6 worked Childcare Expense Tax Review case studies — the position a client typically comes to us with, what we do, and what it is worth. Each is an illustrative example built on the rules that apply to childcare expense tax review work, not a specific client's file.
Client: An employee who moved provinces mid-year · Where: Ottawa, Ontario · Engagement: 10 weeks, fixed fee
Penalty cancelled$122,000
Relief applicationGranted
ReturnAccepted as filed
The situation — An employee who moved provinces mid-year, Ottawa, Ontario
An employee who moved provinces mid-year in Ottawa, Ontario had already missed one deadline and was about to miss a second. Behind it sat RRSP room accumulated over eight years and never used in a high-income year, and a penalty of $122,000 was accruing.
What we did for An employee who moved provinces mid-year, Ottawa, Ontario
We split the work into what had to happen before the deadline and what could follow it, then filed the outstanding T1135 disclosures under the voluntary disclosure route before the CRA raised them.
The result — An employee who moved provinces mid-year, Ottawa, Ontario
The outstanding return was accepted as filed, and the taxpayer relief application cancelled $122,000 of the penalty already assessed on the earlier year.
Case Study 2 · Records and systems rebuilt
Month-End Close Cut From 9 Weeks To 5 Days — Self-Employed Consultant, Lethbridge
Client: A self-employed consultant · Where: Lethbridge, Alberta · Engagement: 3 weeks, fixed fee
Close time before9 weeks
Close time after5 days
Year-endReview, not rebuild
The situation — A self-employed consultant, Lethbridge, Alberta
The accounting file at a self-employed consultant in Lethbridge, Alberta was built on three years of returns filed without the slips that had been mailed to an old address. The year-end had taken 9 weeks each of the last three years.
What we did for A self-employed consultant, Lethbridge, Alberta
We carried the capital loss back against gains reported in the prior three years and generated a refund rather than a carry-forward balance and moved the reconciliations into the monthly cycle, so the year-end stopped being a rebuild.
The result — A self-employed consultant, Lethbridge, Alberta
The file reconciles. Month-end closes in 5 days instead of 9 weeks, and the year-end is a review rather than a reconstruction.
Case Study 3 · CRA review defended
$64,000 Proposed Adjustment Withdrawn In Full — Two-Income Landlord Household, Victoria
Client: A two-income household with rental property · Where: Victoria, British Columbia · Engagement: 7 weeks, fixed fee
Adjustment withdrawn$64,000
File closed in7 weeks
Penalties assessedNone
The situation — A two-income household with rental property, Victoria, British Columbia
A two-income household with rental property in Victoria, British Columbia received a proposal letter opening a review of childcare expense tax review. The CRA had identified a home sale never reported on the basis that the gain was exempt anyway and proposed an adjustment of $64,000, with 30 days to respond.
What we did for A two-income household with rental property, Victoria, British Columbia
We treated the response as an evidence exercise rather than an argument. We reset the medical expense claim window, transferred credits between spouses, and applied the tuition and disability amounts to the return that used them, then indexed every supporting document against the specific line the auditor had questioned.
The result — A two-income household with rental property, Victoria, British Columbia
The proposed adjustment was withdrawn in full — all $64,000 of it. The file closed in 7 weeks with no change to the assessed amounts and no penalty.
Case Study 4 · Missed incentive claimed
Incentive Review Recovered $77,000 Across 5 Open Years — Commissioned Salesperson, London
The situation — A commissioned salesperson, London, Ontario
An incentive review at a commissioned salesperson in London, Ontario started from a simple question: what has never been claimed? The answer ran to 5 years, driven by a home sale never reported on the basis that the gain was exempt anyway.
What we did for A commissioned salesperson, London, Ontario
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, documenting eligibility to the standard a reviewer would apply rather than the standard a claim form requires.
The result — A commissioned salesperson, London, Ontario
The credits produced $77,000 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 · Objection and relief
$132,000 Of Penalties And Interest Cancelled On Relief — Recently Separated Taxpayer, Winnipeg
The situation — A recently separated taxpayer, Winnipeg, Manitoba
An assessment of $132,000 landed at a recently separated taxpayer in Winnipeg, Manitoba following a desk review. The auditor had not seen the records behind employment expenses claimed with no signed T2200 from the employer to support them.
What we did for A recently separated taxpayer, Winnipeg, Manitoba
We recalculated the instalments on the current year’s expected income rather than the prior year’s, which stopped the instalment interest from growing, then set out the legislative basis for the position alongside the documents supporting it.
The result — A recently separated taxpayer, Winnipeg, Manitoba
$132,000 of penalties and interest was cancelled under the taxpayer relief provisions, and the underlying assessment was adjusted to match the filed position.
Case Study 6 · Planning that cut the bill
$49,000 Saved By Correcting What Prior Filings Had Missed — Multi-Source Retiree, Toronto
Client: A retiree drawing from three sources · Where: Toronto, Ontario · Engagement: 7 weeks, fixed fee
Saving identified$49,000
RecurringYes
Positions documentedAll
The situation — A retiree drawing from three sources, Toronto, Ontario
A retiree drawing from three sources in Toronto, Ontario asked for a second opinion on childcare expense tax review after three years of rising tax. The review found foreign accounts that had crossed the T1135 threshold two years earlier.
What we did for A retiree drawing from three sources, Toronto, Ontario
We built the comparison first — current structure against two alternatives — and then obtained the signed T2200 and rebuilt the employment-expense claim on the prescribed form with the supporting records attached to the file.
The result — A retiree drawing from three sources, Toronto, Ontario
First-year saving of $49,000, with the same benefit recurring. Every position taken is documented and supported in the file.
Reviewed for the 2025 tax year by Udit Gupta, Founder and Tax Accountant. These case studies are illustrative worked examples composed from the CRA rules that apply to this type of work, not specific client files; figures are representative and outcomes depend on your own facts.
