6 worked T1 Personal Income Tax Return 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 personal income tax return work, not a specific client's file.
Case Study 1 · Deadline rescue
Filed On Time From A Standing Start, $123,000 Penalty Avoided — US-Dividend Investor, Brampton
Client: A taxpayer with US-source dividends · Where: Brampton, Ontario · Engagement: 8 weeks, fixed fee
Penalty avoided$123,000
Turnaround8 weeks
FiledOn time
The situation — A taxpayer with US-source dividends, Brampton, Ontario
A taxpayer with US-source dividends in Brampton, Ontario came to us 8 weeks before its filing deadline with RRSP room accumulated over eight years and never used in a high-income year. A late filing would have triggered a penalty of roughly $123,000 before interest.
What we did for A taxpayer with US-source dividends, Brampton, Ontario
We worked backwards from the deadline. We filed the outstanding T1135 disclosures under the voluntary disclosure route before the CRA raised them, prioritising the items that actually gated the filing and deferring everything that did not.
The result — A taxpayer with US-source dividends, Brampton, Ontario
The return was filed on time and complete. The $123,000 penalty never arose, and the compliance calendar we set means the next deadline is scheduled rather than discovered.
Case Study 2 · Objection and relief
Notice Of Objection Allowed In Full, $45,000 Reversed — Disability Amount Claimant, Lethbridge
Client: A taxpayer claiming a dependant's transferred disability amount · Where: Lethbridge, Alberta · Engagement: 11 weeks, fixed fee
Amount reversed$45,000
ObjectionAllowed in full
Account balanceNil
The situation — A taxpayer claiming a dependant's transferred disability amount, Lethbridge, Alberta
A taxpayer claiming a dependant's transferred disability amount in Lethbridge, Alberta had been reassessed for $45,000 and had 6 days left on the objection deadline. The reassessment rested on foreign accounts that had crossed the T1135 threshold two years earlier.
What we did for A taxpayer claiming a dependant's transferred disability amount, Lethbridge, Alberta
We filed the objection inside the deadline with a complete submission rather than a placeholder, and obtained the signed T2200 and rebuilt the employment-expense claim on the prescribed form with the supporting records attached to the file.
The result — A taxpayer claiming a dependant's transferred disability amount, Lethbridge, Alberta
The appeals officer allowed the objection in full. $45,000 was reversed and the account returned to a nil balance.
Case Study 3 · Missed incentive claimed
$78,000 Credit Claim Filed And Accepted Without Adjustment — Mid-Year Interprovincial Mover, Halifax
Client: An employee who moved provinces mid-year · Where: Halifax, Nova Scotia · Engagement: 4 weeks, fixed fee
Claim value$78,000
AcceptedWithout adjustment
RepeatableAnnually
The situation — An employee who moved provinces mid-year, Halifax, Nova Scotia
An employee who moved provinces mid-year in Halifax, Nova Scotia assumed the credits did not apply to a business its size. Medical expenses claimed on a calendar-year basis when a shifted window was worth far more meant they had applied all along.
What we did for An employee who moved provinces mid-year, Halifax, Nova Scotia
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 — An employee who moved provinces mid-year, Halifax, Nova Scotia
$78,000 recovered. Because the eligibility analysis is on file, the same claim can be repeated each year with a fraction of the effort.
Client: A two-income household with rental property · Where: Moncton, New Brunswick · Engagement: 9 weeks, fixed fee
Proposed tax cleared$53,000
Review duration9 weeks
OutcomeNo change
The situation — A two-income household with rental property, Moncton, New Brunswick
A two-income household with rental property in Moncton, New Brunswick was selected for review after years of small donation receipts claimed one at a time instead of pooled onto a single return showed up in the CRA's automated matching. The proposed adjustment on t1 personal income tax return came to $53,000.
What we did for A two-income household with rental property, Moncton, New Brunswick
We reported the disposition and filed the principal residence designation for the year of sale, closing the late-designation exposure before the CRA raised it. Every figure in the response traced to a source record the auditor could verify without asking a second question.
The result — A two-income household with rental property, Moncton, New Brunswick
The review closed with no change. $53,000 of proposed tax came off the table, and the documentation now in place makes the next review a short one.
Case Study 5 · Records and systems rebuilt
Month-End Close Cut From 12 Weeks To 10 Days — Recently Separated Taxpayer, Ottawa
The situation — A recently separated taxpayer, Ottawa, Ontario
The accounting file at a recently separated taxpayer in Ottawa, Ontario was built on employment expenses claimed with no signed T2200 from the employer to support them. The year-end had taken 12 weeks each of the last three years.
What we did for A recently separated taxpayer, Ottawa, Ontario
We recalculated the instalments on the current year’s expected income rather than the prior year’s, which stopped the instalment interest from growing and moved the reconciliations into the monthly cycle, so the year-end stopped being a rebuild.
The result — A recently separated taxpayer, Ottawa, Ontario
The file reconciles. Month-end closes in 10 days instead of 12 weeks, and the year-end is a review rather than a reconstruction.
Case Study 6 · Planning that cut the bill
Remuneration Review Saved $18,500 Across Corporate And Personal Returns — First-Time Home Buyer, Kitchener
Client: A first-time home buyer · Where: Kitchener, Ontario · Engagement: 11 weeks, fixed fee
Combined saving$18,500
ScopeCorporate + personal
Future yearsNo rework needed
The situation — A first-time home buyer, Kitchener, Ontario
Nothing was wrong at a first-time home buyer in Kitchener, Ontario — the filings were on time and accurate. What they were not was planned. Three years of returns filed without the slips that had been mailed to an old address had never been reviewed.
What we did for A first-time home buyer, Kitchener, Ontario
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 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 — A first-time home buyer, Kitchener, Ontario
$18,500 came off the combined corporate and personal tax bill, and the structure holds for future years without further work.
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.
