6 Home Office Expense Claim 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 home office expense claim work, not a general example.
Case Study 1 · Backlog brought current
Collections Halted And $92,000 Cut From A 5-Year Backlog — Commissioned Salesperson, Vancouver
Client: A commissioned salesperson · Where: Vancouver, British Columbia · Engagement: 6 weeks, fixed fee
Balance reduced by$92,000
Backlog cleared5 years
CollectionsHalted
The situation
By the time a commissioned salesperson in Vancouver, British Columbia called, 5 years were outstanding and the CRA had assessed on estimates. Underneath it sat RRSP room accumulated over eight years and never used in a high-income year.
What we did
We reconstructed the records year by year and pulled the full slip history from the CRA record, refiled the affected years by adjustment request, and recovered the credits that had been missed. 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 $92,000, and a relief application addressed part of the accumulated interest.
Case Study 2 · Deadline rescue
$68,000 Late-Filing Penalty Cancelled On Relief Application — First-Time Home Buyer, London
Client: A first-time home buyer · Where: London, Ontario · Engagement: 9 weeks, fixed fee
Penalty cancelled$68,000
Relief applicationGranted
ReturnAccepted as filed
The situation
A first-time home buyer in London, Ontario had already missed one deadline and was about to miss a second. Behind it sat foreign accounts that had crossed the T1135 threshold two years earlier, and a penalty of $68,000 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 $68,000 of the penalty already assessed on the earlier year.
Case Study 3 · Planning that cut the bill
$57,000 Saved By Correcting What Prior Filings Had Missed — Physician in Their First, Barrie
Client: A physician in their first year of practice · Where: Barrie, Ontario · Engagement: 6 weeks, fixed fee
Saving identified$57,000
RecurringYes
Positions documentedAll
The situation
A physician in their first year of practice in Barrie, Ontario asked for a second opinion on home office expense claim after three years of rising tax. The review found three years of returns filed without the slips that had been mailed to an old address.
What we did
We built the comparison first — current structure against two alternatives — and then 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
First-year saving of $57,000, with the same benefit recurring. Every position taken is documented and supported in the file.
Case Study 4 · Missed incentive claimed
$32,000 Credit Claim Filed And Accepted Without Adjustment — Two-Income Household with Rental, Ottawa
Client: A two-income household with rental property · Where: Ottawa, Ontario · Engagement: 7 weeks, fixed fee
Claim value$32,000
AcceptedWithout adjustment
RepeatableAnnually
The situation
A two-income household with rental property in Ottawa, Ontario assumed the credits did not apply to a business its size. Three years of returns filed without the slips that had been mailed to an old address 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
$32,000 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 · Structure rebuilt
Holding Structure Added, $27,000 Saved Annually — Retiree Drawing From Three, Regina
Client: A retiree drawing from three sources · Where: Regina, Saskatchewan · Engagement: 3 weeks, fixed fee
Annual saving$27,000
ReorganisationTax-neutral
StructureMatches operations
The situation
A retiree drawing from three sources in Regina, Saskatchewan was carrying a rental property reported without any capital cost allowance analysis, 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 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 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 6 · Records and systems rebuilt
Month-End Close Cut From 10 Weeks To 7 Days — Gig-Economy Driver, Lethbridge
Client: A gig-economy driver · Where: Lethbridge, Alberta · Engagement: 5 weeks, fixed fee
Close time before10 weeks
Close time after7 days
Year-endReview, not rebuild
The situation
The accounting file at a gig-economy driver in Lethbridge, Alberta was built on RRSP room accumulated over eight years and never used in a high-income year. The year-end had taken 10 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 7 days instead of 10 weeks, and the year-end is a review rather than a reconstruction.
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.
