Case Study 1
Desk-Review Assessment Of $125,000 Vacated — Independent Retailer, Lethbridge
A desk review assessed an independent retailer in Lethbridge, Alberta $125,000 over records that could not support the positions already taken on filed returns. Producing the records vacated it.
An independent retailer in Lethbridge, Alberta was carrying $125,000 of penalties and interest arising from records that could not support the positions already taken on filed returns, much of it accumulated during a period the CRA itself had delayed. We brought the outstanding filings current and negotiated an arrangement that stopped the interest from compounding further and framed the relief application on the specific grounds the CRA guidelines recognise rather than on general hardship. The assessment was vacated. $125,000 came off the account, and the documentation now on file makes the same position straightforward to defend next time.
Case Study 2
Reorganisation Completed Tax-Deferred, $67,000 Saved Each Year — Second-Generation Family Company, Mississauga
A second-generation family company in Mississauga, Ontario had outgrown its structure, with a balance that had been accruing daily compound interest for two years the visible cost. The reorganisation completed tax-deferred and saves $67,000 a year.
A second-generation family company in Mississauga, Ontario had outgrown the structure it started with. A balance that had been accruing daily compound interest for two years was the immediate problem; the longer-term one was that the structure blocked the next step. We mapped the current structure, modelled the target, and rebuilt the supporting records, corrected the affected filings, and set a compliance calendar covering every deadline the business actually carries — with the tax-deferred elections filed on time and the supporting valuations documented. The reorganisation completed without triggering tax, and the new structure saves approximately $67,000 a year while removing the exposure the old one carried.
Case Study 3
Filed On Time From A Standing Start, $38,500 Penalty Avoided — Service Business with Seasonal, Hamilton
A service business with seasonal revenue in Hamilton, Ontario was 7 weeks from a deadline while carrying filings handled by three different providers with no continuity between them. Filing complete and on time avoided roughly $38,500 in penalties.
A service business with seasonal revenue in Hamilton, Ontario came to us 7 weeks before its filing deadline with filings handled by three different providers with no continuity between them. A late filing would have triggered a penalty of roughly $38,500 before interest. We worked backwards from the deadline. We consolidated the work into a single engagement so the corporate, sales tax and payroll filings finally reconciled to each other, prioritising the items that actually gated the filing and deferring everything that did not. The return was filed on time and complete. The $38,500 penalty never arose, and the compliance calendar we set means the next deadline is scheduled rather than discovered.
Case Study 4
Remittance Schedule Corrected, $146,000 Refunded — Incorporated Contractor, London
Remittances at an incorporated contractor in London, Ontario were chronically late because of deadlines tracked in the owner’s head rather than on a compliance calendar. Fixing the schedule refunded $146,000.
Remittances at an incorporated contractor in London, Ontario were consistently late by a few days, which was enough to trigger penalties every quarter. Behind it sat deadlines tracked in the owner’s head rather than on a compliance calendar. We documented the positions taken, retained the supporting analysis, and prepared the file so a review could be answered in days rather than weeks, then moved the remittance dates into a scheduled process rather than a monthly decision. Penalties stopped from the following remittance onwards, and $146,000 of overpaid instalments was refunded.
Case Study 5
Books Rebuilt From Source, $15,000 In Unclaimed Input Tax Found — Multi-Location Operator, Kitchener
The ledger at a multi-location operator in Kitchener, Ontario could not support its own filings because of positions taken on prior returns that nobody could explain or support. Rebuilding it surfaced $15,000 in unclaimed input tax.
A multi-location operator in Kitchener, Ontario could not answer basic questions about its own numbers, because positions taken on prior returns that nobody could explain or support sat between the bank statements and the ledger. We brought the outstanding filings current and negotiated an arrangement that stopped the interest from compounding further, then documented the process so the work does not depend on any one person remembering how it was done. Records rebuilt and reconciled, $15,000 recovered in input tax credits that the old file could not support, and a documented monthly process now in place.
Case Study 6
$63,000 Cut From The Annual Tax Bill — First-Year Startup, Moncton
A first-year startup in Moncton, New Brunswick was filing correctly and still overpaying because of records that could not support the positions already taken on filed returns. Restructuring the position cut $63,000 from the annual bill.
A first-year startup in Moncton, New Brunswick was compliant but paying more than it needed to. The prior year had been filed correctly and still left records that could not support the positions already taken on filed returns on the table. We modelled the current position against the alternatives before changing anything, then rebuilt the supporting records, corrected the affected filings, and set a compliance calendar covering every deadline the business actually carries. The change saved $63,000 in the first year and repeats annually. Nothing about the filings became more aggressive; the position is simply the one the rules already allowed.