6 Residency Determination 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 residency determination work, not a general example.
Case Study 1 · Backlog brought current
5 Years Filed, $57,000 Removed From The Assessed Balance — Commissioned Salesperson, Surrey
Client: A commissioned salesperson · Where: Surrey, British Columbia · Engagement: 7 weeks, fixed fee
Years filed5
Assessed balance removed$57,000
CollectionsStopped
The situation
A commissioned salesperson in Surrey, British Columbia had not filed for 5 years. The CRA had issued arbitrary assessments, and the business was carrying RRSP room accumulated over eight years and never used in a high-income year on top of a growing interest balance.
What we did
We started with the oldest year and worked forward so each year's closing balances fed the next. We carried the capital loss back against gains reported in the prior three years and generated a refund rather than a carry-forward balance, filing the years in sequence rather than all at once.
The result
Every year is now filed and assessed on actual figures. The notional assessments were vacated and $57,000 of the estimated balance came off, with a payment arrangement covering the rest.
Case Study 2 · Structure rebuilt
Reorganisation Completed Tax-Deferred, $41,000 Saved Each Year — Physician in Their First, Hamilton
Client: A physician in their first year of practice · Where: Hamilton, Ontario · Engagement: 10 weeks, fixed fee
Annual saving$41,000
Tax on reorganisationDeferred
Elections filedOn time
The situation
A physician in their first year of practice in Hamilton, Ontario had outgrown the structure it started with. Medical expenses claimed on a calendar-year basis when a shifted window was worth far more 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 reset the medical expense claim window, transferred credits between spouses, and applied the tuition and disability amounts to the return that used them — 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 $41,000 a year while removing the exposure the old one carried.
Case Study 3 · Cash and remittance control
$29,000 Of Working Capital Freed From The Tax Cycle — Retiree Drawing From Three, Winnipeg
Client: A retiree drawing from three sources · Where: Winnipeg, Manitoba · Engagement: 7 weeks, fixed fee
Working capital freed$29,000
On-time remittancesEvery period since
Forecast horizon13 weeks
The situation
A retiree drawing from three sources in Winnipeg, Manitoba was profitable on paper and short of cash every month. Foreign accounts that had crossed the T1135 threshold two years earlier explained most of the gap.
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 built a thirteen-week cash view so tax payments stopped competing with payroll for the same dollars.
The result
$29,000 was released back into working capital. Remittances have been on time every period since, and the forecast shows the tax outflow before it lands.
Case Study 4 · Planning that cut the bill
Remuneration Review Saved $51,000 Across Corporate And Personal Returns — Self-Employed Consultant, Ottawa
Nothing was wrong at a self-employed consultant in Ottawa, 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
We filed the outstanding T1135 disclosures under the voluntary disclosure route before the CRA raised them, 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
$51,000 came off the combined corporate and personal tax bill, and the structure holds for future years without further work.
Case Study 5 · Scaling without breaking
Scaled To 40 Staff With $52,000 Of Working Capital Freed — Employee with Foreign Investment, Edmonton
Client: An employee with foreign investment accounts · Where: Edmonton, Alberta · Engagement: 5 weeks, fixed fee
Headcount reached40
Working capital freed$52,000
Missed deadlinesZero
The situation
An employee with foreign investment accounts in Edmonton, Alberta was growing fast — headcount to 40 in eighteen months — and the back office had not kept up. Three years of returns filed without the slips that had been mailed to an old address 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 40 staff with no missed remittance and no late filing. $52,000 of working capital was freed in the process.
Case Study 6 · Deadline rescue
6-Week Turnaround Beat The Deadline And Saved $48,000 — Recently Separated Taxpayer, Mississauga
With the deadline for residency determination weeks away, a recently separated taxpayer in Mississauga, Ontario was carrying RRSP room accumulated over eight years and never used in a high-income year. The exposure if the date slipped was around $48,000.
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. The filing went in complete rather than provisional, so there was no amended return to follow.
The result
Filed with 14 days to spare. $48,000 in late-filing penalties avoided, and the working papers are ready for the following 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.
