6 worked Personal Tax Return Amendment 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 personal tax return amendment work, not a specific client's file.
Case Study 1 · Records and systems rebuilt
Books Rebuilt From Source, $17,000 In Unclaimed Input Tax Found — Mid-Year Interprovincial Mover, Lethbridge
Client: An employee who moved provinces mid-year · Where: Lethbridge, Alberta · Engagement: 9 weeks, fixed fee
Unclaimed tax found$17,000
Records rebuilt33 months
ProcessDocumented
The situation — An employee who moved provinces mid-year, Lethbridge, Alberta
An employee who moved provinces mid-year in Lethbridge, Alberta could not answer basic questions about its own numbers, because a home sale never reported on the basis that the gain was exempt anyway sat between the bank statements and the ledger.
What we did for An employee who moved provinces mid-year, Lethbridge, Alberta
We pooled the carried-forward donation receipts onto the higher-income spouse’s return so the whole claim sat above the low-rate first tier, then documented the process so the work does not depend on any one person remembering how it was done.
The result — An employee who moved provinces mid-year, Lethbridge, Alberta
Records rebuilt and reconciled, $17,000 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
Remuneration Review Saved $37,500 Across Corporate And Personal Returns — Multi-Source Retiree, Toronto
Client: A retiree drawing from three sources · Where: Toronto, Ontario · Engagement: 11 weeks, fixed fee
Combined saving$37,500
ScopeCorporate + personal
Future yearsNo rework needed
The situation — A retiree drawing from three sources, Toronto, Ontario
Nothing was wrong at a retiree drawing from three sources in Toronto, Ontario — the filings were on time and accurate. What they were not was planned. A rental property reported without any capital cost allowance analysis had never been reviewed.
What we did for A retiree drawing from three sources, Toronto, Ontario
We reported the disposition and filed the principal residence designation for the year of sale, closing the late-designation exposure before the CRA raised it, 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 — A retiree drawing from three sources, Toronto, Ontario
$37,500 came off the combined corporate and personal tax bill, and the structure holds for future years without further work.
Client: A taxpayer with US-source dividends · Where: Calgary, Alberta · Engagement: 7 weeks, fixed fee
Proposed tax cleared$109,000
Review duration7 weeks
OutcomeNo change
The situation — A taxpayer with US-source dividends, Calgary, Alberta
A taxpayer with US-source dividends in Calgary, Alberta was selected for review after employment expenses claimed with no signed T2200 from the employer to support them showed up in the CRA's automated matching. The proposed adjustment on personal tax return amendment came to $109,000.
What we did for A taxpayer with US-source dividends, Calgary, Alberta
We filed the outstanding T1135 disclosures under the voluntary disclosure route before the CRA raised them. Every figure in the response traced to a source record the auditor could verify without asking a second question.
The result — A taxpayer with US-source dividends, Calgary, Alberta
The review closed with no change. $109,000 of proposed tax came off the table, and the documentation now in place makes the next review a short one.
Case Study 4 · Scaling without breaking
Scaled To 25 Staff With $155,000 Of Working Capital Freed — Self-Employed Consultant, Vancouver
Client: A self-employed consultant · Where: Vancouver, British Columbia · Engagement: 10 weeks, fixed fee
Headcount reached25
Working capital freed$155,000
Missed deadlinesZero
The situation — A self-employed consultant, Vancouver, British Columbia
A self-employed consultant in Vancouver, British Columbia was growing fast — headcount to 25 in eighteen months — and the back office had not kept up. Foreign accounts that had crossed the T1135 threshold two years earlier was the first thing to break.
What we did for A self-employed consultant, Vancouver, British Columbia
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 built the compliance calendar for the size the business was becoming rather than the size it had been.
The result — A self-employed consultant, Vancouver, British Columbia
The business reached 25 staff with no missed remittance and no late filing. $155,000 of working capital was freed in the process.
Case Study 5 · Missed incentive claimed
Incentive Review Recovered $131,000 Across 7 Open Years — First-Time Home Buyer, Mississauga
Client: A first-time home buyer · Where: Mississauga, Ontario · Engagement: 8 weeks, fixed fee
Recovered$131,000
Open years claimed7
Ongoing trackingIn place
The situation — A first-time home buyer, Mississauga, Ontario
An incentive review at a first-time home buyer in Mississauga, Ontario started from a simple question: what has never been claimed? The answer ran to 7 years, driven by a rental property reported without any capital cost allowance analysis.
What we did for A first-time home buyer, Mississauga, Ontario
We reset the medical expense claim window, transferred credits between spouses, and applied the tuition and disability amounts to the return that used them, documenting eligibility to the standard a reviewer would apply rather than the standard a claim form requires.
The result — A first-time home buyer, Mississauga, Ontario
The credits produced $131,000 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 6 · Backlog brought current
$16,000 Of Arbitrary Assessments Vacated After 6 Years — Student Filer, Edmonton
Client: A full-time student with tuition credits and part-time earnings · Where: Edmonton, Alberta · Engagement: 8 weeks, fixed fee
Arbitrary tax vacated$16,000
Years brought current6
Account statusCurrent
The situation — A full-time student with tuition credits and part-time earnings, Edmonton, Alberta
6 years of unfiled returns had turned into notional assessments at a full-time student with tuition credits and part-time earnings in Edmonton, Alberta, with years of small donation receipts claimed one at a time instead of pooled onto a single return underneath. Collections had already started.
What we did for A full-time student with tuition credits and part-time earnings, Edmonton, Alberta
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 filed every outstanding year in chronological order so the CRA could vacate the notional assessments cleanly.
The result — A full-time student with tuition credits and part-time earnings, Edmonton, Alberta
All 6 years were accepted as filed. $16,000 of arbitrarily assessed tax was vacated, collections action stopped, and the account is current for the first time in 6 years.
Reviewed for the 2025 tax year by Udit Gupta, Founder and Tax Accountant. 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.
