Case Study: $45,000 CRA Bill a Contractor Didn’t Owe
Mixed-up T4A slips left an Ontario skilled-trades contractor with a $45,000 personal tax bill for income his corporation had earned. Here’s how we sorted out three years of books and returns, and cut his personal tax owing to $0.
Last updated: October 16, 2026
The situation
An Ontario skilled-trades contractor ran part of his work as a sole proprietor and part through his own corporation. He was three years behind on his books and tax returns.
His main payer issued T4A slips that didn’t separate the two. Income his corporation earned was reported under his personal name. The CRA matched those slips to his personal return and assessed him personally, leaving him with a $45,000 bill for income that wasn’t his to report.
What we did
Rebuilt three years of books from his bank statements and records
Worked out, for each year, how much income was his as a sole proprietor and how much belonged to the corporation
Prepared and filed the overdue corporate T2 returns
Filed his personal returns showing only his own income, and explained the T4A mismatch to the CRA
The result
Personal tax owing$45,000 $0Cut from $45,000 to $0
Corporate tax$12,000An amount he could manage
BooksFully up to dateThree years of books rebuilt
Time to completeOne month
Client details withheld for confidentiality. Figures are from the CRA’s notices of assessment.
Tell us what the CRA has sent you and how far behind you are. On a free call with our CPA-led team, led by Wajahat Ajmal, CPA, FCCA, you’ll get a straight answer on what it takes to fix it.
