6 NR74 Residency Status Assistance 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 nr74 residency status assistance work, not a general example.
Case Study 1 · Records and systems rebuilt
Books Rebuilt From Source, $16,000 In Unclaimed Input Tax Found — Physician in Their First, Saskatoon
Client: A physician in their first year of practice · Where: Saskatoon, Saskatchewan · Engagement: 3 weeks, fixed fee
Unclaimed tax found$16,000
Records rebuilt34 months
ProcessDocumented
The situation
A physician in their first year of practice in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan could not answer basic questions about its own numbers, because foreign accounts that had crossed the T1135 threshold two years earlier sat between the bank statements and the ledger.
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, then documented the process so the work does not depend on any one person remembering how it was done.
The result
Records rebuilt and reconciled, $16,000 recovered in input tax credits that the old file could not support, and a documented monthly process now in place.
Case Study 2 · Planning that cut the bill
$48,000 Cut From The Annual Tax Bill — Self-Employed Consultant, Winnipeg
A self-employed consultant in Winnipeg, Manitoba was compliant but paying more than it needed to. The prior year had been filed correctly and still left three years of returns filed without the slips that had been mailed to an old address on the table.
What we did
We modelled the current position against the alternatives before changing anything, 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
The change saved $48,000 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 3 · CRA review defended
Audit Defence Closed In 9 Weeks, $84,000 Cleared — Commissioned Salesperson, Vancouver
Client: A commissioned salesperson · Where: Vancouver, British Columbia · Engagement: 9 weeks, fixed fee
Proposed tax cleared$84,000
Review duration9 weeks
OutcomeNo change
The situation
A commissioned salesperson in Vancouver, British Columbia 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 nr74 residency status assistance came to $84,000.
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. $84,000 of proposed tax came off the table, and the documentation now in place makes the next review a short one.
Case Study 4 · Cross-border exposure resolved
$124,000 Of Excess Withholding Refunded On Election — Retiree Drawing From Three, Guelph
Client: A retiree drawing from three sources · Where: Guelph, Ontario · Engagement: 9 weeks, fixed fee
Withholding refunded$124,000
ElectionFiled and accepted
Cross-border reportingConsistent
The situation
A retiree drawing from three sources in Guelph, Ontario was paying tax in two countries on one stream of income, because a rental property reported without any capital cost allowance analysis had never been reviewed against the treaty.
What we did
We filed the outstanding T1135 disclosures under the voluntary disclosure route before the CRA raised them and coordinated the timing so the credit claimed in Canada matched the tax actually paid abroad.
The result
$124,000 of excess withholding was refunded and the exposure closed. Both sides of the border now report consistently, which is what keeps the credit claimable.
Case Study 5 · Structure rebuilt
Reorganisation Completed Tax-Deferred, $73,000 Saved Each Year — Employee with Foreign Investment, Windsor
Client: An employee with foreign investment accounts · Where: Windsor, Ontario · Engagement: 10 weeks, fixed fee
Annual saving$73,000
Tax on reorganisationDeferred
Elections filedOn time
The situation
An employee with foreign investment accounts in Windsor, Ontario had outgrown the structure it started with. RRSP room accumulated over eight years and never used in a high-income year was the immediate problem; the longer-term one was that the structure blocked the next step.
What we did
We mapped the current structure, modelled the target, 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 — with the tax-deferred elections filed on time and the supporting valuations documented.
The result
The reorganisation completed without triggering tax, and the new structure saves approximately $73,000 a year while removing the exposure the old one carried.
Case Study 6 · Deadline rescue
$63,000 Late-Filing Penalty Cancelled On Relief Application — Taxpayer with US-Source Dividends, Regina
Client: A taxpayer with US-source dividends · Where: Regina, Saskatchewan · Engagement: 9 weeks, fixed fee
Penalty cancelled$63,000
Relief applicationGranted
ReturnAccepted as filed
The situation
A taxpayer with US-source dividends in Regina, Saskatchewan 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 $63,000 was accruing.
What we did
We split the work into what had to happen before the deadline and what could follow it, 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
The outstanding return was accepted as filed, and the taxpayer relief application cancelled $63,000 of the penalty already assessed on the earlier year.
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.
