Cross Border Tax Consultant

[strongbull1]

Looking for suggestions for a good Cross Border Tax Consultant who can help with filing taxes in both US and Canada for salaries (W2 on the US side, T1 for Canada)
I spoke to a few, and fee seems crazy high, like 1000$+ when there used to be so many Desi Tax Filers in the US charging 50-150$

I have seen threads with people linking to websites.
Request to share only those with whom you have personally worked and taken service and that fits the budget of 300-400$ for a couple

 

[scylla]

Looking for suggestions for a good Cross Border Tax Consultant who can help with filing taxes in both US and Canada for salaries (W2 on the US side, T1 for Canada)
I spoke to a few, and fee seems crazy high, like 1000$+ when there used to be so many Desi Tax Filers in the US charging 50-150$

I have seen threads with people linking to websites.
Request to share only those with whom you have personally worked and taken service and that fits the budget of 300-400$ for a couple

My husband is American and he has to file taxes in both Canada and the US. We have been looking for several years and haven't found anyone reliable in the $300-$400 range. There are very few tax specialists who really understand taxes on both sides of the border. Based on our research, those we have found in the $300-$400 range say they know what they are doing - but don't actually know once we start asking them specific questions. I'll be very interested to see if someone responds to this thread with a real referral to someone who actually understands tax rules on both sides of the border in that price range.

 

[silent_assassin]

@strongbull1 @scylla I am in the same boat. Could you refer a tax consultant with whom your husband has worked in the past. It is okay if I have to pay more but I want someone who truly understand what they are talking about.

 

[scylla]

@strongbull1 @scylla I am in the same boat. Could you refer a tax consultant with whom your husband has worked in the past. It is okay if I have to pay more but I want someone who truly understand what they are talking about.

We haven't had any luck finding anyone good who I would recommend.

 

[silent_assassin]

@scylla Thanks for your prompt response! So have you been filing taxes using the sub-par ones? Any issue you encountered? Using an online tool like turbotax? I am ready to pay $1000 for a good one, if I find someone good, I will share it here.

 

[scylla]

@scylla Thanks for your prompt response! So have you been filing taxes using the sub-par ones? Any issue you encountered? Using an online tool like turbotax? I am ready to pay $1000 for a good one, if I find someone good, I will share it here.

We file the US taxes through a tax professional in the US. We do the Canadian side ourselves through software. It's not ideal and I'm sure there's things we miss or do incorrectly.

Please do post if you find someone. I will do the same.

 

[Mounat]

We file the US taxes through a tax professional in the US. We do the Canadian side ourselves through software. It's not ideal and I'm sure there's things we miss or do incorrectly.

Please do post if you find someone. I will do the same.

I haven't filed taxes in Canada for decades but I'm curious to know why an expensive tax accountant is needed. If it's a W2 stateside and T1 in Canada, why not file with software in the US and report foreign income, then do the same in Canada? Knowing that two countries have tax treaties, I would think any over payment in either country would be refunded through an amendment once you show you filed in the other. Unlike corporate or business taxes, the W2/T1 combo should be fairly straightforward. Am I missing something?

 

[scylla]

I haven't filed taxes in Canada for decades but I'm curious to know why an expensive tax accountant is needed. If it's a W2 stateside and T1 in Canada, why not file with software in the US and report foreign income, then do the same in Canada? Knowing that two countries have tax treaties, I would think any over payment in either country would be refunded through an amendment once you show you filed in the other. Unlike corporate or business taxes, the W2/T1 combo should be fairly straightforward. Am I missing something?

Ours is not an employment income situation.

We have income properties in the US and also investments. It's not that straight forward once you involve some of these things since their treatment is different on each side of the border. Selling an income property in the US (which has been depreciated over the years) and then making sure that's probably reported in Canada, as an example, is not that straight forward. Same thing goes with moving money out of registered accounts in the US. I can give other examples.

 

[Mounat]

Ours is not an employment income situation.

We have income properties in the US and also investments. It's not that straight forward once you involve some of these things since their treatment is different on each side of the border. Selling an income property in the US (which has been depreciated over the years) and then making sure that's probably reported in Canada, as an example, is not that straight forward. Same thing goes with moving money out of registered accounts in the US. I can give other examples.

Got it. That's definitely not straightforward and requires a professional. I have a corp and ocassionally do several 1099s in a year in addition to some investment properties and wouldn't dare DIY it. My experience with tax "pros" is that you have to kiss many, many, frogs before you find your prince. And even then, navigating tax laws in different states is not for the faint of heart. Blah.

 

[swan0206]

We file the US taxes through a tax professional in the US. We do the Canadian side ourselves through software. It's not ideal and I'm sure there's things we miss or do incorrectly.

Please do post if you find someone. I will do the same.

Then how do you deal with any Reviews or Audits??

 

[scylla]

Then how do you deal with any Reviews or Audits??

I'm not sure I understand your question.

 

[swan0206]

Then how do you deal with any Reviews or Audits??

When you file both of them seperately and Canadian side on your own. How do you deal with any Reviews or Audits from CRA if any? If you hadn't got any till now then you must be filing them accurately!

 

[wink]

https://cafinancialgroup.com/

They are helping with my cross-border tax filing for the last 5 years and I am very happy with their work. Though my case is mostly employment related, but sometimes moving 401k balance to RRSP and employer-issued stocks issues also handled...

 

[swan0206]

https://cafinancialgroup.com/

They are helping with my cross-border tax filing for the last 5 years and I am very happy with their work. Though my case is mostly employment related, but sometimes moving 401k balance to RRSP and employer-issued stocks issues also handled...

How much do they charge you generally?

 

[wink]

How much do they charge you generally?

~$1000 for two people ( Two T1s and one 4090)