6 Commission Employee Tax Return 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 commission employee tax return work, not a general example.
Case Study 1 · Objection and relief
Desk-Review Assessment Of $43,000 Vacated — Taxpayer with US-Source Dividends, Kelowna
Client: A taxpayer with US-source dividends · Where: Kelowna, British Columbia · Engagement: 4 weeks, fixed fee
Assessment vacated$43,000
Supporting recordsNow on file
AccountCleared
The situation
A taxpayer with US-source dividends in Kelowna, British Columbia was carrying $43,000 of penalties and interest arising from three years of returns filed without the slips that had been mailed to an old address, much of it accumulated during a period the CRA itself had delayed.
What we did
We filed the outstanding T1135 disclosures under the voluntary disclosure route before the CRA raised them and framed the relief application on the specific grounds the CRA guidelines recognise rather than on general hardship.
The result
The assessment was vacated. $43,000 came off the account, and the documentation now on file makes the same position straightforward to defend next time.
Case Study 2 · CRA review defended
Audit Defence Closed In 4 Weeks, $122,000 Cleared — Recently Separated Taxpayer, Regina
A recently separated taxpayer in Regina, Saskatchewan was selected for review after foreign accounts that had crossed the T1135 threshold two years earlier showed up in the CRA's automated matching. The proposed adjustment on commission employee tax return came to $122,000.
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. 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. $122,000 of proposed tax came off the table, and the documentation now in place makes the next review a short one.
Case Study 3 · Deadline rescue
3-Week Turnaround Beat The Deadline And Saved $109,000 — Gig-Economy Driver, Hamilton
With the deadline for commission employee tax return weeks away, a gig-economy driver in Hamilton, Ontario was carrying RRSP room accumulated over eight years and never used in a high-income year. The exposure if the date slipped was around $109,000.
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. The filing went in complete rather than provisional, so there was no amended return to follow.
The result
Filed with 13 days to spare. $109,000 in late-filing penalties avoided, and the working papers are ready for the following year.
Case Study 4 · Missed incentive claimed
$145,000 Credit Claim Filed And Accepted Without Adjustment — Two-Income Household with Rental, Toronto
Client: A two-income household with rental property · Where: Toronto, Ontario · Engagement: 6 weeks, fixed fee
Claim value$145,000
AcceptedWithout adjustment
RepeatableAnnually
The situation
A two-income household with rental property in Toronto, Ontario assumed the credits did not apply to a business its size. Medical expenses claimed on a calendar-year basis when a shifted window was worth far more meant they had applied all along.
What we did
We identified the qualifying activity, built the documentation to support it, 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
$145,000 recovered. Because the eligibility analysis is on file, the same claim can be repeated each year with a fraction of the effort.
Case Study 5 · Records and systems rebuilt
Month-End Close Cut From 6 Weeks To 9 Days — First-Time Home Buyer, Victoria
Client: A first-time home buyer · Where: Victoria, British Columbia · Engagement: 5 weeks, fixed fee
Close time before6 weeks
Close time after9 days
Year-endReview, not rebuild
The situation
The accounting file at a first-time home buyer in Victoria, British Columbia was built on medical expenses claimed on a calendar-year basis when a shifted window was worth far more. The year-end had taken 6 weeks each of the last three years.
What we did
We filed the outstanding T1135 disclosures under the voluntary disclosure route before the CRA raised them and moved the reconciliations into the monthly cycle, so the year-end stopped being a rebuild.
The result
The file reconciles. Month-end closes in 9 days instead of 6 weeks, and the year-end is a review rather than a reconstruction.
Case Study 6 · Cash and remittance control
$16,000 Of Working Capital Freed From The Tax Cycle — Self-Employed Consultant, Saskatoon
A self-employed consultant in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan was profitable on paper and short of cash every month. Three years of returns filed without the slips that had been mailed to an old address explained most of the gap.
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 a thirteen-week cash view so tax payments stopped competing with payroll for the same dollars.
The result
$16,000 was released back into working capital. Remittances have been on time every period since, and the forecast shows the tax outflow before it lands.
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.
