Canada Revenue Agency arrears. Cash flow. Mortgage pressure.

The part nobody explains

Why your bank said no.

Truth number one: nearly every major bank declines a refinance where the purpose is paying income-tax arrears — no matter how much equity you hold. It was never about you. It is policy — and policy is exactly what a broker works around. Two more truths worth knowing:

TRUTH 02

The CRA does not wait politely.

The CRA can garnish income, freeze accounts, and register a lien against your home without going to court. Interest compounds daily. Every month of waiting makes the file harder — and the equity does the same work either way.

TRUTH 03

A lien is a problem. It is not the end.

A registered CRA lien can be paid and discharged as part of the refinance itself, handled lawyer-to-lawyer at closing. The lien does not block the solution — it is usually the reason the solution exists.

The pattern Rick sees every week

Nobody plans to fall behind with the CRA.

A self-employed business owner sits across from Rick — or gets on a call — and within ten minutes he can see exactly what happened.

Not because this person was reckless. Not because they did not care. Because they were busy building something — and nobody around them understood how the tax file and the mortgage file were connected.

The equity in your home may be the exact tool that resolves the CRA pressure, restructures the monthly obligations, and gives the business room to breathe again.

A good year turned into a great year.
The draws increased.
The instalments got complicated.
The accountant changed.
One filing got missed.
Then the CRA balance started growing quietly in the background.

Alternative and private financing is not the destination. It is the bridge.

Not borrowing blindly — borrowing strategically, with a clear structure, a realistic payment, and a defined path back to conventional financing.

If there is equity in the home

Five things worth understanding before anything is signed.

01

What can be reviewed

The full picture — mortgage, CRA file, business debt and cash flow — looked at together, not in silos.

02

What payment may be realistic

A structure the business can actually carry month to month, not a number that looks good on paper.

03

What risks need to be avoided

The traps: borrowing blindly, stacking expensive debt, or signing terms with no way out.

04

What the exit plan should look like

A defined path back to conventional financing — with dates, milestones and a target rate.

05

Whether a private strategy makes sense

Private or alternative lending is a tool, not a default. Sometimes the right answer is no.

An example file

What one refinance actually looks like.

A Toronto homeowner, self-employed, two years behind with the CRA and a lien already registered on title. The bank said no. One refinance at roughly 60% loan-to-value paid the arrears in full on closing day — directly from the lawyer’s trust account to the CRA — and the lien was discharged.

Example file for illustration — names withheld, numbers rounded. Every structure depends on equity, income and the CRA balance, and is provided in writing before you commit to anything. All lending on approved credit.

The file, at a glanceReviewed privately

Home value Toronto, detached	$1,100,000
Existing mortgage First position, in good standing	$560,000
CRA arrears Two years, self-employed · lien registered	$95,000
New mortgage at funding ≈ 60% loan-to-value · arrears paid from lawyer’s trust	$672,000

CRA balance,
day after funding$0

Lien discharged

“The files that end well are the ones where someone picked up the phone early.”

— Rick Sekhon · 25 years · 70 lenders · one confidential call

Call or Text — 416-473-9598Schedule a Call

Refinance calculator

See what the equity in your home could actually do.

Estimated home valueCurrent mortgage balanceCurrent monthly mortgage paymentCRA balance owingOther debts to consolidateMonthly payments on those debts

$1,200 / monthauto — 3% of other debts

Illustrative rate4.00%

Amortization30 years

Rate and amortization shown are illustrative and subject to qualification. Monthly payments on other debts are estimated at 3% of the balance you select.

Equity you may be able to access

$280,000

Based on refinancing up to 80% of your home’s value.

CRA balance + debts to clear$120,000

New mortgage after consolidation$720,000

Estimated new monthly payment (4.00%, 30-yr)$3,437/mo

Your current monthly total (mortgage + debts)$4,600/mo

Estimated monthly cash-flow change+$1,163/mo

For illustration only — not a quote, rate offer or financial advice. The rate shown and everything in this calculator are subject to qualification. Actual rate, amortization and approval depend on your full file and are subject to credit approval (OAC).

Numbers looking workable? Rick can confirm them in one call.

Call or Text Rick — 416-473-9598

You have options

There is more than one way to structure this.

OPTION A

First-position financing

Replace your current mortgage with a new first mortgage large enough to clear the CRA balance and consolidate the debts — one structure, one payment, often at the strongest rate available for your file. Usually the right fit when your existing mortgage is at or near renewal, or the numbers favour a full restructure.

OPTION B

Second-position financing

Keep your existing first mortgage — and its rate — exactly where it is, and place a second mortgage or HELOC behind it to deal with the CRA balance and free up cash flow. Usually the right fit when your current rate is too good to give up, or you need speed and flexibility with a defined exit.

Which one is right depends on your situation — and that is exactly where Rick’s team does its best work. With access to 70 lenders — banks, credit unions, monolines, alternative and private — the file is structured around the option that actually fits you, not the one product a single bank happens to offer.Ask Rick which fits — call or text now

Asked quietly, answered plainly

The questions everyone has.

Can I refinance my home to pay off CRA tax debt?

Yes. Banks almost never allow it — paying income-tax arrears is a declined purpose at nearly every major bank — but alternative and private lenders in the broker channel fund these files every week. The refinance pays the CRA in full at closing, directly from the lawyer's trust account.

Will the CRA take my house?

The CRA's goal is collection, not eviction — forcing a sale is a last resort. But a registered lien and garnishment make everything harder the longer they run. Refinancing pays the balance before it ever gets close to that point, which is why acting early matters more than acting perfectly.

Can I refinance if the CRA has already registered a lien on my home?

Yes — this is one of the most common versions of the file. The lien amount is paid directly to the CRA from the lawyer's trust account at closing, and the CRA discharges the lien. It is handled between the lawyers; you do not negotiate with the CRA yourself.

Does CRA debt show up on my credit report?

The CRA does not routinely report tax debt to the credit bureaus. But a registered lien sits on your home's title where every lender will find it, a certified debt becomes a matter of public record, and the cash-flow strain often damages credit indirectly through missed payments. Waiting rarely keeps it invisible.

Wouldn't a CRA payment arrangement be better than refinancing?

Sometimes — for smaller balances it can be. But CRA interest compounds daily at a rate well above most secured lending, an arrangement can be cancelled if a payment is missed or a new balance appears, and it does not remove a lien that is already registered. On larger balances, a refinance is often the cheaper and more final path. The review compares both, in writing.

I'm self-employed and my income is hard to prove. Does that end it?

No — it is the norm on these files. Alternative lenders qualify on bank statements, stated-income programs and the property itself, not just the tax returns that created the arrears in the first place.

What if I haven't filed my taxes in years?

There are still options. Some lenders do not require up-to-date notices of assessment, and the written plan often includes getting the filings current with your accountant as part of the exit strategy back to a bank rate.

What will the interest rate look like?

Higher than a bank's best rate — that is the honest answer, and it is temporary. The comparison that matters is against CRA interest compounding daily, active garnishment and a lien on title. The written plan shows the cost of the bridge year and the path back to an A-lender rate, side by side.

How fast can this be done?

A straightforward second mortgage can fund in one to two weeks; a full refinance typically takes two to four. If a garnishment or legal action is already active, tell Rick up front — those files get moved to the front of the line.

What does the review cost, and how does Rick get paid?

The review costs nothing. On most files the lender pays a finder's fee at funding; on some private files a broker fee applies and is disclosed in writing before you sign anything. There are no surprises on cost — that is the point of doing this in writing.

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For referral partners

Accountants, lawyers & financial planners.

The quiet second opinion

If you have self-employed clients carrying CRA arrears who also own a home, Rick is happy to be the quiet second opinion before they make any financing decision.

You keep the client relationship

Rick handles the mortgage strategy. You keep the client relationship. Everyone wins — most importantly, the client.

Before it becomes urgent

The ones who come out ahead are never the ones who waited. They are the ones who had one honest conversation early enough to still have options.

Confidential mortgage review

The ones who come out ahead are never the ones who waited.

If you are carrying CRA pressure, business debt or cash-flow stress and you own a home in Ontario — Rick would like to review your file privately before any decision is made. No obligation. No judgment. Just clarity on what is actually possible.

Call or Text — 416-473-9598Schedule a Call