6 worked GST/HST and Sales Tax Services 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 gst/hst and sales tax services work, not a specific client's file.
Case Study 1 · Backlog brought current
Collections Halted And $19,500 Cut From A 4-Year Backlog — Used-Equipment Dealer, Moncton
Client: A used-equipment dealer · Where: Moncton, New Brunswick · Engagement: 4 weeks, fixed fee
Balance reduced by$19,500
Backlog cleared4 years
CollectionsHalted
The situation — A used-equipment dealer, Moncton, New Brunswick
By the time a used-equipment dealer in Moncton, New Brunswick called, 4 years were outstanding and the CRA had assessed on estimates. Underneath it sat a registration threshold crossed nine months before anyone registered.
What we did for A used-equipment dealer, Moncton, New Brunswick
We reconstructed the records year by year and backdated the registration to the day the threshold was crossed, remitted the tax owing, and applied for relief on the penalty portion. Each filing replaced an arbitrary assessment with a real one.
The result — A used-equipment dealer, Moncton, New Brunswick
The account is current. Filing on real numbers rather than CRA estimates reduced the balance by $19,500, and a relief application addressed part of the accumulated interest.
Case Study 2 · Deadline rescue
11-Week Turnaround Beat The Deadline And Saved $35,500 — Restaurant Group, Regina
Client: A restaurant group · Where: Regina, Saskatchewan · Engagement: 11 weeks, fixed fee
Late-filing penalty avoided$35,500
Filed with7 days to spare
Next yearPapers ready
The situation — A restaurant group, Regina, Saskatchewan
With the deadline for gst/hst and sales tax services weeks away, a restaurant group in Regina, Saskatchewan was carrying management fees between two related registrants carrying tax that only ever went out and came back. The exposure if the date slipped was around $35,500.
What we did for A restaurant group, Regina, Saskatchewan
We tested the quick method against the account’s actual input tax credit history and stayed on the regular method where the credits were worth more. The filing went in complete rather than provisional, so there was no amended return to follow.
The result — A restaurant group, Regina, Saskatchewan
Filed with 7 days to spare. $35,500 in late-filing penalties avoided, and the working papers are ready for the following year.
Case Study 3 · Planning that cut the bill
$9,000 Saved By Correcting What Prior Filings Had Missed — Freight Brokerage, Halifax
Client: A freight brokerage · Where: Halifax, Nova Scotia · Engagement: 4 weeks, fixed fee
Saving identified$9,000
RecurringYes
Positions documentedAll
The situation — A freight brokerage, Halifax, Nova Scotia
A freight brokerage in Halifax, Nova Scotia asked for a second opinion on gst/hst and sales tax services after three years of rising tax. The review found input tax credits claimed on the exempt side of a mixed-supply business.
What we did for A freight brokerage, Halifax, Nova Scotia
We built the comparison first — current structure against two alternatives — and then self-assessed the tax on the real property acquisition in the correct reporting period and claimed the offsetting input tax credit in the same return.
The result — A freight brokerage, Halifax, Nova Scotia
First-year saving of $9,000, with the same benefit recurring. Every position taken is documented and supported in the file.
Case Study 4 · Missed incentive claimed
$128,000 Credit Claim Filed And Accepted Without Adjustment — US-Bound Exporter, Edmonton
Client: A manufacturer exporting to the US · Where: Edmonton, Alberta · Engagement: 6 weeks, fixed fee
Claim value$128,000
AcceptedWithout adjustment
RepeatableAnnually
The situation — A manufacturer exporting to the US, Edmonton, Alberta
A manufacturer exporting to the US in Edmonton, Alberta assumed the credits did not apply to a business its size. HST charged at the home-province rate on sales into four different provinces meant they had applied all along.
What we did for A manufacturer exporting to the US, Edmonton, Alberta
We identified the qualifying activity, built the documentation to support it, and assembled the export documentation, restored zero-rating on the qualifying sales, and reduced the proposed assessment.
The result — A manufacturer exporting to the US, Edmonton, Alberta
$128,000 recovered. Because the eligibility analysis is on file, the same claim can be repeated each year with a fraction of the effort.
Client: A professional practice with exempt and taxable supplies · Where: Lethbridge, Alberta · Engagement: 3 weeks, fixed fee
Annual saving$59,000
ReorganisationTax-neutral
StructureMatches operations
The situation — A professional practice with exempt and taxable supplies, Lethbridge, Alberta
A professional practice with exempt and taxable supplies in Lethbridge, Alberta was carrying export sales zero-rated with no shipping documentation behind them, and every option for fixing it ran through a reorganisation that had to be done without triggering tax.
What we did for A professional practice with exempt and taxable supplies, Lethbridge, Alberta
Working with the client's lawyer, we set a defensible input tax credit allocation between taxable and exempt supplies and documented the method for future filings and prepared the elections, resolutions and valuations the structure needed to stand up.
The result — A professional practice with exempt and taxable supplies, Lethbridge, Alberta
The structure now matches the business. Annual saving of $59,000, and the reorganisation itself was tax-neutral.
Case Study 6 · Records and systems rebuilt
Month-End Close Cut From 9 Weeks To 6 Days — Mixed-Use Landlord, Windsor
Client: A residential landlord also renting commercial space · Where: Windsor, Ontario · Engagement: 5 weeks, fixed fee
Close time before9 weeks
Close time after6 days
Year-endReview, not rebuild
The situation — A residential landlord also renting commercial space, Windsor, Ontario
The accounting file at a residential landlord also renting commercial space in Windsor, Ontario was built on nil periods left unfiled, which held up the refund on the one period that mattered. The year-end had taken 9 weeks each of the last three years.
What we did for A residential landlord also renting commercial space, Windsor, Ontario
We rebuilt the sales ledger by customer province, applied the correct place-of-supply rate to each stream, and filed corrected returns before the CRA opened a review and moved the reconciliations into the monthly cycle, so the year-end stopped being a rebuild.
The result — A residential landlord also renting commercial space, Windsor, Ontario
The file reconciles. Month-end closes in 6 days instead of 9 weeks, and the year-end is a review rather than a reconstruction.
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.
