6 T777 Employment Expense Claim 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 t777 employment expense claim work, not a general example.
Case Study 1 · Structure rebuilt
Reorganisation Completed Tax-Deferred, $56,000 Saved Each Year — Employee with Foreign Investment, Surrey
Client: An employee with foreign investment accounts · Where: Surrey, British Columbia · Engagement: 5 weeks, fixed fee
Annual saving$56,000
Tax on reorganisationDeferred
Elections filedOn time
The situation
An employee with foreign investment accounts in Surrey, British Columbia had outgrown the structure it started with. A rental property reported without any capital cost allowance analysis 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 carried the capital loss back against gains reported in the prior three years and generated a refund rather than a carry-forward balance — 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 $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 — First-Time Home Buyer, Halifax
Client: A first-time home buyer · Where: Halifax, Nova Scotia · Engagement: 4 weeks, fixed fee
Penalty avoided$81,000
Turnaround4 weeks
FiledOn time
The situation
A first-time home buyer in Halifax, Nova Scotia came to us 4 weeks before its filing deadline with three years of returns filed without the slips that had been mailed to an old address. A late filing would have triggered a penalty of roughly $81,000 before interest.
What we did
We worked backwards from the deadline. We reset the medical expense claim window, transferred credits between spouses, and applied the tuition and disability amounts to the return that used them, prioritising the items that actually gated the filing and deferring everything that did not.
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 retiree drawing from three sources · Where: Saskatoon, Saskatchewan · Engagement: 6 weeks, fixed fee
Overpayment refunded$155,000
Late remittances sinceZero
ScheduleAutomated
The situation
Remittances at a retiree drawing from three sources in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan were consistently late by a few days, which was enough to trigger penalties every quarter. Behind it sat RRSP room accumulated over eight years and never used in a high-income year.
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 moved the remittance dates into a scheduled process rather than a monthly decision.
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 was built on medical expenses claimed on a calendar-year basis when a shifted window was worth far more. The year-end had taken 12 weeks each of the last three years.
What we did
We filed the outstanding T1135 disclosures under the voluntary disclosure route before the CRA raised them and moved the reconciliations into the monthly cycle, so the year-end stopped being a rebuild.
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 — Commissioned Salesperson, Burnaby
Client: A commissioned salesperson · Where: Burnaby, British Columbia · Engagement: 4 weeks, fixed fee
Saving identified$70,000
RecurringYes
Positions documentedAll
The situation
A commissioned salesperson in Burnaby, British Columbia asked for a second opinion on t777 employment expense claim after three years of rising tax. The review found foreign accounts that had crossed the T1135 threshold two years earlier.
What we did
We built the comparison first — current structure against two alternatives — and then carried the capital loss back against gains reported in the prior three years and generated a refund rather than a carry-forward balance.
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 — Two-Income Household with Rental, Brampton
Client: A two-income household with rental property · Where: Brampton, Ontario · Engagement: 8 weeks, fixed fee
Reassessment reduced toNil
Tax protected$70,000
Prior filingsUndisturbed
The situation
A review notice arrived at a two-income household with rental property in Brampton, Ontario covering t777 employment expense claim for two tax years. The auditor's working position was an adjustment of $70,000, driven by a rental property reported without any capital cost allowance analysis.
What we did
Rather than negotiate, we rebuilt the record. We reset the medical expense claim window, transferred credits between spouses, and applied the tuition and disability amounts to the return that used them and submitted a point-by-point response that answered each proposed adjustment with the document behind it.
The result
The auditor accepted the documented position and closed the review without adjustment, protecting $70,000 and leaving the prior filings undisturbed.
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.
