6 Purchase or Sale of Business Tax Planning 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 purchase or sale of business tax planning work, not a general example.
Client: An incorporated trades business · Where: Guelph, Ontario · Engagement: 7 weeks, fixed fee
Proposed tax cleared$136,000
Review duration7 weeks
OutcomeNo change
The situation
An incorporated trades business in Guelph, Ontario was selected for review after retained earnings building in the operating company with no plan for extracting them showed up in the CRA's automated matching. The proposed adjustment on purchase or sale of business tax planning came to $136,000.
What we did
We mapped the association rules across the group, allocated the business limit deliberately on Schedule 23, and corrected the prior year by adjustment request. 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. $136,000 of proposed tax came off the table, and the documentation now in place makes the next review a short one.
Case Study 2 · Sale and succession
Share Sale Restructured, $320,000 Less Tax On Closing — CCPC with Two Shareholders, Saskatoon
Client: A CCPC with two shareholders · Where: Saskatoon, Saskatchewan · Engagement: 6 weeks, fixed fee
Tax saved on closing$320,000
PriceAs agreed
Post-closing adjustmentsNone
The situation
A CCPC with two shareholders in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan was preparing to sell. Due diligence surfaced a single shareholder holding every share, with no room to multiply the exemption, which would have reduced the price or killed the deal outright.
What we did
We cleaned up the historical file, rebuilt the instalment schedule off the current year rather than the prior year, ending the interest accrual, and prepared the due-diligence package the buyer's advisers actually asked for.
The result
The deal closed at the agreed price. $320,000 of tax was saved against the structure originally proposed, with no post-closing adjustment.
Case Study 3 · Structure rebuilt
Corporate Structure Rebuilt For $43,000 Of Annual Savings — Professional Corporation, Lethbridge
Client: A professional corporation · Where: Lethbridge, Alberta · Engagement: 5 weeks, fixed fee
Saving per year$43,000
DocumentationComplete
Transfer basisRollover
The situation
The structure at a professional corporation in Lethbridge, Alberta had been set up years earlier for a business that no longer existed, and passive investment income that had crossed the $50,000 grind threshold unnoticed had become expensive.
What we did
We moved passive holdings into a separate structure so the operating company’s small business limit stopped grinding down. The reorganisation used the rollover provisions rather than a taxable transfer, so no tax fell due on the restructuring itself.
The result
$43,000 of annual saving, achieved on a tax-deferred basis. The minute book, elections and valuations are all in the file.
Case Study 4 · Deadline rescue
$103,000 Late-Filing Penalty Cancelled On Relief Application — Franchise Operator with Three, London
Client: A franchise operator with three locations · Where: London, Ontario · Engagement: 4 weeks, fixed fee
Penalty cancelled$103,000
Relief applicationGranted
ReturnAccepted as filed
The situation
A franchise operator with three locations in London, Ontario had already missed one deadline and was about to miss a second. Behind it sat a balance-due date the owner believed was the same as the filing date, and a penalty of $103,000 was accruing.
What we did
We split the work into what had to happen before the deadline and what could follow it, then modelled salary against dividends across both the corporation and the shareholder’s personal return, then set the remuneration mix for the year.
The result
The outstanding return was accepted as filed, and the taxpayer relief application cancelled $103,000 of the penalty already assessed on the earlier year.
Case Study 5 · Cash and remittance control
Remittance Schedule Corrected, $94,000 Refunded — Corporately-Owned Rental Portfolio, Toronto
Remittances at a corporately-owned rental portfolio in Toronto, Ontario were consistently late by a few days, which was enough to trigger penalties every quarter. Behind it sat two corporations under common control filing as if each had its own $500,000 limit.
What we did
We mapped the association rules across the group, allocated the business limit deliberately on Schedule 23, and corrected the prior year by adjustment request, then moved the remittance dates into a scheduled process rather than a monthly decision.
The result
Penalties stopped from the following remittance onwards, and $94,000 of overpaid instalments was refunded.
Case Study 6 · Scaling without breaking
Growth Handled Without A Missed Filing, $84,000 Freed — Import and Distribution Corporation, Burnaby
Client: An import and distribution corporation · Where: Burnaby, British Columbia · Engagement: 7 weeks, fixed fee
Cash freed$84,000
Compliance failuresNone
ReportingMonthly
The situation
An import and distribution corporation in Burnaby, British Columbia was opening in a second province — different filing obligations, a different payroll regime, and retained earnings building in the operating company with no plan for extracting them already in the file.
What we did
We rebuilt the instalment schedule off the current year rather than the prior year, ending the interest accrual and put monthly reporting in place so the owner could see the cash effect of growth while there was still time to act on it.
The result
Growth was absorbed without a compliance failure. $84,000 of cash was released, and the monthly reporting now flags a problem while it is still small.
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.
