6 Employed Individual 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 employed individual tax return work, not a general example.
Case Study 1 · Scaling without breaking
Second-Province Expansion Handled, $36,500 Of Cash Released — Physician in Their First, Vancouver
Client: A physician in their first year of practice · Where: Vancouver, British Columbia · Engagement: 8 weeks, fixed fee
Cash released$36,500
New registrationsComplete on day one
Compliance gapsNone
The situation
Revenue at a physician in their first year of practice in Vancouver, British Columbia was up sharply and cash was tighter than ever. Underneath it sat foreign accounts that had crossed the T1135 threshold two years earlier.
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 new obligation — registration, remittance frequency, provincial filing — was set up before it was triggered, not after.
The result
$36,500 of cash was released from the working capital cycle, and the expansion completed with every registration and filing obligation covered from day one.
Case Study 2 · Backlog brought current
Collections Halted And $79,000 Cut From A 3-Year Backlog — Retiree Drawing From Three, Kelowna
Client: A retiree drawing from three sources · Where: Kelowna, British Columbia · Engagement: 7 weeks, fixed fee
Balance reduced by$79,000
Backlog cleared3 years
CollectionsHalted
The situation
By the time a retiree drawing from three sources in Kelowna, British Columbia called, 3 years were outstanding and the CRA had assessed on estimates. Underneath it sat three years of returns filed without the slips that had been mailed to an old address.
What we did
We reconstructed the records year by year and filed the outstanding T1135 disclosures under the voluntary disclosure route before the CRA raised them. Each filing replaced an arbitrary assessment with a real one.
The result
The account is current. Filing on real numbers rather than CRA estimates reduced the balance by $79,000, and a relief application addressed part of the accumulated interest.
Case Study 3 · Structure rebuilt
Reorganisation Completed Tax-Deferred, $14,000 Saved Each Year — Self-Employed Consultant, Red Deer
Client: A self-employed consultant · Where: Red Deer, Alberta · Engagement: 4 weeks, fixed fee
Annual saving$14,000
Tax on reorganisationDeferred
Elections filedOn time
The situation
A self-employed consultant in Red Deer, Alberta had outgrown the structure it started with. Medical expenses claimed on a calendar-year basis when a shifted window was worth far more was the immediate problem; the longer-term one was that the structure blocked the next step.
What we did
We mapped the current structure, modelled the target, and carried the capital loss back against gains reported in the prior three years and generated a refund rather than a carry-forward balance — with the tax-deferred elections filed on time and the supporting valuations documented.
The result
The reorganisation completed without triggering tax, and the new structure saves approximately $14,000 a year while removing the exposure the old one carried.
Case Study 4 · Cash and remittance control
Remittance Schedule Corrected, $34,500 Refunded — Employee with Foreign Investment, London
Client: An employee with foreign investment accounts · Where: London, Ontario · Engagement: 3 weeks, fixed fee
Overpayment refunded$34,500
Late remittances sinceZero
ScheduleAutomated
The situation
Remittances at an employee with foreign investment accounts in London, Ontario were consistently late by a few days, which was enough to trigger penalties every quarter. Behind it sat a rental property reported without any capital cost allowance analysis.
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 moved the remittance dates into a scheduled process rather than a monthly decision.
The result
Penalties stopped from the following remittance onwards, and $34,500 of overpaid instalments was refunded.
Case Study 5 · Planning that cut the bill
Remuneration Review Saved $47,000 Across Corporate And Personal Returns — Commissioned Salesperson, Winnipeg
Nothing was wrong at a commissioned salesperson in Winnipeg, Manitoba — the filings were on time and accurate. What they were not was planned. RRSP room accumulated over eight years and never used in a high-income year had never been reviewed.
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 ran the numbers across both the corporate and personal returns so the saving was real rather than deferred into someone else's hands.
The result
$47,000 came off the combined corporate and personal tax bill, and the structure holds for future years without further work.
Case Study 6 · Objection and relief
$14,500 Of Penalties And Interest Cancelled On Relief — Taxpayer with US-Source Dividends, Calgary
Client: A taxpayer with US-source dividends · Where: Calgary, Alberta · Engagement: 11 weeks, fixed fee
Penalties and interest cancelled$14,500
Relief groundsAccepted
AssessmentAdjusted to filed position
The situation
An assessment of $14,500 landed at a taxpayer with US-source dividends in Calgary, Alberta following a desk review. The auditor had not seen the records behind foreign accounts that had crossed the T1135 threshold two years earlier.
What we did
We filed the outstanding T1135 disclosures under the voluntary disclosure route before the CRA raised them, then set out the legislative basis for the position alongside the documents supporting it.
The result
$14,500 of penalties and interest was cancelled under the taxpayer relief provisions, and the underlying assessment was adjusted to match the filed position.
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.
