6 Personal Tax Return Amendment 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 personal tax return amendment work, not a general example.
Case Study 1 · Records and systems rebuilt
Books Rebuilt From Source, $17,000 In Unclaimed Input Tax Found — Gig-Economy Driver, Lethbridge
Client: A gig-economy driver · Where: Lethbridge, Alberta · Engagement: 9 weeks, fixed fee
Unclaimed tax found$17,000
Records rebuilt33 months
ProcessDocumented
The situation
A gig-economy driver in Lethbridge, Alberta could not answer basic questions about its own numbers, because RRSP room accumulated over eight years and never used in a high-income year sat between the bank statements and the ledger.
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 documented the process so the work does not depend on any one person remembering how it was done.
The result
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 — Employee with Foreign Investment, Toronto
Client: An employee with foreign investment accounts · Where: Toronto, Ontario · Engagement: 11 weeks, fixed fee
Combined saving$37,500
ScopeCorporate + personal
Future yearsNo rework needed
The situation
Nothing was wrong at an employee with foreign investment accounts in Toronto, Ontario — 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
$37,500 came off the combined corporate and personal tax bill, and the structure holds for future years without further work.
Case Study 3 · CRA review defended
Audit Defence Closed In 7 Weeks, $109,000 Cleared — First-Time Home Buyer, Calgary
Client: A first-time home buyer · Where: Calgary, Alberta · Engagement: 7 weeks, fixed fee
Proposed tax cleared$109,000
Review duration7 weeks
OutcomeNo change
The situation
A first-time home buyer in Calgary, Alberta was selected for review after a rental property reported without any capital cost allowance analysis showed up in the CRA's automated matching. The proposed adjustment on personal tax return amendment came to $109,000.
What we did
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
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 — Retiree Drawing From Three, Vancouver
Client: A retiree drawing from three sources · Where: Vancouver, British Columbia · Engagement: 10 weeks, fixed fee
Headcount reached25
Working capital freed$155,000
Missed deadlinesZero
The situation
A retiree drawing from three sources 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
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
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 — Recently Separated Taxpayer, Mississauga
An incentive review at a recently separated taxpayer in Mississauga, Ontario started from a simple question: what has never been claimed? The answer ran to 7 years, driven by three years of returns filed without the slips that had been mailed to an old address.
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, documenting eligibility to the standard a reviewer would apply rather than the standard a claim form requires.
The result
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 — Commissioned Salesperson, Edmonton
Client: A commissioned salesperson · Where: Edmonton, Alberta · Engagement: 8 weeks, fixed fee
Arbitrary tax vacated$16,000
Years brought current6
Account statusCurrent
The situation
6 years of unfiled returns had turned into notional assessments at a commissioned salesperson in Edmonton, Alberta, with RRSP room accumulated over eight years and never used in a high-income year underneath. Collections had already started.
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 filed every outstanding year in chronological order so the CRA could vacate the notional assessments cleanly.
The result
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, 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.
