6 worked Net-Worth Audit Assistance 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 net-worth audit assistance work, not a specific client's file.
Case Study 1 · CRA review defended
$31,000 Proposed Adjustment Withdrawn In Full — Taxpayer Facing Collections, Kitchener
Client: A taxpayer with frozen bank accounts. Where: Kitchener, Ontario. Engagement: 5 weeks, fixed fee.
Adjustment withdrawn$31,000
File closed in5 weeks
Penalties assessedNone
Case 1: the situation
A taxpayer with frozen bank accounts in Kitchener, Ontario received a proposal letter opening a review of net-worth audit assistance. The CRA had identified a waiver signed at the counter that kept an otherwise closed year open with no end date. It proposed an adjustment of $31,000, with 30 days to respond.
Case 1: what we did
We treated the response as an evidence exercise rather than an argument. We kept the waiver narrowed to the issue actually under review and let the remaining years close on the normal reassessment period. We then indexed every supporting document against the specific line the auditor had questioned.
Case 1: the result
The proposed adjustment was withdrawn in full — all $31,000 of it. The file closed in 5 weeks with no change to the assessed amounts and no penalty.
Case Study 2 · Scaling without breaking
Second-Province Expansion Handled, $115,000 Of Cash Released — Late-Objection Taxpayer, Windsor
Client: A taxpayer whose objection window has closed. Where: Windsor, Ontario. Engagement: 5 weeks, fixed fee.
Cash released$115,000
New registrationsComplete on day one
Compliance gapsNone
Case 2: the situation
Revenue at a taxpayer whose objection window has closed in Windsor, Ontario was up sharply and cash was tighter than ever. Underneath it sat a director liability assessment for a corporation that had already stopped operating.
Case 2: what we did
We filed the Tax Court appeal inside the window and resolved the remaining adjustments before a hearing date was needed. Every new obligation was set up before it was triggered, not after. That covered registration, remittance frequency and provincial filing.
Case 2: the result
$115,000 of cash was released from the working capital cycle. The expansion completed with every registration and filing obligation covered from day one.
Case Study 3 · Planning that cut the bill
$23,500 Cut From The Annual Tax Bill — Taxpayer Relief Applicant, Kelowna
Client: A taxpayer applying for relief from penalties and interest. Where: Kelowna, British Columbia. Engagement: 11 weeks, fixed fee.
First-year saving$23,500
RepeatsAnnually
Filing positionUnchanged in risk
Case 3: the situation
A taxpayer applying for relief from penalties and interest in Kelowna, British Columbia was compliant but paying more than it needed to. The prior year had been filed correctly. It still left six years of unfiled corporate and personal returns and an active collections file on the table.
Case 3: what we did
We modelled the current position against the alternatives before changing anything. Then we requested the auditor’s working papers and report to see how the assessment had been built before answering any of it.
Case 3: the result
The change saved $23,500 in the first year and repeats annually. Nothing about the filings became more aggressive. The position is simply the one the rules already allowed.
Case Study 4 · Cash and remittance control
Instalments Rebased, $133,000 Of Cash Returned To The Business — Long-Term Non-Filer, Toronto
Client: A taxpayer with eight years of unfiled returns. Where: Toronto, Ontario. Engagement: 7 weeks, fixed fee.
Cash returned$133,000
Instalment basisCurrent year
ReviewedQuarterly
Case 4: the situation
A taxpayer with eight years of unfiled returns in Toronto, Ontario was paying instalments calculated on a prior year. That year no longer reflected the business. A confirmation letter left in a drawer until the appeal window had closed was tying up $133,000 of cash.
Case 4: what we did
We rebased the instalments on the current-year estimate rather than the prior-year default. Alongside that, we assembled the contemporaneous records, filed a structured response to each proposed adjustment with the supporting documents indexed, and had the proposal withdrawn.
Case 4: the result
$133,000 of cash stayed in the business, the penalty cycle ended, and the instalment position is reviewed each quarter against actual results.
Case Study 5 · Records and systems rebuilt
Books Rebuilt From Source, $2,700 In Unclaimed Input Tax Found — Professional Under Lifestyle Audit, Mississauga
Client: A professional under a lifestyle audit. Where: Mississauga, Ontario. Engagement: 9 weeks, fixed fee.
Unclaimed tax found$2,700
Records rebuilt11 months
ProcessDocumented
Case 5: the situation
A professional under a lifestyle audit in Mississauga, Ontario could not answer basic questions about its own numbers. An audit conducted over the phone, with nothing on file showing what had been provided or when sat between the bank statements and the ledger.
Case 5: what we did
We brought every outstanding return current, then negotiated a payment arrangement that stopped the collections action. We then documented the process so the work does not depend on any one person remembering how it was done.
Case 5: the result
Records rebuilt and reconciled, $2,700 recovered in input tax credits that the old file could not support, and a documented monthly process now in place.
Case Study 6 · Deadline rescue
Filed On Time From A Standing Start, $72,000 Penalty Avoided — Family Business Under Review, Winnipeg
Client: A family business under a related-party review. Where: Winnipeg, Manitoba. Engagement: 5 weeks, fixed fee.
Penalty avoided$72,000
Turnaround5 weeks
FiledOn time
Case 6: the situation
A family business under a related-party review in Winnipeg, Manitoba came to us 5 weeks before its filing deadline. The file came with an objection deadline that had passed with no extension applied for. A late filing would have triggered a penalty of roughly $72,000 before interest.
Case 6: what we did
We worked backwards from the deadline. We traced each unexplained deposit to its source — loans, transfers between accounts, an insurance settlement — and reduced the net-worth assessment accordingly. We prioritised the items that actually gated the filing and deferred everything that did not.
Case 6: the result
The return was filed on time and complete. The $72,000 penalty never arose, and the compliance calendar we set means the next deadline is scheduled rather than discovered.
Reviewed by Udit Gupta, Founder and Tax Accountant for the 2025 tax year. 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.
