6 Tuition Credit and Carry-Forward Review 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 tuition credit and carry-forward review work, not a general example.
Case Study 1 · Records and systems rebuilt
Month-End Close Cut From 12 Weeks To 6 Days — Gig-Economy Driver, Mississauga
The accounting file at a gig-economy driver in Mississauga, Ontario was built on RRSP room accumulated over eight years and never used in a high-income year. The year-end had taken 12 weeks each of the last three years.
What we did
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 moved the reconciliations into the monthly cycle, so the year-end stopped being a rebuild.
The result
The file reconciles. Month-end closes in 6 days instead of 12 weeks, and the year-end is a review rather than a reconstruction.
Case Study 2 · Backlog brought current
4 Years Filed, $93,000 Removed From The Assessed Balance — Retiree Drawing From Three, Calgary
Client: A retiree drawing from three sources · Where: Calgary, Alberta · Engagement: 5 weeks, fixed fee
Years filed4
Assessed balance removed$93,000
CollectionsStopped
The situation
A retiree drawing from three sources in Calgary, Alberta had not filed for 4 years. The CRA had issued arbitrary assessments, and the business was carrying three years of returns filed without the slips that had been mailed to an old address on top of a growing interest balance.
What we did
We started with the oldest year and worked forward so each year's closing balances fed the next. We carried the capital loss back against gains reported in the prior three years and generated a refund rather than a carry-forward balance, filing the years in sequence rather than all at once.
The result
Every year is now filed and assessed on actual figures. The notional assessments were vacated and $93,000 of the estimated balance came off, with a payment arrangement covering the rest.
Case Study 3 · Scaling without breaking
Scaled To 40 Staff With $134,000 Of Working Capital Freed — Two-Income Household with Rental, Lethbridge
Client: A two-income household with rental property · Where: Lethbridge, Alberta · Engagement: 5 weeks, fixed fee
Headcount reached40
Working capital freed$134,000
Missed deadlinesZero
The situation
A two-income household with rental property in Lethbridge, Alberta was growing fast — headcount to 40 in eighteen months — and the back office had not kept up. A rental property reported without any capital cost allowance analysis was the first thing to break.
What we did
We filed the outstanding T1135 disclosures under the voluntary disclosure route before the CRA raised them, and built the compliance calendar for the size the business was becoming rather than the size it had been.
The result
The business reached 40 staff with no missed remittance and no late filing. $134,000 of working capital was freed in the process.
Case Study 4 · Deadline rescue
Filed On Time From A Standing Start, $119,000 Penalty Avoided — Physician in Their First, Kelowna
Client: A physician in their first year of practice · Where: Kelowna, British Columbia · Engagement: 8 weeks, fixed fee
Penalty avoided$119,000
Turnaround8 weeks
FiledOn time
The situation
A physician in their first year of practice in Kelowna, British Columbia came to us 8 weeks before its filing deadline with foreign accounts that had crossed the T1135 threshold two years earlier. A late filing would have triggered a penalty of roughly $119,000 before interest.
What we did
We worked backwards from the deadline. 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, 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 $119,000 penalty never arose, and the compliance calendar we set means the next deadline is scheduled rather than discovered.
Case Study 5 · Objection and relief
Desk-Review Assessment Of $23,500 Vacated — First-Time Home Buyer, Moncton
Client: A first-time home buyer · Where: Moncton, New Brunswick · Engagement: 6 weeks, fixed fee
Assessment vacated$23,500
Supporting recordsNow on file
AccountCleared
The situation
A first-time home buyer in Moncton, New Brunswick was carrying $23,500 of penalties and interest arising from medical expenses claimed on a calendar-year basis when a shifted window was worth far more, much of it accumulated during a period the CRA itself had delayed.
What we did
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 framed the relief application on the specific grounds the CRA guidelines recognise rather than on general hardship.
The result
The assessment was vacated. $23,500 came off the account, and the documentation now on file makes the same position straightforward to defend next time.
Case Study 6 · Planning that cut the bill
Remuneration Review Saved $46,000 Across Corporate And Personal Returns — Commissioned Salesperson, Victoria
Client: A commissioned salesperson · Where: Victoria, British Columbia · Engagement: 9 weeks, fixed fee
Combined saving$46,000
ScopeCorporate + personal
Future yearsNo rework needed
The situation
Nothing was wrong at a commissioned salesperson in Victoria, British Columbia — the filings were on time and accurate. What they were not was planned. RRSP room accumulated over eight years and never used in a high-income year had never been reviewed.
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 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
$46,000 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, 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.
