6 Self-Employed Tax Return 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 self-employed tax return work, not a general example.
Case Study 1 · Objection and relief
Notice Of Objection Allowed In Full, $20,500 Reversed — Taxpayer with US-Source Dividends, Lethbridge
Client: A taxpayer with US-source dividends · Where: Lethbridge, Alberta · Engagement: 5 weeks, fixed fee
Amount reversed$20,500
ObjectionAllowed in full
Account balanceNil
The situation
A taxpayer with US-source dividends in Lethbridge, Alberta had been reassessed for $20,500 and had 11 days left on the objection deadline. The reassessment rested on three years of returns filed without the slips that had been mailed to an old address.
What we did
We filed the objection inside the deadline with a complete submission rather than a placeholder, and reset the medical expense claim window, transferred credits between spouses, and applied the tuition and disability amounts to the return that used them.
The result
The appeals officer allowed the objection in full. $20,500 was reversed and the account returned to a nil balance.
Case Study 2 · Deadline rescue
11-Week Turnaround Beat The Deadline And Saved $76,000 — First-Time Home Buyer, Regina
Client: A first-time home buyer · Where: Regina, Saskatchewan · Engagement: 11 weeks, fixed fee
Late-filing penalty avoided$76,000
Filed with20 days to spare
Next yearPapers ready
The situation
With the deadline for self-employed tax return weeks away, a first-time home buyer in Regina, Saskatchewan was carrying a rental property reported without any capital cost allowance analysis. The exposure if the date slipped was around $76,000.
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. The filing went in complete rather than provisional, so there was no amended return to follow.
The result
Filed with 20 days to spare. $76,000 in late-filing penalties avoided, and the working papers are ready for the following year.
Case Study 3 · Records and systems rebuilt
Books Rebuilt From Source, $8,000 In Unclaimed Input Tax Found — Two-Income Household with Rental, Ottawa
Client: A two-income household with rental property · Where: Ottawa, Ontario · Engagement: 7 weeks, fixed fee
Unclaimed tax found$8,000
Records rebuilt27 months
ProcessDocumented
The situation
A two-income household with rental property in Ottawa, Ontario could not answer basic questions about its own numbers, because foreign accounts that had crossed the T1135 threshold two years earlier sat between the bank statements and the ledger.
What we did
We filed the outstanding T1135 disclosures under the voluntary disclosure route before the CRA raised 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, $8,000 recovered in input tax credits that the old file could not support, and a documented monthly process now in place.
Case Study 4 · CRA review defended
$54,000 Proposed Adjustment Withdrawn In Full — Gig-Economy Driver, Barrie
A gig-economy driver in Barrie, Ontario received a proposal letter opening a review of self-employed tax return. The CRA had identified medical expenses claimed on a calendar-year basis when a shifted window was worth far more and proposed an adjustment of $54,000, with 30 days to respond.
What we did
We treated the response as an evidence exercise rather than an argument. We carried the capital loss back against gains reported in the prior three years and generated a refund rather than a carry-forward balance, then indexed every supporting document against the specific line the auditor had questioned.
The result
The proposed adjustment was withdrawn in full — all $54,000 of it. The file closed in 7 weeks with no change to the assessed amounts and no penalty.
Case Study 5 · Missed incentive claimed
$64,000 Credit Claim Filed And Accepted Without Adjustment — Recently Separated Taxpayer, London
A recently separated taxpayer in London, Ontario assumed the credits did not apply to a business its size. A rental property reported without any capital cost allowance analysis meant they had applied all along.
What we did
We identified the qualifying activity, built the documentation to support it, and reset the medical expense claim window, transferred credits between spouses, and applied the tuition and disability amounts to the return that used them.
The result
$64,000 recovered. Because the eligibility analysis is on file, the same claim can be repeated each year with a fraction of the effort.
Case Study 6 · Cash and remittance control
Instalments Rebased, $35,000 Of Cash Returned To The Business — Self-Employed Consultant, Vancouver
Client: A self-employed consultant · Where: Vancouver, British Columbia · Engagement: 5 weeks, fixed fee
Cash returned$35,000
Instalment basisCurrent year
ReviewedQuarterly
The situation
A self-employed consultant in Vancouver, British Columbia was paying instalments calculated on a prior year that no longer reflected the business. Three years of returns filed without the slips that had been mailed to an old address was tying up $35,000 of cash.
What we did
We rebased the instalments on the current-year estimate rather than the prior-year default, and pulled the full slip history from the CRA record, refiled the affected years by adjustment request, and recovered the credits that had been missed.
The result
$35,000 of cash stayed in the business, the penalty cycle ended, and the instalment position is reviewed each quarter against actual results.
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.
