6 worked Public Service Bodies Rebate 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 public service bodies rebate work, not a specific client's file.
Case Study 1 · Structure rebuilt
Holding Structure Added, $15,500 Saved Annually — Exempt-Supply Clinic, Vancouver
Client: A health clinic making exempt supplies · Where: Vancouver, British Columbia · Engagement: 10 weeks, fixed fee
Annual saving$15,500
ReorganisationTax-neutral
StructureMatches operations
The situation — A health clinic making exempt supplies, Vancouver, British Columbia
A health clinic making exempt supplies in Vancouver, British Columbia was carrying HST charged at the home-province rate on sales into four different provinces, and every option for fixing it ran through a reorganisation that had to be done without triggering tax.
What we did for A health clinic making exempt supplies, Vancouver, British Columbia
Working with the client's lawyer, we rebuilt the sales ledger by customer province, applied the correct place-of-supply rate to each stream, and filed corrected returns before the CRA opened a review and prepared the elections, resolutions and valuations the structure needed to stand up.
The result — A health clinic making exempt supplies, Vancouver, British Columbia
The structure now matches the business. Annual saving of $15,500, and the reorganisation itself was tax-neutral.
Case Study 2 · Objection and relief
Notice Of Objection Allowed In Full, $58,000 Reversed — Freight Brokerage, Hamilton
The situation — A freight brokerage, Hamilton, Ontario
A freight brokerage in Hamilton, Ontario had been reassessed for $58,000 and had 11 days left on the objection deadline. The reassessment rested on a sales tax account filed annually while the CRA had moved the business to quarterly.
What we did for A freight brokerage, Hamilton, Ontario
We filed the objection inside the deadline with a complete submission rather than a placeholder, and brought the nil and missing periods current so the account was clean before the refund claim was filed.
The result — A freight brokerage, Hamilton, Ontario
The appeals officer allowed the objection in full. $58,000 was reversed and the account returned to a nil balance.
Case Study 3 · Deadline rescue
9-Week Turnaround Beat The Deadline And Saved $37,500 — Cross-Border SaaS Company, Burnaby
Client: A SaaS company with Canadian and US customers · Where: Burnaby, British Columbia · Engagement: 9 weeks, fixed fee
Late-filing penalty avoided$37,500
Filed with18 days to spare
Next yearPapers ready
The situation — A SaaS company with Canadian and US customers, Burnaby, British Columbia
With the deadline for public service bodies rebate weeks away, a SaaS company with Canadian and US customers in Burnaby, British Columbia was carrying a registration threshold crossed nine months before anyone registered. The exposure if the date slipped was around $37,500.
What we did for A SaaS company with Canadian and US customers, Burnaby, British Columbia
We filed the section 156 election for the related registrants, so supplies between them stopped carrying tax that served no purpose but cash-flow drag. The filing went in complete rather than provisional, so there was no amended return to follow.
The result — A SaaS company with Canadian and US customers, Burnaby, British Columbia
Filed with 18 days to spare. $37,500 in late-filing penalties avoided, and the working papers are ready for the following year.
Case Study 4 · Records and systems rebuilt
Month-End Close Cut From 10 Weeks To 6 Days — Late GST/HST Registrant, Victoria
Client: A seller who crossed the registration threshold before registering · Where: Victoria, British Columbia · Engagement: 5 weeks, fixed fee
Close time before10 weeks
Close time after6 days
Year-endReview, not rebuild
The situation — A seller who crossed the registration threshold before registering, Victoria, British Columbia
The accounting file at a seller who crossed the registration threshold before registering in Victoria, British Columbia was built on management fees between two related registrants carrying tax that only ever went out and came back. The year-end had taken 10 weeks each of the last three years.
What we did for A seller who crossed the registration threshold before registering, Victoria, British Columbia
We set a defensible input tax credit allocation between taxable and exempt supplies and documented the method for future filings and moved the reconciliations into the monthly cycle, so the year-end stopped being a rebuild.
The result — A seller who crossed the registration threshold before registering, Victoria, British Columbia
The file reconciles. Month-end closes in 6 days instead of 10 weeks, and the year-end is a review rather than a reconstruction.
Case Study 5 · Cash and remittance control
Instalments Rebased, $41,000 Of Cash Returned To The Business — Restaurant Group, Guelph
Client: A restaurant group · Where: Guelph, Ontario · Engagement: 4 weeks, fixed fee
Cash returned$41,000
Instalment basisCurrent year
ReviewedQuarterly
The situation — A restaurant group, Guelph, Ontario
A restaurant group in Guelph, Ontario was paying instalments calculated on a prior year that no longer reflected the business. Input tax credits claimed on the exempt side of a mixed-supply business was tying up $41,000 of cash.
What we did for A restaurant group, Guelph, Ontario
We rebased the instalments on the current-year estimate rather than the prior-year default, and backdated the registration to the day the threshold was crossed, remitted the tax owing, and applied for relief on the penalty portion.
The result — A restaurant group, Guelph, Ontario
$41,000 of cash stayed in the business, the penalty cycle ended, and the instalment position is reviewed each quarter against actual results.
Case Study 6 · Planning that cut the bill
$14,500 Cut From The Annual Tax Bill — Interprovincial Construction Supplier, Mississauga
Client: A construction supplier selling into three provinces · Where: Mississauga, Ontario · Engagement: 5 weeks, fixed fee
First-year saving$14,500
RepeatsAnnually
Filing positionUnchanged in risk
The situation — A construction supplier selling into three provinces, Mississauga, Ontario
A construction supplier selling into three provinces in Mississauga, Ontario was compliant but paying more than it needed to. The prior year had been filed correctly and still left a commercial property purchase closed on the assumption no tax applied because the vendor was not registered on the table.
What we did for A construction supplier selling into three provinces, Mississauga, Ontario
We modelled the current position against the alternatives before changing anything, then tested the quick method against the account’s actual input tax credit history and stayed on the regular method where the credits were worth more.
The result — A construction supplier selling into three provinces, Mississauga, Ontario
The change saved $14,500 in the first year and repeats annually. Nothing about the filings became more aggressive; the position is simply the one the rules already allowed.
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.
