6 Emigrant and Departure 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 emigrant and departure tax return work, not a general example.
Case Study 1 · Backlog brought current
$96,000 Of Arbitrary Assessments Vacated After 4 Years — Taxpayer with US-Source Dividends, Moncton
Client: A taxpayer with US-source dividends · Where: Moncton, New Brunswick · Engagement: 8 weeks, fixed fee
Arbitrary tax vacated$96,000
Years brought current4
Account statusCurrent
The situation
4 years of unfiled returns had turned into notional assessments at a taxpayer with US-source dividends in Moncton, New Brunswick, with three years of returns filed without the slips that had been mailed to an old address underneath. Collections had already started.
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, then filed every outstanding year in chronological order so the CRA could vacate the notional assessments cleanly.
The result
All 4 years were accepted as filed. $96,000 of arbitrarily assessed tax was vacated, collections action stopped, and the account is current for the first time in 4 years.
Case Study 2 · Cash and remittance control
Instalments Rebased, $91,000 Of Cash Returned To The Business — Retiree Drawing From Three, Surrey
Client: A retiree drawing from three sources · Where: Surrey, British Columbia · Engagement: 7 weeks, fixed fee
Cash returned$91,000
Instalment basisCurrent year
ReviewedQuarterly
The situation
A retiree drawing from three sources in Surrey, British Columbia was paying instalments calculated on a prior year that no longer reflected the business. A rental property reported without any capital cost allowance analysis was tying up $91,000 of cash.
What we did
We rebased the instalments on the current-year estimate rather than the prior-year default, and filed the outstanding T1135 disclosures under the voluntary disclosure route before the CRA raised them.
The result
$91,000 of cash stayed in the business, the penalty cycle ended, and the instalment position is reviewed each quarter against actual results.
Client: A self-employed consultant · Where: Kelowna, British Columbia · Engagement: 9 weeks, fixed fee
Amount recovered$82,000
Reporting statusCurrent
Annual effortHours, not weeks
The situation
Foreign holdings at a self-employed consultant in Kelowna, British Columbia had passed the reporting threshold without anyone noticing. Behind the disclosure problem 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, claiming the treaty relief and foreign tax credits on the Canadian return and correcting the disclosure position for the open years.
The result
The treaty position was accepted and $82,000 was recovered. Reporting is now current and the annual process takes hours rather than weeks.
Case Study 4 · Records and systems rebuilt
Month-End Close Cut From 7 Weeks To 4 Days — First-Time Home Buyer, Saskatoon
Client: A first-time home buyer · Where: Saskatoon, Saskatchewan · Engagement: 11 weeks, fixed fee
Close time before7 weeks
Close time after4 days
Year-endReview, not rebuild
The situation
The accounting file at a first-time home buyer in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan was built on medical expenses claimed on a calendar-year basis when a shifted window was worth far more. The year-end had taken 7 weeks each of the last three years.
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 moved the reconciliations into the monthly cycle, so the year-end stopped being a rebuild.
The result
The file reconciles. Month-end closes in 4 days instead of 7 weeks, and the year-end is a review rather than a reconstruction.
Case Study 5 · Missed incentive claimed
$95,000 Credit Claim Filed And Accepted Without Adjustment — Two-Income Household with Rental, Lethbridge
Client: A two-income household with rental property · Where: Lethbridge, Alberta · Engagement: 6 weeks, fixed fee
Claim value$95,000
AcceptedWithout adjustment
RepeatableAnnually
The situation
A two-income household with rental property in Lethbridge, Alberta assumed the credits did not apply to a business its size. A rental property reported without any capital cost allowance analysis meant they had applied all along.
What we did
We identified the qualifying activity, built the documentation to support it, and 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
$95,000 recovered. Because the eligibility analysis is on file, the same claim can be repeated each year with a fraction of the effort.
Case Study 6 · Deadline rescue
$19,500 Late-Filing Penalty Cancelled On Relief Application — Employee with Foreign Investment, Burnaby
Client: An employee with foreign investment accounts · Where: Burnaby, British Columbia · Engagement: 6 weeks, fixed fee
Penalty cancelled$19,500
Relief applicationGranted
ReturnAccepted as filed
The situation
An employee with foreign investment accounts in Burnaby, 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 $19,500 was accruing.
What we did
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
The outstanding return was accepted as filed, and the taxpayer relief application cancelled $19,500 of the penalty already assessed on the earlier 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.
