6 Ten-Years-Late Tax Filing 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 ten-years-late tax filing work, not a general example.
Case Study 1 · Records and systems rebuilt
11 Months Reconciled And $11,000 Of Input Tax Recovered — Gig-Economy Driver, Mississauga
A gig-economy driver in Mississauga, Ontario was carrying RRSP room accumulated over eight years and never used in a high-income year. Nothing reconciled, and every filing started with 11 months of cleanup.
What we did
We rebuilt from source rather than correcting on top of the existing file. We reset the medical expense claim window, transferred credits between spouses, and applied the tuition and disability amounts to the return that used them, then set the routine that keeps it clean.
The result
11 months reconciled to the bank. The close now takes 6 days, and $11,000 of previously unclaimable input tax was recovered in the process.
Case Study 2 · Missed incentive claimed
$16,000 Credit Claim Filed And Accepted Without Adjustment — Physician in Their First, Calgary
Client: A physician in their first year of practice · Where: Calgary, Alberta · Engagement: 9 weeks, fixed fee
Claim value$16,000
AcceptedWithout adjustment
RepeatableAnnually
The situation
A physician in their first year of practice in Calgary, Alberta assumed the credits did not apply to a business its size. Foreign accounts that had crossed the T1135 threshold two years earlier meant they had applied all along.
What we did
We identified the qualifying activity, built the documentation to support it, and 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
$16,000 recovered. Because the eligibility analysis is on file, the same claim can be repeated each year with a fraction of the effort.
Case Study 3 · Deadline rescue
11-Week Turnaround Beat The Deadline And Saved $126,000 — Taxpayer with US-Source Dividends, Lethbridge
Client: A taxpayer with US-source dividends · Where: Lethbridge, Alberta · Engagement: 11 weeks, fixed fee
Late-filing penalty avoided$126,000
Filed with15 days to spare
Next yearPapers ready
The situation
With the deadline for ten-years-late tax filing weeks away, a taxpayer with US-source dividends in Lethbridge, Alberta was carrying a rental property reported without any capital cost allowance analysis. The exposure if the date slipped was around $126,000.
What we did
We filed the outstanding T1135 disclosures under the voluntary disclosure route before the CRA raised them. The filing went in complete rather than provisional, so there was no amended return to follow.
The result
Filed with 15 days to spare. $126,000 in late-filing penalties avoided, and the working papers are ready for the following year.
Client: A self-employed consultant · Where: Kelowna, British Columbia · Engagement: 7 weeks, fixed fee
Proposed tax cleared$113,000
Review duration7 weeks
OutcomeNo change
The situation
A self-employed consultant in Kelowna, British Columbia was selected for review after foreign accounts that had crossed the T1135 threshold two years earlier showed up in the CRA's automated matching. The proposed adjustment on ten-years-late tax filing came to $113,000.
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. Every figure in the response traced to a source record the auditor could verify without asking a second question.
The result
The review closed with no change. $113,000 of proposed tax came off the table, and the documentation now in place makes the next review a short one.
Case Study 5 · Objection and relief
Notice Of Objection Allowed In Full, $69,000 Reversed — Two-Income Household with Rental, Moncton
Client: A two-income household with rental property · Where: Moncton, New Brunswick · Engagement: 4 weeks, fixed fee
Amount reversed$69,000
ObjectionAllowed in full
Account balanceNil
The situation
A two-income household with rental property in Moncton, New Brunswick had been reassessed for $69,000 and had 24 days left on the objection deadline. The reassessment rested on medical expenses claimed on a calendar-year basis when a shifted window was worth far more.
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. $69,000 was reversed and the account returned to a nil balance.
Case Study 6 · Scaling without breaking
Scaled To 70 Staff With $130,000 Of Working Capital Freed — Commissioned Salesperson, Victoria
Client: A commissioned salesperson · Where: Victoria, British Columbia · Engagement: 10 weeks, fixed fee
Headcount reached70
Working capital freed$130,000
Missed deadlinesZero
The situation
A commissioned salesperson in Victoria, British Columbia was growing fast — headcount to 70 in eighteen months — and the back office had not kept up. RRSP room accumulated over eight years and never used in a high-income year was the first thing to break.
What we did
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 built the compliance calendar for the size the business was becoming rather than the size it had been.
The result
The business reached 70 staff with no missed remittance and no late filing. $130,000 of working capital was freed in the process.
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.
