Questions I get asked.

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.

What does a personal return actually include at $200?

Preparation and filing of your T1, including employment income, RRSP and TFSA activity, common credits and deductions, and a review of your notice of assessment when it arrives. Returns with rental property, self-employment, foreign reporting or crypto activity take longer and are quoted before any work begins. You are told the price before I start, not after.

Do you handle crypto?

Yes, and it is a significant part of the practice. That means adjusted cost base across every wallet and exchange, crypto-to-crypto disposals, staking and mining income, and the record-keeping the CRA expects. Canada pools identical property at an average cost, which is different from the FIFO approach most US-oriented software assumes, and getting that wrong is the most common error I correct.

What happens if the CRA reviews my return?

I represent you. That means responding to the letter, assembling the supporting records, and dealing with the officer directly. It is included for returns I prepared. If you arrive with a review on a return someone else filed, that is quoted separately.

Can you fix previous years?

Usually. Returns can generally be adjusted within the normal reassessment period, and where income was missed the Voluntary Disclosures Program may reduce penalties, but only if you come forward before the CRA contacts you about it. If you know something is wrong, the time to deal with it is now.

Do I need to be in Ottawa?

No. The practice is Ottawa-based and serves clients across Canada remotely. Documents move electronically and consultations happen by video or phone. Provincial rules differ, so tell me where you resided on 31 December.

When should I get in touch?

Before the year ends, if you have a choice. Most planning that saves money has to happen while the year is still open. Once 31 December passes, the return is a report of decisions already made.

More on tax expertise

What is included at $250 a month?

Monthly categorisation and reconciliation of your accounts, receipt matching, and a profit and loss and balance sheet you can actually read. GST/HST and payroll figures are reconciled as part of the close so the filings are transcription rather than reconstruction. Volume and complexity move the price, and it is quoted before work starts.

I have not done books in a year. Is that a problem?

It is common and it is fixable. The first catch-up close takes longer than a routine month, sometimes a full day of work, and it is quoted separately. After that the monthly routine is one to two hours. The catch-up is the price of never doing an annual excavation again.

Which software do you work in?

Whatever you already use, provided it supports connected bank feeds and attaching receipts to transactions. If you are choosing, the requirements that matter are bank feeds, receipt capture, sales tax handling that understands Canadian GST/HST, and an export you own. I will not push you onto a product for the sake of it.

Do you handle payroll?

Yes, including source deduction remittances and year-end T4s. Worth knowing why this matters: the penalty for a late remittance is calculated on the full amount owed rather than the shortfall, and unremitted source deductions are one of the few debts a director can be held personally liable for.

Will you tell me if something looks wrong?

That is most of the value. A monthly close surfaces the receivable that has not moved in ninety days, the expense that doubled, and the tax money that is no longer in the account. Catching those in month two rather than month fourteen is the whole point.

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What does a $220 session actually produce?

Seventy-five minutes on one specific decision, and a written summary of what was decided and why. Typical subjects: whether to incorporate, how to pay yourself, whether a holding company is justified, or what a sale would look like after tax. You leave with a position, not a brochure.

Is this the same as tax preparation?

No. Preparation reports decisions you already made. Planning is the conversation before those decisions, while the year is still open and the options are still available. The two are complementary and priced separately.

When is planning worth paying for?

When a decision is large enough that being wrong costs more than the session. Incorporating, selling a business, buying or selling property, taking on a first employee, or a year where income will be unusually high or low. If the amount at stake is small, I will tell you so.

Do you handle forecasting?

Yes. Cash flow projection, break-even analysis, and modelling what a change in pricing, headcount or financing does to the numbers. The point is to see the consequence before committing to it.

What do you need from me?

For most sessions: last year's return, current year figures to date, and a clear statement of the decision you are trying to make. If a corporation is involved, its financial statements. Incomplete information is workable; I will tell you what would sharpen the answer.

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