6 worked T1 Adjustment 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 t1 adjustment work, not a specific client's file.
Case Study 1 · CRA review defended
$51,000 Proposed Adjustment Withdrawn In Full — US-Dividend Investor, Calgary
Client: A taxpayer with US-source dividends · Where: Calgary, Alberta · Engagement: 10 weeks, fixed fee
Adjustment withdrawn$51,000
File closed in10 weeks
Penalties assessedNone
The situation — A taxpayer with US-source dividends, Calgary, Alberta
A taxpayer with US-source dividends in Calgary, Alberta received a proposal letter opening a review of t1 adjustment. The CRA had identified employment expenses claimed with no signed T2200 from the employer to support them and proposed an adjustment of $51,000, with 30 days to respond.
What we did for A taxpayer with US-source dividends, Calgary, Alberta
We treated the response as an evidence exercise rather than an argument. We recalculated the instalments on the current year’s expected income rather than the prior year’s, which stopped the instalment interest from growing, then indexed every supporting document against the specific line the auditor had questioned.
The result — A taxpayer with US-source dividends, Calgary, Alberta
The proposed adjustment was withdrawn in full — all $51,000 of it. The file closed in 10 weeks with no change to the assessed amounts and no penalty.
Case Study 2 · Records and systems rebuilt
26 Months Reconciled And $18,500 Of Input Tax Recovered — Two-Income Landlord Household, Regina
Client: A two-income household with rental property · Where: Regina, Saskatchewan · Engagement: 5 weeks, fixed fee
Months reconciled26
Input tax recovered$18,500
Close time5 days
The situation — A two-income household with rental property, Regina, Saskatchewan
A two-income household with rental property in Regina, Saskatchewan was carrying three years of returns filed without the slips that had been mailed to an old address. Nothing reconciled, and every filing started with 26 months of cleanup.
What we did for A two-income household with rental property, Regina, Saskatchewan
We rebuilt from source rather than correcting on top of the existing file. 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 set the routine that keeps it clean.
The result — A two-income household with rental property, Regina, Saskatchewan
26 months reconciled to the bank. The close now takes 5 days, and $18,500 of previously unclaimable input tax was recovered in the process.
Case Study 3 · Deadline rescue
Filed On Time From A Standing Start, $44,000 Penalty Avoided — Gig-Economy Driver, Mississauga
The situation — A gig-economy driver, Mississauga, Ontario
A gig-economy driver in Mississauga, Ontario came to us 5 weeks before its filing deadline with medical expenses claimed on a calendar-year basis when a shifted window was worth far more. A late filing would have triggered a penalty of roughly $44,000 before interest.
What we did for A gig-economy driver, Mississauga, Ontario
We worked backwards from the deadline. We pooled the carried-forward donation receipts onto the higher-income spouse’s return so the whole claim sat above the low-rate first tier, prioritising the items that actually gated the filing and deferring everything that did not.
The result — A gig-economy driver, Mississauga, Ontario
The return was filed on time and complete. The $44,000 penalty never arose, and the compliance calendar we set means the next deadline is scheduled rather than discovered.
Case Study 4 · Objection and relief
Notice Of Objection Allowed In Full, $26,000 Reversed — Mid-Year Interprovincial Mover, Red Deer
Client: An employee who moved provinces mid-year · Where: Red Deer, Alberta · Engagement: 11 weeks, fixed fee
Amount reversed$26,000
ObjectionAllowed in full
Account balanceNil
The situation — An employee who moved provinces mid-year, Red Deer, Alberta
An employee who moved provinces mid-year in Red Deer, Alberta had been reassessed for $26,000 and had 10 days left on the objection deadline. The reassessment rested on a rental property reported without any capital cost allowance analysis.
What we did for An employee who moved provinces mid-year, Red Deer, Alberta
We filed the objection inside the deadline with a complete submission rather than a placeholder, 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 — An employee who moved provinces mid-year, Red Deer, Alberta
The appeals officer allowed the objection in full. $26,000 was reversed and the account returned to a nil balance.
Case Study 5 · Missed incentive claimed
Incentive Review Recovered $17,500 Across 4 Open Years — First-Time Home Buyer, Ottawa
Client: A first-time home buyer · Where: Ottawa, Ontario · Engagement: 8 weeks, fixed fee
Recovered$17,500
Open years claimed4
Ongoing trackingIn place
The situation — A first-time home buyer, Ottawa, Ontario
An incentive review at a first-time home buyer in Ottawa, Ontario started from a simple question: what has never been claimed? The answer ran to 4 years, driven by employment expenses claimed with no signed T2200 from the employer to support them.
What we did for A first-time home buyer, Ottawa, Ontario
We filed the outstanding T1135 disclosures under the voluntary disclosure route before the CRA raised them, documenting eligibility to the standard a reviewer would apply rather than the standard a claim form requires.
The result — A first-time home buyer, Ottawa, Ontario
The credits produced $17,500 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
Collections Halted And $64,000 Cut From A 5-Year Backlog — Disability Amount Claimant, Windsor
Client: A taxpayer claiming a dependant's transferred disability amount · Where: Windsor, Ontario · Engagement: 4 weeks, fixed fee
Balance reduced by$64,000
Backlog cleared5 years
CollectionsHalted
The situation — A taxpayer claiming a dependant's transferred disability amount, Windsor, Ontario
By the time a taxpayer claiming a dependant's transferred disability amount in Windsor, Ontario called, 5 years were outstanding and the CRA had assessed on estimates. Underneath it sat foreign accounts that had crossed the T1135 threshold two years earlier.
What we did for A taxpayer claiming a dependant's transferred disability amount, Windsor, Ontario
We reconstructed the records year by year and obtained the signed T2200 and rebuilt the employment-expense claim on the prescribed form with the supporting records attached to the file. Each filing replaced an arbitrary assessment with a real one.
The result — A taxpayer claiming a dependant's transferred disability amount, Windsor, Ontario
The account is current. Filing on real numbers rather than CRA estimates reduced the balance by $64,000, and a relief application addressed part of the accumulated interest.
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.
