6 worked T777 Employment Expense Claim 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 t777 employment expense claim work, not a specific client's file.
Case Study 1 · Structure rebuilt
Reorganisation Completed Tax-Deferred, $56,000 Saved Each Year — Multi-Source Retiree, Surrey
Client: A retiree drawing from three sources. Where: Surrey, British Columbia. Engagement: 5 weeks, fixed fee.
Annual saving$56,000
Tax on reorganisationDeferred
Elections filedOn time
Case 1: the situation
A retiree drawing from three sources in Surrey, British Columbia had outgrown the structure it started with. Years of small donation receipts claimed one at a time instead of pooled onto a single return was the immediate problem. The longer-term one was that the structure blocked the next step.
Case 1: what we did
We mapped the current structure and modelled the target. Then we obtained the signed T2200 and rebuilt the employment-expense claim on the prescribed form with the supporting records attached to the file. The tax-deferred elections were filed on time and the supporting valuations documented.
Case 1: the result
The reorganisation completed without triggering tax, and the new structure saves approximately $56,000 a year while removing the exposure the old one carried.
Case Study 2 · Deadline rescue
Filed On Time From A Standing Start, $81,000 Penalty Avoided — Mid-Year Interprovincial Mover, Halifax
Client: An employee who moved provinces mid-year. Where: Halifax, Nova Scotia. Engagement: 4 weeks, fixed fee.
Penalty avoided$81,000
Turnaround4 weeks
FiledOn time
Case 2: the situation
An employee who moved provinces mid-year in Halifax, Nova Scotia came to us 4 weeks before its filing deadline. The file came 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 $81,000 before interest.
Case 2: what we did
We worked backwards from the deadline. We filed the outstanding T1135 disclosures under the voluntary disclosure route before the CRA raised them. We prioritised the items that actually gated the filing and deferred everything that did not.
Case 2: the result
The return was filed on time and complete. The $81,000 penalty never arose, and the compliance calendar we set means the next deadline is scheduled rather than discovered.
Client: A physician in their first year of practice. Where: Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Engagement: 6 weeks, fixed fee.
Overpayment refunded$155,000
Late remittances sinceZero
ScheduleAutomated
Case 3: the situation
Remittances at a physician in their first year of practice in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan were consistently late by a few days. That was enough to trigger penalties every quarter. Behind it sat foreign accounts that had crossed the T1135 threshold two years earlier.
Case 3: 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. Then we moved the remittance dates into a scheduled process rather than a monthly decision.
Case 3: the result
Penalties stopped from the following remittance onwards, and $155,000 of overpaid instalments was refunded.
Case Study 4 · Records and systems rebuilt
Month-End Close Cut From 12 Weeks To 7 Days — Recently Separated Taxpayer, London
The accounting file at a recently separated taxpayer in London, Ontario had a weak foundation. It 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.
Case 4: what we did
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. We also moved the reconciliations into the monthly cycle, so the year-end stopped being a rebuild.
Case 4: the result
The file reconciles. Month-end closes in 7 days instead of 12 weeks, and the year-end is a review rather than a reconstruction.
Case Study 5 · Planning that cut the bill
$70,000 Saved By Correcting What Prior Filings Had Missed — Pension-Splitting Retiree, Burnaby
Client: A retiree splitting eligible pension income with a spouse. Where: Burnaby, British Columbia. Engagement: 4 weeks, fixed fee.
Saving identified$70,000
RecurringYes
Positions documentedAll
Case 5: the situation
A retiree splitting eligible pension income with a spouse in Burnaby, British Columbia asked for a second opinion on T777 employment expense claim. That followed three years of rising tax. The review found a rental property reported without any capital cost allowance analysis.
Case 5: what we did
We built the comparison first: current structure against two alternatives. Then we carried the capital loss back against gains reported in the prior three years and generated a refund rather than a carry-forward balance.
Case 5: the result
First-year saving of $70,000, with the same benefit recurring. Every position taken is documented and supported in the file.
Case Study 6 · CRA review defended
$70,000 Reassessment Reduced To Nil On Review — Gig-Economy Driver, Brampton
A review notice arrived at a gig-economy driver in Brampton, Ontario, covering T777 employment expense claim for two tax years. The auditor's working position was an adjustment of $70,000. It was driven by a home sale never reported on the basis that the gain was exempt anyway.
Case 6: what we did
Rather than negotiate, we rebuilt the record. We recalculated the instalments on the current year’s expected income rather than the prior year’s, which stopped the instalment interest from growing. We then submitted a point-by-point response that answered each proposed adjustment with the document behind it.
Case 6: the result
The auditor accepted the documented position and closed the review without adjustment, protecting $70,000 and leaving the prior filings undisturbed.
Reviewed by Udit Gupta, Founder and Tax Accountant for the 2025 tax year. 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.
