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Involved in a CRA Net Worth Audit?

When facing a net worth audit, you don’t need a tax lawyer. At Faris CPA, we’ve been providing net worth audit assistance and saving taxpayers unnecessary legal fees for over a decade.

Without a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) on side who is a tax expert, it can be very difficult to counter the assumptions and interpretation that the CRA takes.

Contact the professionals at Faris CPA for an assessment today. Call 1 (844) 340-5771 or use the contact form to get started.

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CRA Networth Audit

What is a Net Worth Audit?

Almost all Canadian resident taxpayers and, in some circumstances, non-resident taxpayers, have to file various returns with the Canada Revenue Agency.  If a taxpayer fails to file a tax return when and as required, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) can either make a demand of that taxpayer to file missing returns or, in most cases, will use an arbitrary assessment method to determine that taxpayer’s tax liability.  Arbitrary assessments often result in an unusually large amount of tax owing, leaving the taxpayer with the heavy burden of proving the CRA wrong.  One particularly problematic arbitrary assessment method that the CRA uses is called the Net Worth Assessment that results from a Net Worth Audit.

The Net Worth Audit is empowered by the Income Tax Act and permits the CRA to review the various components of a taxpayer’s lifestyle and assets and compare this against the reported income of that same taxpayer.  This review can include where the taxpayer lives, how nice the home is, what cars the taxpayer drives, what clothing and jewellery the taxpayer wears, and the entertainment and trips that the taxpayer engages in.  Where there is a discrepancy between the apparent wealth circumstance of a taxpayer and their reported income, the CRA will issue a reassessment.

A Net Worth Audit is premised on the apparently simple principle that the increase or decrease of a taxpayer’s net worth, year over year, tied to the taxpayer’s income or loss for that year.  The CRA starts by comparing the year over year changes of a taxpayer’s assets and liabilities.  Then, the CRA calculates that taxpayer’s income or loss, taking into consideration personal expenditures and non-taxable sources of income. Personal expenditures can sometimes be assumed and include categories that the taxpayer, personally, does not spend their money on (for example, tobacco, alcohol, gambling – all determined through the use of statistics).  The sum total of these arithmetic process is the change in a taxpayer’s net worth.  The value obtained from the net worth method is then compared to the reported income of the taxpayer to see the taxpayer has been truthful in their reporting.

Despite the apparent simplicity of this method, there are practical complications that often work against the taxpayer.  One particular problem is that the CRA is entitled to assume facts that are often to the taxpayer’s disadvantage.  Once these facts are assumed, the taxpayer has to prove the CRA wrong in order to get a correct assessment.  Another problem is that the CRA lacks the information to know what amounts are from non-taxable sources, such as inheritances or lottery winnings.  What the CRA generally assumes is that any deposit in an account is income and any withdrawal is a personal expenditure.  This is often not accurate as a deposit can represent an inter-account transfer, a loan, a gift, an inheritance, or some other amount that is not taxable.  The method itself is at best inaccurate and contains inherent, systemic errors.

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When are you at Risk of an Audit?

Any taxpayer is at risk of a Net Worth Assessment. However, those most susceptible are taxpayers who have not properly reported their income or those who fail to keep proper books and records of their financial affairs.  Also, at risk are taxpayers whose apparent lifestyle doesn’t match their reported income.  The most obvious way to not get trapped into a net worth assessment is to make sure that the CRA has no reason or basis to use this method.  This means filing all your returns on time, using complete and accurate information, and keeping complete books and records.

Challenging a Net Worth Audit

Challenging a net worth assessment is no easy task and often takes up a large amount of time.  The person being audited will need to go through every deposit and withdrawal in their bank accounts, credit cards, and investment accounts, as well as the assets they own or have owned, and then reconcile these amounts with their tax filings.  Where the audit spans a number of years or goes back a few years, this can be extremely difficult for a taxpayer.  How does one remember what each deposit and withdrawal in an account was and what it was for? Even if one can remember, there is the difficulty of proving what one remembers. This is why the assistance of a diligent and experienced tax accountant is a must.  The best time to get a tax accountant involved is when the auditor contacts you and before any documents are handed over.  The earlier one gets a tax accountant on board, the greater the chances of a favourable outcome are.

Without a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) on side who is a tax expert, it can be very difficult to counter the assumptions and interpretation that the CRA takes. Once an audit is complete and the auditor has made a decision in designating amounts as income or personal expenditures, as part of a tax audit, they have internally supported their conclusions and used the documents and arguments advanced by the person being audited.   This decision makes it practically unlikely that an objection at the CRA level will result in any changes. If one is not able to get the CRA auditor to see things the taxpayer’s way, the matter will likely end up in tax court.  This is a lengthy and expensive road to travel and one that is best avoided through detailed submissions prepared by an experienced tax accountant.

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Case Study

A new client of ours had a net worth assessment performed on them and had received a net worth audit. The financial impact of the net worth audit was significant and would have a major impact on his life.

Our firm was selected to help him address these issues with the CRA.

Our firm performed an intensive review of the net worth audit from the CRA. It was discovered that the auditor had made many mistakes. Sam Faris met with the auditor, team leader and director from the CRA.

Based on the findings of our firm, the auditor adjusted the net worth audit to reflect our analysis and calculations.

“My life was collapsing. Involving Sam was the best decision I made. He is a life Saver. 10 stars.”

Other Services

Faris CPA is proud to offer a wide variety of tax-related services, not limited to:

FAQS

Can I challenge a net worth audit?
The CRA can perform a net worth audit to determine what they believe your under reported income is. Challenging a net worth audit should be done by a professional who has in depth understanding in this type of audit, strong analytical skills and who has disputed this type of audit with CRA for many years in order to minimize any taxes that CRA is asking you to pay.
How do I deal with CRA audit?

Dealing with CRA audit can be quite challenging Nonetheless, there are several undertakings you can do to successfully handle the CRA audit. In such a situation, you should cooperate and be respectful, check in with your tax representative, determine whether you want to win the case or settle the issue and also retain a professional tax accountant.

What triggers a CRA audit?
There are several issues that can trigger a CRA audit including claims of capital losses and gains, unreported income, underreported income, unusual changes in deductions or credits, excessive business expense claims and recurring losses from a rental property. CRA also conducts random audits in industries that tend to have a high level of tax non-compliance, such as construction, real estate or hospitality industries.
What are the major pitfalls of net worth assessment audit?

Some of the major pitfalls of the net worth assessment audit include the inaccuracy and the punitive nature of the methodology, the existence of routine errors in its application, the one-size-fits-all application of statistical data is flawed, and the method is used even when contraindicated.

How do you challenge a net worth audit tax assessment?

You can challenge a net worth audit tax assessment by listing down possible explanations and responses to the auditor’s assumptions. As a taxpayer, your main objective should be to demolish all the auditor’s beliefs about your case.

What is the net worth audit calculation?

The net worth audit is the difference of expenditures and the total of opening net worth + reported income. The CRA generally calculates net worth at the beginning of the audit period, and caculate net worth at the end of the period after taking expenses into account.

pro-tip

Pro Tip

ACCESSING THE SMALL BUSINESS DEDUCTION IN YOUR BUSINESS

The Small Business Deduction gives businesses a tax deduction on the first $500,000 of income. This saves an eligible corporation around up to $50,000 in income taxes. There are a number of conditions that have to be met to be eligible for this deduction.

Save your time and money and hire Sam Faris for any problem with the CRA. He is the man to fight the CRA and get you the best results. His firm a top consulting firm I have ever dealt with. He is honest, trustworthy and very professional on both personal and business levels. He won my case against the CRA and the audit went through very smoothly because of his top notch service and expertise. I wish I met Sam before. I paid other professionals but they were disappointing and did not deliver what Sam delivered.
Many thanks Sam and I will definitely refer my clients and family to him.
Response from the owner:Thank you for the five stars Google review and your kind words. We strive to provide the best customer service and to ensure that our clients feel that they are in a safe hands while we are working on their files. We understand that CRA audits are not a pleasant experience to have and we do our best to provide strong arguments to dispute CRA’s decisions and protect our clients’ best interests. Thanks you again and we will remain at your disposal if you need our service in the future.
I was referred to Sam Faris by a tax lawyer to handle my a complicated tax audit by the CRA and to refile all my outstanding corporate and personal tax returns. He was highly recommended by the tax lawyer and by other professional. The minute I hired Sam to sort out the big mess that I had with the CRA, I felt I am safe and in a good hands. He and his team were responsive to my questions and my concerns. Once he completed his work, he insisted to meet in person with the auditor and the team leader. His work quality was second to none. He backed up all accounts prepared a perfect reconciliation. On that basis, he presented his work confidentially and was able to convince the CRA team with his position and his calculations. I must admit that Sam Faris is the best tax consultant and he is a life saver. As a side note, his fee is very reasonable considering to other professionals and more importantly the work quality and the results that he achieved are unbeatable.
Response from the owner:Many thanks Moss for the positive review.
I was referred to Mr. faris by a friend of mine who happened to be his client for more than 10 years. I was struggling with the CRA reading HST and income tax audit. CRA claimed that I owe significant amount of HST and income tax. Mr. Faris was able to perform a detailed analysis which was backed up with previous court cases. As a result of his sophisticated work, he was able to convince CRA that the property was not subject to HST and income tax and the case was closed with zero hst owing. Thank you Mr. Faris for all your hard work.
Sam and his team are an amazing tax consulting firm. They know how the CRA operates and are able to get results based on your actual numbers, not the inflated CRA ones. More importantly, they are super professional and more cost-effective than I would've thought. The Faris team really are life-savers!
Response from the owner:Dear Aymann Your feedback is much appreciated. We have been in business many years now. We have dealt with countless and different types of CRA audits. We noticed that the CRA always attempt to assess on inflated numbers. We have been successful to reduce the CRA numbers and to prove to the CRA their numbers are inflated. As result, CRA would accept our numbers as our work is perfectly reconciled and backed up with the appropriate documents.
I found Sam online and I was I impressed with the excellent reputation and all the good results that he achieved to his clients. I decided to hire him to handle a complex matter with the CRA. With no surprises, Sam performed the work on timely manner and in the most efficient way possible. He kept his promises and he saved me significant amount CRA claimed that I owed. Sam was very transparent while working on my file and kept me in the loop. If you are looking for an excellent and expert tax consultant, Sam is the man. You will never be disappointed.
Response from the owner:My pleasure and thank you for the positive review.
Faris CPA has helped me to go through a very difficult time in my life while the CRA was after me and my family claiming that we have significant amount of unreported income. Sam and his team took over the file and dealt with it in the most efficient and effective way. They provided every single reconciliation and backup to show that the CRA assumptions are baseless. They were able to stop the escalation based on their sophisticated strategy and I am so grateful for them.
Sam and his team are expert and solid tax consultants who can fight CRA audits confidentiality and aggressively. They are the sharks and the best in the country to do so.
Response from the owner:Omar Your review and kind words are much appreciated. We are glad that you are happy with our performance and the outcome of the audit. we will remain at your disposal if you need our service in the future.
I was referred to Mr. Faris by another professional who recommended him to deal with my multiple years of outstanding corporate and tax returns. I interviewed Sam and was impressed in his confidence and transparency. He did not promise the moon just to get my business. Sam was able to file all returns under the voluntary disclosure program. After completing filling all tax returns, I realized the amount of money he saved me. I enjoyed very much working with him. He ensured that the work progress flow smoothly without any complications. He took to consideration the emotional stress factor and he was available to speak with me even beyond business hours just to make me more calm and to make me feel that he is on top of the matter and it will be resolved to my satisfaction. Indeed, this is what happened. The matter was resolved to my satisfaction and CRA concluded that the returns which Sam filed are reasonable and there is no need to further audit me nor my company. In summary, Sam is a life saver. He saved me and saved my family and now I am in the right track where all my tax filing obligations are met and I don’t owe any taxes. So grateful to Sam and his dedication while working on my file.
Response from the owner:Raj Thank you for the positive Google review. We are happy that you are satisfied with our services. Voluntary disclosure program is one of our specialties and we have dealt with many complex cases too. We get referrals from other professionals as we have been in the business of fighting CRA many years and we have countless success stories that many professionals are aware of. Please do contact us if you require further help in the future.
Sam is an excellent CPA and the best tax consultant in the country. He helped me to deal with a very complicated tax audit with the CRA where the CRA sent me a proposal assessment of 1.5 million dollars based on their net worth audit calculation and analysis. Sam was able to provide a counter analysis which highlighted significant mistakes that the auditor made with his assumptions and calculations. It’s ridicules that CRA wanted to taxed me on a loan that I obtained from my bank. Sam dealt with this audit perfectly. He demonstrated a very high level of expertise and CRA had to accept his counter analysis with no question asked. Many thanks to Sam’s efforts and high business standards in dealing with this issue and resolve it to my favor. I will have Sam as my primary CPA going forward so I can focus on doing business and will have a peace of mind in terms of the high quality of work done by him. Well deserved this review with the 5 stars rating.
Response from the owner:Yash Thank you for the positive feedback and the 5 stars Google review. We are glad that you are happy with our service and you are satisfied with the outcome. Net worth audits are very complicated and disputing them might get very tricky. We have been dealing with the same types of audits for many years and we are confident in fighting CRA and to point out mistakes that the auditor have made while performing the audit. We will remain at your disposal anytime you contact us in the future.