Tax Expertise

Khaled Hawari's full cycle taxation services in Ottawa

• Working papers, not just a filed return

  The CRA's Matching Program compares what you reported against the slips it received from employers, banks and brokers, and it runs after your notice of assessment rather than before it. When a letter comes it carries a reference number and a date to respond by. I keep the supporting schedule behind every figure I file, so answering is retrieval rather than reconstruction a year later.

• The dates that actually cost money

  File a 2025 return late and owe tax, and the penalty is 5% of the balance owing plus 1% for each full month late, to a maximum of 12 months, with interest compounding daily from the day after the due date. If your net tax owing tops $3,000 in 2026 and in either 2025 or 2024, you also owe quarterly instalments on 15 March, 15 June, 15 September and 15 December. I put those dates in front of you before they pass.

• I deal with the CRA myself

  A review is not an audit, and most letters are settled with documents rather than argument. If the assessment is still wrong afterwards, an individual has until the later of one year after the return's filing deadline or 90 days from the date on the notice of assessment to file an objection, and a corporation has 90 days flat. Those clocks are short and nothing prompts you when they run out.

• Crypto costed, not estimated

  Trading one crypto-asset for another is a disposition even though no dollars moved, and so is paying for goods with it, which the CRA treats as a barter transaction. Moving coins between wallets you own is not. Canada also pools identical property at an average cost recalculated on every purchase, which is not what US-oriented software assumes. That last point is the single most common error I correct.

• I will tell you when to stop paying me

  Some questions take ten minutes and get answered in the initial consultation at no charge. Some structures cost more each year in filings and bookkeeping than they save in tax. When the arithmetic does not work in your favour, you will hear that rather than a proposal.

A tax return is a report on decisions that were already made. The decisions themselves happen while the year is still open, which is why the conversation worth having is in October rather than the following April. If you are behind on filings, or a letter has already arrived, that conversation is worth having sooner than that.

• Personal tax servicesFrom $200 / return
• Corporate tax servicesFrom $750 / return
• Consultation$75 / hour

The pricing for my tax services reflects the depth and breadth of expertise I bring to the table. These rates are a starting point and may vary depending on the complexity of your situation.

• Customizable to fit needs
• Efficient, time-saving service
• Free initial consultation

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. Beyond the cost base work, the questions that come up most are mining and staking. The CRA's position is that mining at any real scale is usually a business, that rewards from staking on a centralised exchange are income when they are credited to your wallet on that platform, and that ASIC miners and GPU rigs can fall within capital cost allowance class 50. Those three answers change a return substantially.

What records do I need to keep for crypto?

The CRA's published list is specific: units and type of asset per transaction, the date and time, the Canadian dollar value at that moment, the other party even if all you have is their address, every wallet address used, and the opening balance with its cost and the closing balance for each asset each year. Keep it six years from the end of the last tax year it relates to, and export your exchange history regularly, because the exchange is not obliged to keep it for you.

What happens if the CRA writes to me?

First, read which programme it came from. A Pre-assessment or Processing Review or a Matching Program letter is a request for documents, not an audit, and it names a reference number and a date to respond by. I represent you for returns I prepared: I assemble the records, write the response and deal with the officer. If you arrive with a letter on a return someone else filed, that is quoted separately before I touch it.

I have not filed for several years. What are my options?

The Voluntary Disclosures Program, if you get there before the CRA opens an audit or investigation. Since 1 October 2025 it has had two tiers: an unprompted application normally receives 100% relief of the applicable penalties and 75% relief of the interest, while an application prompted by CRA contact normally receives up to 100% of the penalties and 25% of the interest. The filing must be at least one year past its due date, the application must be complete, and it has to include payment of the estimated tax or a request for a payment arrangement. Expect to assemble six years of Canadian records, ten if foreign income or assets are involved.

Can a return that was already filed be corrected?

Usually. Adjustments inside the normal three-year reassessment period are routine, and online change requests are quoted at around two weeks to process. The hard outer limit is worth knowing: a refund will not be issued on an adjustment request made more than ten calendar years after the end of that tax year. If you suspect a past return is wrong, the cost of waiting is real.

Do I have to pay instalments?

You may have to for 2026 if your net tax owing is more than $3,000, or more than $1,800 in Quebec, for 2026 and in either 2025 or 2024. The due dates are 15 March, 15 June, 15 September and 15 December. Missing one is not automatically expensive: the CRA applies the instalment penalty only where instalment interest for 2026 exceeds $1,000.

I hold property or accounts outside Canada. Does that change the return?

It may add Form T1135. It is required where the cost of your specified foreign property was more than $100,000 at any point in the year, and it is due with the return. The reason to take it seriously is the reassessment window: if foreign property income goes unreported and the T1135 was not filed on time, the CRA gets an additional three years to reassess that year. Tell me about the foreign holdings early, not in April.

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.