Case Study 1
Instalments Rebased, $86,000 Of Cash Returned To The Business — Millwork Shop, Haldimand County
A millwork shop in Haldimand County, Ontario was overpaying instalments because of sector-specific exposure the previous accountant had not seen before. Rebasing them returned $86,000 to the business.
A millwork shop in Haldimand County, Ontario was paying instalments calculated on a prior year that no longer reflected the business. Sector-specific exposure the previous accountant had not seen before was tying up $86,000 of cash. We rebased the instalments on the current-year estimate rather than the prior-year default, and assessed and claimed Ontario Made Manufacturing Investment Tax Credit alongside the federal return. $86,000 of cash stayed in the business, the penalty cycle ended, and the instalment position is reviewed each quarter against actual results.
Case Study 2
Books Rebuilt From Source, $3,600 In Unclaimed Input Tax Found — Digital Product Agency, Haldimand County
The ledger at a digital product agency in Haldimand County, Ontario could not support its own filings because of 13% HST charged on every sale regardless of where the customer was located. Rebuilding it surfaced $3,600 in unclaimed input tax.
A digital product agency in Haldimand County, Ontario could not answer basic questions about its own numbers, because 13% HST charged on every sale regardless of where the customer was located sat between the bank statements and the ledger. We recalculated the corporate tax at the 12.2% combined small business rate and rebased the instalments on the current year, then documented the process so the work does not depend on any one person remembering how it was done. Records rebuilt and reconciled, $3,600 recovered in input tax credits that the old file could not support, and a documented monthly process now in place.
Case Study 3
Filed On Time From A Standing Start, $111,000 Penalty Avoided — Mortgage Brokerage, Haldimand County
A mortgage brokerage in Haldimand County, Ontario was 10 weeks from a deadline while carrying a provincial payroll levy that had never been registered for or remitted. Filing complete and on time avoided roughly $111,000 in penalties.
A mortgage brokerage in Haldimand County, Ontario came to us 10 weeks before its filing deadline with a provincial payroll levy that had never been registered for or remitted. A late filing would have triggered a penalty of roughly $111,000 before interest. We worked backwards from the deadline. We assessed and claimed Ontario Innovation Tax Credit alongside the federal return, prioritising the items that actually gated the filing and deferring everything that did not. The return was filed on time and complete. The $111,000 penalty never arose, and the compliance calendar we set means the next deadline is scheduled rather than discovered.
Case Study 4
$140,000 Of Penalties And Interest Cancelled On Relief — Architecture Studio, Haldimand County
An architecture studio in Haldimand County, Ontario was carrying $140,000 of penalties and interest from instalments still calculated on a year the business had long outgrown. A relief application cancelled it.
An assessment of $140,000 landed at an architecture studio in Haldimand County, Ontario following a desk review. The auditor had not seen the records behind instalments still calculated on a year the business had long outgrown. We rebuilt the sales ledger by customer location, applied the correct place-of-supply rate to each stream, and filed the adjusted HST returns, then set out the legislative basis for the position alongside the documents supporting it. $140,000 of penalties and interest was cancelled under the taxpayer relief provisions, and the underlying assessment was adjusted to match the filed position.
Case Study 5
Holding Structure Added, $65,000 Saved Annually — Electronics Assembler, Haldimand County
An electronics assembler in Haldimand County, Ontario needed a holding structure to deal with out-of-province sales billed at the ON rate instead of the customer’s. The reorganisation was tax-neutral and removed $65,000 of annual exposure.
An electronics assembler in Haldimand County, Ontario was carrying out-of-province sales billed at the ON rate instead of the customer’s, and every option for fixing it ran through a reorganisation that had to be done without triggering tax. Working with the client's lawyer, we registered the provincial payroll account, caught up the outstanding remittances, and applied for relief on the penalty and prepared the elections, resolutions and valuations the structure needed to stand up. The structure now matches the business. Annual saving of $65,000, and the reorganisation itself was tax-neutral.
Case Study 6
5 Years Filed, $81,000 Removed From The Assessed Balance — Fintech Startup, Haldimand County
5 years of returns were outstanding at a fintech startup in Haldimand County, Ontario, on top of sector-specific exposure the previous accountant had not seen before. Filing on real numbers removed $81,000 of assessed tax.
A fintech startup in Haldimand County, Ontario had not filed for 5 years. The CRA had issued arbitrary assessments, and the business was carrying sector-specific exposure the previous accountant had not seen before on top of a growing interest balance. We started with the oldest year and worked forward so each year's closing balances fed the next. We assessed and claimed Ontario Made Manufacturing Investment Tax Credit alongside the federal return, filing the years in sequence rather than all at once. Every year is now filed and assessed on actual figures. The notional assessments were vacated and $81,000 of the estimated balance came off, with a payment arrangement covering the rest.