6 Non-Resident Personal 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 non-resident personal tax return work, not a general example.
Case Study 1 · Objection and relief
Notice Of Objection Allowed In Full, $114,000 Reversed — Commissioned Salesperson, Winnipeg
A commissioned salesperson in Winnipeg, Manitoba had been reassessed for $114,000 and had 7 days left on the objection deadline. The reassessment rested on RRSP room accumulated over eight years and never used in a high-income year.
What we did
We filed the objection inside the deadline with a complete submission rather than a placeholder, 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
The appeals officer allowed the objection in full. $114,000 was reversed and the account returned to a nil balance.
Case Study 2 · CRA review defended
Audit Defence Closed In 6 Weeks, $58,000 Cleared — Employee with Foreign Investment, Saskatoon
Client: An employee with foreign investment accounts · Where: Saskatoon, Saskatchewan · Engagement: 6 weeks, fixed fee
Proposed tax cleared$58,000
Review duration6 weeks
OutcomeNo change
The situation
An employee with foreign investment accounts in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan was selected for review after foreign accounts that had crossed the T1135 threshold two years earlier showed up in the CRA's automated matching. The proposed adjustment on non-resident personal tax return came to $58,000.
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. 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. $58,000 of proposed tax came off the table, and the documentation now in place makes the next review a short one.
Case Study 3 · Deadline rescue
5-Week Turnaround Beat The Deadline And Saved $122,000 — Self-Employed Consultant, Regina
With the deadline for non-resident personal tax return weeks away, a self-employed consultant in Regina, Saskatchewan was carrying three years of returns filed without the slips that had been mailed to an old address. The exposure if the date slipped was around $122,000.
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. The filing went in complete rather than provisional, so there was no amended return to follow.
The result
Filed with 12 days to spare. $122,000 in late-filing penalties avoided, and the working papers are ready for the following year.
Case Study 4 · Missed incentive claimed
Incentive Review Recovered $88,000 Across 4 Open Years — Retiree Drawing From Three, Windsor
Client: A retiree drawing from three sources · Where: Windsor, Ontario · Engagement: 11 weeks, fixed fee
Recovered$88,000
Open years claimed4
Ongoing trackingIn place
The situation
An incentive review at a retiree drawing from three sources in Windsor, Ontario started from a simple question: what has never been claimed? The answer ran to 4 years, driven by three years of returns filed without the slips that had been mailed to an old address.
What we did
We filed the outstanding T1135 disclosures under the voluntary disclosure route before the CRA raised them, documenting eligibility to the standard a reviewer would apply rather than the standard a claim form requires.
The result
The credits produced $88,000 across the open years, and the tracking now in place means the following year's claim is documented as the work happens rather than reconstructed afterwards.
Case Study 5 · Records and systems rebuilt
Month-End Close Cut From 7 Weeks To 8 Days — Physician in Their First, Guelph
Client: A physician in their first year of practice · Where: Guelph, Ontario · Engagement: 3 weeks, fixed fee
Close time before7 weeks
Close time after8 days
Year-endReview, not rebuild
The situation
The accounting file at a physician in their first year of practice in Guelph, Ontario was built on a rental property reported without any capital cost allowance analysis. The year-end had taken 7 weeks each of the last three years.
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 moved the reconciliations into the monthly cycle, so the year-end stopped being a rebuild.
The result
The file reconciles. Month-end closes in 8 days instead of 7 weeks, and the year-end is a review rather than a reconstruction.
Client: A recently separated taxpayer · Where: Vancouver, British Columbia · Engagement: 5 weeks, fixed fee
Amount recovered$36,500
Reporting statusCurrent
Annual effortHours, not weeks
The situation
Foreign holdings at a recently separated taxpayer in Vancouver, British Columbia had passed the reporting threshold without anyone noticing. Behind the disclosure problem sat RRSP room accumulated over eight years and never used in a high-income year.
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, claiming the treaty relief and foreign tax credits on the Canadian return and correcting the disclosure position for the open years.
The result
The treaty position was accepted and $36,500 was recovered. Reporting is now current and the annual process takes hours rather than weeks.
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.
