6 Investment Income 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 investment income tax return work, not a general example.
Case Study 1 · Cash and remittance control
Instalments Rebased, $41,000 Of Cash Returned To The Business — Self-Employed Consultant, Saskatoon
A self-employed consultant in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan was paying instalments calculated on a prior year that no longer reflected the business. Medical expenses claimed on a calendar-year basis when a shifted window was worth far more was tying up $41,000 of cash.
What we did
We rebased the instalments on the current-year estimate rather than the prior-year default, 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.
The result
$41,000 of cash stayed in the business, the penalty cycle ended, and the instalment position is reviewed each quarter against actual results.
Case Study 2 · Structure rebuilt
Holding Structure Added, $71,000 Saved Annually — Physician in Their First, Windsor
Client: A physician in their first year of practice · Where: Windsor, Ontario · Engagement: 7 weeks, fixed fee
Annual saving$71,000
ReorganisationTax-neutral
StructureMatches operations
The situation
A physician in their first year of practice in Windsor, Ontario 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 carried the capital loss back against gains reported in the prior three years and generated a refund rather than a carry-forward balance and prepared the elections, resolutions and valuations the structure needed to stand up.
The result
The structure now matches the business. Annual saving of $71,000, and the reorganisation itself was tax-neutral.
Case Study 3 · Backlog brought current
$144,000 Of Arbitrary Assessments Vacated After 5 Years — Employee with Foreign Investment, Vancouver
Client: An employee with foreign investment accounts · Where: Vancouver, British Columbia · Engagement: 8 weeks, fixed fee
Arbitrary tax vacated$144,000
Years brought current5
Account statusCurrent
The situation
5 years of unfiled returns had turned into notional assessments at an employee with foreign investment accounts in Vancouver, British Columbia, with RRSP room accumulated over eight years and never used in a high-income year 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 5 years were accepted as filed. $144,000 of arbitrarily assessed tax was vacated, collections action stopped, and the account is current for the first time in 5 years.
Case Study 4 · Scaling without breaking
Second-Province Expansion Handled, $23,500 Of Cash Released — Retiree Drawing From Three, London
Client: A retiree drawing from three sources · Where: London, Ontario · Engagement: 11 weeks, fixed fee
Cash released$23,500
New registrationsComplete on day one
Compliance gapsNone
The situation
Revenue at a retiree drawing from three sources in London, Ontario 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 filed the outstanding T1135 disclosures under the voluntary disclosure route before the CRA raised them. Every new obligation — registration, remittance frequency, provincial filing — was set up before it was triggered, not after.
The result
$23,500 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 5 · Planning that cut the bill
Remuneration Review Saved $19,500 Across Corporate And Personal Returns — Commissioned Salesperson, Moncton
Client: A commissioned salesperson · Where: Moncton, New Brunswick · Engagement: 8 weeks, fixed fee
Combined saving$19,500
ScopeCorporate + personal
Future yearsNo rework needed
The situation
Nothing was wrong at a commissioned salesperson in Moncton, New Brunswick — the filings were on time and accurate. What they were not was planned. Three years of returns filed without the slips that had been mailed to an old address 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
$19,500 came off the combined corporate and personal tax bill, and the structure holds for future years without further work.
Case Study 6 · CRA review defended
Audit Defence Closed In 6 Weeks, $95,000 Cleared — Two-Income Household with Rental, Mississauga
Client: A two-income household with rental property · Where: Mississauga, Ontario · Engagement: 6 weeks, fixed fee
Proposed tax cleared$95,000
Review duration6 weeks
OutcomeNo change
The situation
A two-income household with rental property in Mississauga, Ontario was selected for review after medical expenses claimed on a calendar-year basis when a shifted window was worth far more showed up in the CRA's automated matching. The proposed adjustment on investment income tax return came to $95,000.
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. 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. $95,000 of proposed tax came off the table, and the documentation now in place makes the next review a short one.
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.
