What is included in the fee for India–Canada dual filing (ITR + t1)?
Both returns as one engagement across two mismatched fiscal years, with the Indian deduction at source reconciled and the Canadian credit claimed where it is usable.
What would make India–Canada dual filing (ITR + t1) cost more than the standard tier?
The fiscal-year mismatch multiplied by income streams. Each stream has to be mapped from India's year onto Canada's before the credit can be computed.
Is the fee really fixed?
Yes, for the scope quoted. If the scope changes — another year appears, an entity turns up, a certificate becomes necessary — we re-quote before doing the work, so there is never an invoice you have not already agreed to.
How much does it cost to file both an ITR and a T1?
The fee is quoted in writing before any work begins, and it covers both returns as a single engagement rather than two separate jobs. We ask for the documents first, look at what each side actually needs, and then set the price. If the scope changes once we are into the work, because an extra year appears or a certificate application becomes necessary, we stop and re-quote before continuing. You see the finished returns and agree them before either is filed. Nothing is billed by the hour, so a difficult reconciliation costs you the agreed fee and not more.
Will I pay tax twice on the same income in both countries?
Generally no, but the relief is not automatic and it is not symmetrical. Tax deducted at source in India is credited against the Canadian tax on the same income, and the credit is limited to the Canadian tax that income attracts, so a deduction at a higher Indian rate is not fully absorbed in the year it arises. The treaty decides which country taxes what in the first place; the credit only tidies up what is left. The order of work matters, because the credit follows the final Indian liability rather than the amount withheld, so the Indian position has to be settled first.
Why do my Indian and Canadian tax years not line up?
The two countries measure different periods, so income earned in one continuous stretch of employment falls into different filing years on either side. That is the single biggest source of confusion in a dual filing, and a credit claimed in the wrong year is the error we are most often asked to correct. The work is a reconciliation. We map each receipt and each deduction at source to the year it belongs in on each side, then claim the credit in the Canadian year that carries the matching income. Doing both returns as one engagement is what makes that mapping possible.
Is that one fee for both returns or two separate fees?
One fee, quoted before the work starts, for the engagement as a whole. Dual filing is priced as one piece of work because that is how it has to be done. The Indian return settles the figures the Canadian credit depends on, and splitting the job between two advisers is what produces the mismatches we are usually asked to fix. The quote names the years covered, the returns included and what falls outside it. If a second year or a separate certificate application turns out to be needed, that is a change of scope and it is re-quoted rather than added quietly to the bill.
What documents do you need before you can quote a fixed fee?
Enough to see the shape of the engagement. On the Indian side that is the tax account statements, the deduction at source certificates and anything showing rental, interest or capital transactions. On the Canadian side, the slips for the year, your date of arrival or departure, and details of anything held outside Canada. If a property sale is involved we ask for the sale documents early, because that is usually what decides whether the engagement is standard or complex. We would rather see the documents and quote once than quote low and revise. If something is missing we say what it is and why it matters.
What happens if my filing turns out to be more complicated?
We stop and tell you before doing the extra work. A quote is a statement about a scope, and the scope is written down: which years, which returns, which countries. If the documents reveal an unfiled earlier year, a certificate application, or a second jurisdiction nobody had mentioned, that sits outside what was agreed and we re-quote it as a separate line. You decide whether to proceed. What does not happen is a revised invoice at the end of the job for work you never approved. Call +1 (416) 619-0068 and we will talk the likely scope through before you commit to anything.
What is a DTAA?
Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement — India's name for a tax treaty. It does the same work as any treaty: allocates taxing rights between India and the other country, caps Indian withholding on payments abroad, and sets out whether relief comes by exemption or by credit. To use one you generally need a tax residency certificate from the other country, Form 10F, and a PAN in the deductor's records. See DTAA relief between India and Canada.
What is RNOR status?
Resident but not ordinarily resident — a transitional category in India between non-residence and full residence, reached on the day counts after returning from a period abroad. While it lasts, certain foreign income stays outside the Indian tax base, which makes the timing of a return to India worth planning rather than leaving to chance. It is temporary, and the window is set by the day-count rules. See RNOR status.
