6 GST/HST Return Filing 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 gst/hst return filing work, not a general example.
Case Study 1 · Backlog brought current
Collections Halted And $19,500 Cut From A 6-Year Backlog — Used-Equipment Dealer, Halifax
Client: A used-equipment dealer · Where: Halifax, Nova Scotia · Engagement: 6 weeks, fixed fee
Balance reduced by$19,500
Backlog cleared6 years
CollectionsHalted
The situation
By the time a used-equipment dealer in Halifax, Nova Scotia called, 6 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
We reconstructed the records year by year and assembled the export documentation, restored zero-rating on the qualifying sales, and reduced the proposed assessment. 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 $19,500, and a relief application addressed part of the accumulated interest.
Case Study 2 · Records and systems rebuilt
12 Months Reconciled And $11,500 Of Input Tax Recovered — Restaurant Group, Lethbridge
Client: A restaurant group · Where: Lethbridge, Alberta · Engagement: 4 weeks, fixed fee
Months reconciled12
Input tax recovered$11,500
Close time6 days
The situation
A restaurant group in Lethbridge, Alberta was carrying HST charged at the home-province rate on sales into four different provinces. Nothing reconciled, and every filing started with 12 months of cleanup.
What we did
We rebuilt from source rather than correcting on top of the existing file. 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, then set the routine that keeps it clean.
The result
12 months reconciled to the bank. The close now takes 6 days, and $11,500 of previously unclaimable input tax was recovered in the process.
A freight brokerage in Brampton, Ontario was selected for review after a sales tax account filed annually while the CRA had moved the business to quarterly showed up in the CRA's automated matching. The proposed adjustment on gst/hst return filing came to $57,000.
What we did
We backdated the registration to the day the threshold was crossed, remitted the tax owing, and applied for relief on the penalty portion. 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. $57,000 of proposed tax came off the table, and the documentation now in place makes the next review a short one.
Client: A manufacturer exporting to the US · Where: Mississauga, Ontario · Engagement: 4 weeks, fixed fee
Annual saving$27,000
ReorganisationTax-neutral
StructureMatches operations
The situation
A manufacturer exporting to the US in Mississauga, Ontario 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
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
The structure now matches the business. Annual saving of $27,000, and the reorganisation itself was tax-neutral.
Case Study 5 · Cash and remittance control
Remittance Schedule Corrected, $105,000 Refunded — Professional Practice with Exempt, Victoria
Client: A professional practice with exempt and taxable supplies · Where: Victoria, British Columbia · Engagement: 3 weeks, fixed fee
Overpayment refunded$105,000
Late remittances sinceZero
ScheduleAutomated
The situation
Remittances at a professional practice with exempt and taxable supplies in Victoria, British Columbia were consistently late by a few days, which was enough to trigger penalties every quarter. Behind it sat input tax credits claimed on the exempt side of a mixed-supply business.
What we did
We assembled the export documentation, restored zero-rating on the qualifying sales, and reduced the proposed assessment, then moved the remittance dates into a scheduled process rather than a monthly decision.
The result
Penalties stopped from the following remittance onwards, and $105,000 of overpaid instalments was refunded.
Case Study 6 · Missed incentive claimed
$60,000 Credit Claim Filed And Accepted Without Adjustment — Multi-Province Online Retailer, Hamilton
A multi-province online retailer in Hamilton, Ontario 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
We identified the qualifying activity, built the documentation to support it, and 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.
The result
$60,000 recovered. Because the eligibility analysis is on file, the same claim can be repeated each year with a fraction of the effort.
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.
