Personalized Tax Services
We work closely with a variety of individuals who need to file the current year’s taxes and past-due taxes. We are experts at teasing out deductions and answering questions about Canadian & US taxes.
Simple to Complex Tax Services
Our team of tax experts rely on our extensive knowledge of the tax system and government programs so that we can reveal various deductions and exemptions that our clients may qualify for. Examples include:
- Tuition receipts should be recorded in student tax returns even when they don’t have income. Even if the tuition cannot be used or transferred to their parents, it can be carried forward to be applied to reducing their taxes in the future when they do have sufficient taxable income.
- When you start to rent out a part of your home, you are changing the use and you should understand the tax consequences
- If you are a senior over 65, your Old Age Security payments may be clawed back (reduced) if you earn over a certain amount
- You need to report world income and not just the income you earn in Canada. This includes taxable gains on the sale of assets, including real property, rental income, freelance (self-employment) income, and other investment income. We will show you how to present these forms of income in your Canadian tax return(s) and how to indicate taxes paid to foreign countries where there is a tax treaty
I highly recommend Randy Larson for his expertise and for his patience! Thank you, Randy – yet again.
I love this guy!! Randy is just the warmest and most welcoming ever. We crushed 4 years of taxes in 30 mins, and he was so thorough and professional. He walked me through the whole entire process which I really appreciated. I have never had a better experience doing taxes, and would recommend Randy in a heartbeat.
I only ever had contacted one accountant, and I am glad I chose Focused Bookkeeping. Randy is very knowledgeable, non-judgemental (in terms of me not knowing a lot about what I came to him for help), very positive and on-point. Next time I need help with anything accounting-related, I know where I will go. Thank you!
I went to see these guys to do my personal taxes. Randy made this process very comfortable, quick, and pain free. He’s a super nice fella too! I would highly recommend them to anyone who is not comfortable doing their own tax prep. I will definitely see him again next year.
Couldn’t be more pleased with my experience. Fast, friendly and professional. Most importantly, I am provided with great peace of mind, knowing my books and tax return are accurate and up to date.
You’re awesome! I actually don’t mind the tax season when it rolls around. And I tell my friends about you every year, so expect maybe 2 more recommendations next year!
Focused Tax Strategies were the best tax preparation firm I have ever worked with. They gave me peace of mind and were extremely knowledgeable. I had the privilege to have Randy Larson prepared my tax returns and his friendly manner and professional business etiquette made my experience calm and effortless. I will always do my taxes with Randy now and would tell anyone looking for tax services to go to FOCUSED TAX STRATEGIES…they’re the best!!!
The team at Focused Bookkeeping is truly amazing! Randy is incredibly knowledgeable and can help you with just about anything tax or business related. I started my own business last year and needed a ton of help with setting everything up and Randy was helpful every step of the way! I would recommend Focused Bookkeeping to anyone looking for great personal and professional service.
I have been with Randy for several years now and can say that he makes dealing with taxes as stress-free as dealing with taxes can be.
From my experience, Randy takes a genuine interest in his clients and talks/walks them through what he is doing, at a pace that they can follow and in a kind and patient way. He is happy to answer querstions and his methodical approach let’s me know that I am in good hands. 5 stars across the board.
Huge thanks as always for giving us your time and expertise. You make tax time actually enjoyable!
Professional, helpful, patient – always a pleasure to deal with. Thank you again Randy.
I had a particularly complicated tax year this year, with new investments, moving back to Canada from abroad, contract work and full-time T4 work. I was totally incapable of managing this on my own. Randy’s website offered quick online booking – no phone call required – and clear listings of what he’d charge me to prepare my taxes. It was a breeze to set up an appointment with him! When we had our first call, I was sure that my situation would take multiple sessions, to which Randy replied, with his charming, sweet demeanor “Nah, let’s just dive right in!” To my surprise, he finished my return in about an hour, and we had a wonderful chat along the way. This was easily some of the best money I’ve EVER spent – he saved me a ton of stress, walked me through the process clearly, and came back with a far better return than I’d expected – and all the while he was patient, friendly, and very sweet. I highly recommend Randy’s services and cannot wait to use him in the future and recommend friends.
The words tax return and wonderful don’t usually go together but in this case they do! Randy saw me without an appointment as he had a cancellation. Helped me file a return that was a little more complicated. Experienced, professional and funny! I can’t recommend highly enough. Thank you!
This guy is great. He is very knowledgeable about small business and provided me with excellent advice. He is very personable and patient and he is willing to explain things.. I am so glad I went with Focused Bookkeeping!
Randy was very knowledgeable and extremely helpful with all my questions. I have a lot of anxiety when it comes to doing anything regarding numbers and Randy made the entire process very easy. The icing on the cake- Very personable and truly cares about his clients.
I just had a great experience with Randy! Other reviewers are absolutely right when they say he is extremely kind, friendly and professional. Taxes give me lots of anxiety and Randy’s approach put me at ease. He was very sympathetic with my less than stellar outcome (he double & triple checked the numbers were right!) and helped soften the blow. I will definitely be coming back to see Randy for all my future accounting needs.
If you’re looking for a pain free tax filing experience go to Randy Larson. He’s a seasoned professional that will not only help you with your tax return, he’ll do it on the spot, in 9 minutes, with a kind smile, thoroughly, and at the right price. I got the peace of mind my return was accurate and also some valuable tips. And he was genuinely “on my side”.
I went to Randy Larson on the recommendation of other yelpers and couldn’t have been more pleased. Randy is friendly and personable. He took the time to thoroughly explain my tax return and answer all of my questions. He took all the stress out of the process. I will definitely be a repeat customer and have already referred him to friends.
Our Clients
We prepare personal tax returns and provide tax saving advice to
- Employees, with one or more jobs
- Self-employed individuals
- Landlords with rental income
- Investors with interest & dividend income and gains and/or losses on the sale of investments
- Individuals who have sold real property
- Retirees with pension and other income
- Parents with child care expenses
- Students or past students who want to record tuition paid so that it can be claimed in the future
- Individuals who need to catch up on past due tax returns
Catching Up on Past Due Tax Returns
Our personal tax services include catching up on tax returns from past years that haven’t been filed yet.
This is a big part of our business! We support our clients through-out the year by preparing past due tax returns. The CRA only requires taxpayers to catch up for the past ten years, but there are advantages to going back more than 10 years.
We see many situations:
- Individuals who were unable to file their taxes due to medical issues
- People scared about how much they might owe. In fact, most of our clients end up with refunds!
- Taxpayers being hassled by the CRA to file delinquent taxes for one or many years
- The CRA has arbitrarily assessed tax returns by estimating their taxable income and creating large tax liabilities with late filing penalties and accrued interest
The last two situations bother our clients, understandably.
We can help by working with each client to understand their situation, to facilitate the gathering of tax documents and making suggestions for legitimate deductions to improve their tax situation
We can also file Notices of Objection, and applications under the Voluntary Disclosures Program or the Taxpayer Relief Program. To learn more, please see our Tax Advocacy webpage
Standard
- Retirees
- Students with little or no income
Basic
- Most taxpayers, with one or more jobs (T4s)
- Simple deductions including RRSP contributions, medical expenses and donations
Investors
- Investors with capital gains and other investment income
- Landlords with one or more rental properties
Self Employed
- Client must have totals for income and expenses
- Data can be provided by Excel, a desktop accounting software or an online accounting software