Case Study 1
5 Years Filed, $125,000 Removed From The Assessed Balance — IT Managed-Services Provider, Hamilton
5 years of returns were outstanding at an IT managed-services provider in Hamilton, Ontario, on top of sector-specific exposure the previous accountant had not seen before. Filing on real numbers removed $125,000 of assessed tax.
An IT managed-services provider in Hamilton, 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 $125,000 of the estimated balance came off, with a payment arrangement covering the rest.
Case Study 2
Remuneration Review Saved $44,000 Across Corporate And Personal Returns — Surveying Practice, Hamilton
A remuneration review at a surveying practice in Hamilton, Ontario found instalments still calculated on a year the business had long outgrown and saved $44,000 across the corporate and personal returns.
Nothing was wrong at a surveying practice in Hamilton, Ontario — the filings were on time and accurate. What they were not was planned. Instalments still calculated on a year the business had long outgrown had never been reviewed. We rebuilt the sales ledger by customer location, applied the correct place-of-supply rate to each stream, and filed the adjusted HST returns, and ran the numbers across both the corporate and personal returns so the saving was real rather than deferred into someone else's hands. $44,000 came off the combined corporate and personal tax bill, and the structure holds for future years without further work.
Case Study 3
Holding Structure Added, $51,000 Saved Annually — Investment Advisory Firm, Hamilton
An investment advisory firm in Hamilton, Ontario needed a holding structure to deal with 13% HST charged on every sale regardless of where the customer was located. The reorganisation was tax-neutral and removed $51,000 of annual exposure.
An investment advisory firm in Hamilton, Ontario was carrying 13% HST charged on every sale regardless of where the customer was located, 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 recalculated the corporate tax at the 12.2% combined small business rate and rebased the instalments on the current year and prepared the elections, resolutions and valuations the structure needed to stand up. The structure now matches the business. Annual saving of $51,000, and the reorganisation itself was tax-neutral.
Case Study 4
Growth Handled Without A Missed Filing, $116,000 Freed — Digital Product Agency, Hamilton
Scaling exposed out-of-province sales billed at the ON rate instead of the customer’s at a digital product agency in Hamilton, Ontario. The back office was rebuilt to match, freeing $116,000.
A digital product agency in Hamilton, Ontario was opening in a second province — different filing obligations, a different payroll regime, and out-of-province sales billed at the ON rate instead of the customer’s already in the file. We registered the provincial payroll account, caught up the outstanding remittances, and applied for relief on the penalty and put monthly reporting in place so the owner could see the cash effect of growth while there was still time to act on it. Growth was absorbed without a compliance failure. $116,000 of cash was released, and the monthly reporting now flags a problem while it is still small.
Case Study 5
Notice Of Objection Allowed In Full, $99,000 Reversed — Packaging Producer, Hamilton
A $99,000 reassessment landed at a packaging producer in Hamilton, Ontario, resting on a provincial payroll levy that had never been registered for or remitted. The objection was allowed in full.
A packaging producer in Hamilton, Ontario had been reassessed for $99,000 and had 21 days left on the objection deadline. The reassessment rested on a provincial payroll levy that had never been registered for or remitted. We filed the objection inside the deadline with a complete submission rather than a placeholder, and assessed and claimed Ontario Innovation Tax Credit alongside the federal return. The appeals officer allowed the objection in full. $99,000 was reversed and the account returned to a nil balance.
Case Study 6
Audit Defence Closed In 3 Weeks, $112,000 Cleared — Boutique Law Firm, Hamilton
A boutique law firm in Hamilton, Ontario was under review over sector-specific exposure the previous accountant had not seen before. The file closed in 3 weeks with $112,000 of proposed tax cleared.
A boutique law firm in Hamilton, Ontario was selected for review after sector-specific exposure the previous accountant had not seen before showed up in the CRA's automated matching. The proposed adjustment on its on tax and accounting file came to $112,000. We assessed and claimed Ontario Made Manufacturing Investment Tax Credit alongside the federal return. Every figure in the response traced to a source record the auditor could verify without asking a second question. The review closed with no change. $112,000 of proposed tax came off the table, and the documentation now in place makes the next review a short one.