P

Penny opens the intake conversation.

Marcus is a returning client. Penny pre-loaded his profile from last year and reached out by SMS the moment the 2025 season opened. She'll handle the entire onboarding interview, extract structured data from every reply, and only escalate to Junaid when judgement is required.

12 min

Total intake time

app.penny.tax · Marcus O'Brien · Intake conversation

MO

Marcus O'Brien

Returning client · 2025 T1

SMS · iMessage

P

Hi Marcus! Welcome back. I'm pulling your 2024 return forward — looks like marital status, address, and employer are all the same. Anything change in 2025 worth flagging?

Today · 9:14 AM

MO

Yep — Lisa and I had medical stuff this year. About $4k in receipts. And I switched my home office to full WFH after the policy change.

Today · 9:31 AM

P

Got it. Two flags for me: medical pooling between you and Lisa, and a possible switch from simplified to detailed home-office method. I'll model both. Did you contribute to RRSPs this year, and to your FHSA?

Today · 9:32 AM

MO

Yes — $9,500 to RRSP. Haven't opened an FHSA yet but maybe should?

Today · 9:34 AM

P

Worth a look — you have $8k of room. I'll flag that as advisory for the post-filing call. Sending the engagement letter now ($385 — Tier 2). Stripe link to follow.

Today · 9:35 AM

Penny extracted

Marital statusMarried · no change

Medical expenses$4,180 (new)

Home officeFull WFH (new)

RRSP contribution$9,500

FHSA statusNot opened

Spouse returnLisa O'Brien · active

Auto-pricing

Base T1$220

Investment income+$95

Medical claims+$70

Engagement $385

D

Slips arrive. Penny reconciles against CRA pre-fill.

As employers, banks, and brokerages file their information returns, Penny pulls them automatically and cross-checks against the CRA Auto-fill My Return data. Discrepancies — like Marcus's T5008 cost base from Questrade — get flagged for resolution. 3 discrepancies resolved, 0 escalations needed.

18 / 18

Documents received

app.penny.tax · Marcus O'Brien · Document collection

Source documents · 2025

Pulled from CRA Auto-fill, employer slips, and client uploads

18 / 18 received

T4

RBC

$142,180

✓

T4A

PolicyMe

$2,400

✓

T5

Wealthsimple

$1,247

✓

T5008

Questrade

$8,440

✓

RRSP

RBC

$9,500

✓

T2200

Employer

WFH cert.

✓

MED

8 receipts

$4,180

✓

DON

3 charities

$840

✓

UTIL

Hydro/Gas

$3,360

✓

RENT

Internet

$1,200

✓

NOA

CRA · PY

2024

✓

+7

misc. receipts

all matched

✓

CRA Auto-fill reconciliation · 14 of 14 slips matched to source · zero variance

$153,267 total

!

T5008 cost base from Questrade missing ACB on 2 lots · Penny reconstructed from purchase history

$2,400 ACB

↻

Prior-year carry-forwards imported from 2024 return · RRSP room, capital losses, donation pool

$22,400 PY

R

A research question emerges.

Marcus's home-office switch raised a question: should he use the simplified flat-rate method or the detailed method? Penny opens a tax research thread, pulls the relevant Income Tax Act provisions, CRA folios, and runs the numbers both ways before recommending. This is the work a junior would have skipped.

4 sources

Cited in conclusion

app.penny.tax · Research · Home office method selection

Penny's research question

For an employee with a valid T2200 and 4-days-per-week WFH, does the detailed method yield a materially better outcome than the simplified flat-rate method, and what's the audit-risk delta?

ITA s.8(13) — Work space in home

ITA · cited

Deduction permitted where the work space is either (a) where the individual principally performs office duties, or (b) used exclusively to earn income on a regular and continuous basis. Marcus's full WFH arrangement satisfies (a).

CRA Folio S2-F3-C2 — Benefits to employees

FOLIO · ¶2.30–2.36

Detailed method requires Form T2200 from employer and itemized utility, rent, and insurance allocations using a reasonable workspace-use ratio. Marcus's 12% ratio (192 sq ft of 1,600) is well within audit norms.

Quantitative model · Penny's calculation

T777 · workpaper

Detailed method: utility allocation $403 + internet $144 + rent equivalent $551 = $1,098 deduction. Simplified method: $2 × 340 days = $680 deduction. Net delta: $418 deduction, ≈ $182 refund increase at 43.41% combined marginal rate.

Audit posture

CRA stats · 2024

Risk of post-assessment review on detailed method T777 claims under $1,500 with a valid T2200: low. Marcus retains all 14 utility receipts (verified in document store) and the T2200 is on file.

Penny's conclusion

Recommend switching to detailed method for 2025. $418 in additional deduction with low audit risk and full documentation support. Will surface for Junaid in the diagnostic review.

T

The T1 is auto-drafted.

Penny orchestrates ProFile — the CRA-certified tax engine you already trust — populating every line, applying prior-year carry-forwards, and routing through the right schedules. The draft is ready for diagnostic review before Marcus has even paid his engagement letter.

14 min

From slip to draft

ProFile · Marcus O'Brien · T1 General — 2025 — DRAFT

T1 General · 2025 · Marcus O'Brien

SIN ●●●-●●●-471 · ON resident · Filing status: Married

Income

10100Employment income (T4)$142,180✓

10400Other employment income (T4A)$2,400✓

12000Eligible dividends (T5)$1,247✓

12700Capital gains (Schedule 3)$3,020✓

15000Total income$148,847✓

Deductions

20800RRSP deduction (Schedule 7)$11,400✓

22900Other employment expenses (T777)$1,098✓

23200Other deductions$435✓

23600Net income$135,914✓

Non-refundable credits

30100Basic personal amount$15,705✓

33099Medical expenses (transferred to Lisa)— moved —↗

34900Charitable donations$840✓

Return summary

Draft · awaiting diagnostics

Total income$148,847

Total deductions$12,933

Taxable income$135,914

Federal tax$22,184

Provincial (ON)$10,891

Tax paid (T4 box 22)$37,362

Projected refund

$4,287

D

142 self-review checks. 4 findings.

Before handing off, Penny runs a full diagnostic pass — credit ordering, optimization opportunities, audit-risk red flags, and cross-return optimizations between Marcus and Lisa. Each finding includes reasoning, citation, and a confidence score. $3,840 in additional refund surfaced.

+$3,840

Additional refund

app.penny.tax · Marcus O'Brien · Diagnostic report

Findings

4

2 high · 1 medium · 1 opp

Refund delta

+$3,840

if all accepted

Checks run

142

138 passed

Confidence

94%

avg across 4 findings

!

Unused RRSP carry-forward not fully applied

HIGH·Conf. 98%·Schedule 7

+$2,340

refund

!

Medical expenses — claim on Lisa's return for better threshold

HIGH·Conf. 91%·Cross-return

+$890

household

~

Home office — switch from simplified to detailed method

MEDIUM·Conf. 87%·T2200 / T777

+$420

refund

+

FHSA opportunity · open before year-end to lock in 2025 room

OPPORTUNITY·Conf. 100%·Advisory · not 2025 return

+$190

future

J

Junaid's two-minute brief.

Penny records a Penny-narrated brief explaining every judgement call she made. Junaid watches it on his phone over coffee, accepts three findings, approves one for FHSA outreach, and signs off. The whole review takes 2 minutes 14 seconds.

2:14

Total review time

app.penny.tax · Marcus O'Brien · Senior review

Penny · Senior Brief · 2:14

P

0:00 / 2:14

"Hi Junaid — quick brief on Marcus O'Brien's 2025. Total income $148,847, projected refund $4,287 if you accept all my recommendations. Three judgement calls: I bumped his RRSP deduction by $5,400 from his carry-forward, moved his medical pool to Lisa for the better threshold, and switched his home office to detailed method. Confidence on all three is above 87%. The FHSA piece is advisory — he hasn't opened one, and I drafted a client message about it. T183 is staged. Engagement paid."

0:00 Income summary & refund

0:28 RRSP carry-forward decision

0:52 Medical pooling — cross-return

1:18 Home office method change

1:42 Audit posture & sign-off

Approve & release

Marcus O'Brien · 2025 T1

✓

Slips reconciled18 of 18 · zero variance

✓

Diagnostics reviewed3 of 4 accepted, FHSA advisory queued

✓

Engagement paid$385 via Stripe

✓

T183 stagedAwaiting CPA approval signal

Federal + ON tax$33,075

Tax paid$37,362

Refund$4,287

E

T183 signed. Transmitted to CRA. Accepted.

On Junaid's approval, Penny sends Marcus the T183 via DocuSign. Marcus signs from his phone within 30 seconds. Penny transmits the return through ProFile's EFILE pipeline and captures the CRA acknowledgement. From draft to filed in 6 minutes total.

#4291847

CRA confirmation

app.penny.tax · Marcus O'Brien · EFILE transmission

1

T183 sent

11:42 AM

2

Client signed

11:43 AM

3

Transmitted to CRA

11:43 AM

✓

CRA accepted

11:48 AM

CRA EFILE · transmission accepted

Filed in 6 minutes.

Marcus's 2025 T1 has been accepted by the Canada Revenue Agency. The Notice of Assessment will be available in his CRA My Account within 1–2 business days. Refund of $4,287 will arrive by direct deposit within 8 business days.

Confirmation number

4291847

Apr 14, 11:48 AM

C

Post-filing close. All of it, automatic.

eFile is just the midpoint. Penny sends the client confirmation email with the filed return attached, issues the Stripe receipt, archives every document to Drive in the standard firm folder structure, and schedules the FHSA advisory follow-up for October. Marcus's file is closed without Junaid lifting a finger.

4 tasks

All automated

app.penny.tax · Marcus O'Brien · Close stage

Client confirmation email sent

Subject: Your 2025 return is filed · with PDF attachment, CRA confirmation, and expected refund timing

Sent

Stripe receipt issued

$385.00 · engagement fee · receipt emailed to marcus.obrien@gmail.com

Done

Documents archived to Drive

22 files routed to /Clients/O'Brien, Marcus/2025/ — slips, T1 PDF, T183, CRA ack, internal workpapers

Stored

FHSA advisory follow-up scheduled

Calendar reminder set for Oct 15 — Penny will draft a 2-paragraph FHSA explainer and queue it for Junaid's review before sending

Scheduled

Penny · on behalf of Junaid CPA Professional Corp. 11:49 AM

Your 2025 tax return is filed — refund of $4,287

Hi Marcus,

Your 2025 personal tax return has been successfully filed with the CRA. Here's the summary:

Refund: $4,287
Confirmation #: 4291847
Expected deposit: by Apr 24

A few highlights from this year's return: we increased your RRSP deduction by $5,400 from your carry-forward, moved your medical claim to Lisa's return for a better outcome, and switched your home office to the detailed method — together adding $3,650 to your refund.

One quick advisory item: you mentioned you don't have an FHSA yet. I'll follow up in October with a short note on whether opening one before year-end makes sense for you.

Thanks for trusting us with your return.

— Junaid
Sent on behalf of Junaid Rajput, CPA · Junaid CPA Professional Corp.

Engagement billing

Base T1 prep$220

Investment income$95

Medical / cross-return optimization$70

Total · paid$385

Marcus O'Brien · 2025 T1 · Closed

From intake to closed file — almost entirely autonomous.

A return that would have taken a junior preparer twelve hours and a partner's review time. Penny did it in eighteen minutes of compute, with two minutes of Junaid's attention.

18 min

Penny compute time

2:14

Partner review time

+$3,840

Refund surfaced

$385

Revenue earned

Back to Penny