled the current position against the alternatives before changing anything, 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 change saved $47,000 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 3 · Records and systems rebuilt
29 Months Reconciled And $16,500 Of Input Tax Recovered — Commissioned Salesperson, London
A commissioned salesperson in London, Ontario was carrying three years of returns filed without the slips that had been mailed to an old address. Nothing reconciled, and every filing started with 29 months of cleanup.
What we did
We rebuilt from source rather than correcting on top of the existing file. 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, then set the routine that keeps it clean.
The result
29 months reconciled to the bank. The close now takes 10 days, and $16,500 of previously unclaimable input tax was recovered in the process.
Case Study 4 · Cash and remittance control
Remittance Schedule Corrected, $114,000 Refunded — Gig-Economy Driver, Red Deer
Client: A gig-economy driver · Where: Red Deer, Alberta · Engagement: 11 weeks, fixed fee
Overpayment refunded$114,000
Late remittances sinceZero
ScheduleAutomated
The situation
Remittances at a gig-economy driver in Red Deer, Alberta were consistently late by a few days, which was enough to trigger penalties every quarter. Behind it sat foreign accounts that had crossed the T1135 threshold two years earlier.
What we did
We carried the capital loss back against gains reported in the prior three years and generated a refund rather than a carry-forward balance, then moved the remittance dates into a scheduled process rather than a monthly decision.
The result
Penalties stopped from the following remittance onwards, and $114,000 of overpaid instalments was refunded.
Case Study 5 · Deadline rescue
Filed On Time From A Standing Start, $132,000 Penalty Avoided — Recently Separated Taxpayer, Kelowna
Client: A recently separated taxpayer · Where: Kelowna, British Columbia · Engagement: 7 weeks, fixed fee
Penalty avoided$132,000
Turnaround7 weeks
FiledOn time
The situation
A recently separated taxpayer in Kelowna, British Columbia came to us 7 weeks before its filing deadline with RRSP room accumulated over eight years and never used in a high-income year. A late filing would have triggered a penalty of roughly $132,000 before interest.
What we did
We worked backwards from the deadline. We filed the outstanding T1135 disclosures under the voluntary disclosure route before the CRA raised them, prioritising the items that actually gated the filing and deferring everything that did not.
The result
The return was filed on time and complete. The $132,000 penalty never arose, and the compliance calendar we set means the next deadline is scheduled rather than discovered.
Case Study 6 · Structure rebuilt
Holding Structure Added, $44,000 Saved Annually — Physician in Their First, Vancouver
Client: A physician in their first year of practice · Where: Vancouver, British Columbia · Engagement: 6 weeks, fixed fee
Annual saving$44,000
ReorganisationTax-neutral
StructureMatches operations
The situation
A physician in their first year of practice in Vancouver, British Columbia was carrying a rental property reported without any capital cost allowance analysis, and every option for fixing it ran through a reorganisation that had to be done without triggering tax.
What we did
Working with the client's lawyer, we reset the medical expense claim window, transferred credits between spouses, and applied the tuition and disability amounts to the return that used them and prepared the elections, resolutions and valuations the structure needed to stand up.
The result
The structure now matches the business. Annual saving of $44,000, and the reorganisation itself was tax-neutral.
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.
