Frequently asked
Questions I get asked.
Rates, scope, crypto, CRA reviews and late filings. If you are still working out whether this is the right fit, the overview of the practice is the shorter read. If something you need answered is not here, ask me directly.
Credentials, languages and how an engagement starts
- Are you a CPA?
- I hold an Honours Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Ottawa and a Bachelor of Commerce from Carleton University, and I work in personal and corporate tax, bookkeeping and crypto reporting. If your situation needs a designated accountant for an assurance engagement, I will tell you and point you to one rather than take the work.
- Where are you based, and do you work with clients outside Ottawa?
- Ottawa. Clients across Canada are served remotely, with documents exchanged electronically and consultations by video or phone. Provincial rules differ, so what matters is where you resided on 31 December, not where I am.
- What languages do you work in?
- English, French and Arabic.
- How does an engagement start?
- A short conversation about what you actually need, then a quoted price before any work begins. You are not billed for the scoping call and you will not receive an invoice larger than the number you agreed to.
- What do you need from me to start?
- For a personal return: last year's return and notice of assessment, this year's slips, and details of anything unusual such as a property sale, self-employment or crypto activity. For a corporation: the financial statements and prior year T2. If something is missing I will tell you whether it matters.
- I have not filed in several years. Will you take that on?
- Yes, and it is more common than people assume. Where income was not reported, the Voluntary Disclosures Program can reduce penalties, but only if you come forward before the CRA contacts you about it. That timing is the single most important thing about a late filing, so the sooner you raise it the more options exist.
- Do you give investment advice?
- No. I am not a licensed investment advisor and I will not tell you what to buy. What I do is explain the tax consequence of what you are considering, which is a different and narrower question.
- How current is the tax information on this site?
- Every rate and threshold in the articles is checked against canada.ca before publication, and figures that change annually are linked to the CRA page carrying the current number rather than written into the text, so an article does not quietly go stale. Where the CRA has not published a position, the article says so instead of guessing.
Questions about a specific service
Each service page answers the questions people ask about that service, kept next to the description of the work.