Budget-friendly Paying from abroad: currency and method

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The fee is quoted as one number in one currency, and paying it from another country does not change it. Budget-friendly paying from abroad: currency and method with a fixed fee agreed in writing before any work starts. Call the 24-hour helpline on +1 (416) 619-0068, or request a written quote today.

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  • 15+Years of cross-border experience
  • 18,000+Clients served
  • 5.0Google rating
  • 4Global offices — India, USA, Canada & UAE
  • 18,000+ clients served
  • Fixed fee agreed before work starts
  • 24-hour helpline: +1 (416) 619-0068
In short

Fees are quoted in Canadian dollars unless the written quote says otherwise. Clients pay us from a dozen countries and in several currencies, so the currency is fixed in the quote rather than left to the exchange rate on the invoice date. The accepted payment methods are listed on the invoice itself and confirmed on the call before you engage, so the practical question — how you will actually pay from where you live — is answered before the work starts rather than after it.

Why the currency is stated in the quote

Because a client paying from Dubai, Delhi or Denver is converting, and a number without a currency is not a price. The quote names the currency and the amount, and that amount is what the invoice says. Where an engagement genuinely needs to be billed in another currency, that is agreed in writing before the work begins and the quote states it.

Two of the firm’s advisers and the team in the open-plan office

What conversion costs, and who it costs

Your own bank's conversion spread and any intermediary charges are between you and your bank, and they are usually larger than people expect on an international transfer — the headline exchange rate is rarely the rate applied. Two practical consequences. Check what your bank adds before choosing how to send it, because the difference between methods on a single professional fee can be material. And pay the invoiced amount in full: where a transfer arrives short because an intermediary took a cut, the shortfall is still outstanding, which is an irritating way to end an otherwise finished engagement.

What does not change with the method

The fee. Nothing here is priced differently depending on how you pay, and no processing percentage is added to an invoice. The number in the quote is the number on the invoice, whichever route the money takes.

Receipts, and what your own tax return needs

Every payment produces an invoice you can put in your own records, describing the work rather than just the amount — which matters if the fee is deductible to you. Whether it is deductible is a separate question with a different answer in each country and, for individuals, often a different answer again depending on what the work related to. Ask on the call and we will tell you what the position is for your own filing rather than leave you to assume it.

The jobs this applies to

Every priced engagement on the site works this way. These are five of them; the full schedule is on the pricing index.

Your next step

Bring the last two years of returns from each country involved, the slips or certificates for the income in question, and the dates — arrival, departure, or the transaction date. That is enough for us to tell you what has to be filed and what it will cost. If that describes your position, the next step is a short call — not a form.

Contact us — 24-hour helpline

Reviewed for the 2025 and 2026 filing seasons by Udit Gupta, Cross-Border Tax Expert, Legal Quotient Consultants. Written as general guidance, not as a recommendation for your situation. Talk it through with us before acting on it.

Personal tax preparation cost — what this page covers

Readers arrive here searching for personal tax preparation cost, and paying from abroad: currency and method is what the page is about. Below: who it catches, what has to be filed, and what it costs — quoted in writing, before anything is done.

The four phases of the work

  1. Hand over the paperwork in any state

    Sorting it is our job. Send what exists and we identify what is missing from it.

  2. Priced before a single form is opened

    The fee comes from the documents, agreed in writing, and stays where it was agreed.

  3. One position across every return

    The same facts, filed consistently on each side, so nothing contradicts anything else.

  4. Filed after you have read it

    The completed work reaches you before it reaches an authority.

What you are actually buying with paying from abroad, currency and method

Factor Legal Quotient Hourly billing model
Pricing A fixed fee, agreed in writing before work starts Hourly, billed as incurred
Experience 15+ years of cross-border work, 18,000+ clients Varies by file
Both sides of the border Prepared together by one team, so relief is claimed exactly once One country at a time, reconciled later
Who reviews it A named practitioner, published on the page Whoever the queue reaches
Where the work happens Our offices in India, the USA, Canada and the UAE Whichever single office you can travel to

Four terms worth pinning down

Form 1040-NR
The US non-resident return, reporting US-source income and income effectively connected with a US business. Two rate systems run side by side on one form.
Section 116 clearance
The certificate the CRA issues on a non-resident's disposition of taxable Canadian property, without which the purchaser holds back part of the price.
GIFT City
India's international financial services centre, operating on a different tax and regulatory basis from the rest of the country.
Subpart F income
Categories of a controlled foreign corporation's income taxed currently to its US shareholders, regardless of distribution.

Paying from abroad, currency and method — what the published fees look like

Every card links a published fee with its scope spelled out — quoted in writing from your documents up front.

Non-resident & departure filings

$349fixed, before work starts

Covers: Returns for the year you leave, the year you arrive, and the years you earn rental or pension income from a country you no longer live in.

See this fee page

Individual tax filing

$349fixed, before work starts

Covers: A personal filing built from your own documents — employment, investment and rental income across borders, with the treaty position set out.

See this fee page

Foreign asset & information reporting

$349fixed, before work starts

Covers: The reporting obligations that attach to owning something abroad, worked out from your holdings rather than from the tax return alone.

See this fee page

Why clients bring paying from abroad, currency and method to us

One team, not two firms billing separately

You are not the go-between for two sets of advisers with two sets of assumptions. One engagement covers each country the file touches.

Late and missed years are ordinary work

An unfiled history is not a reason to wait longer. We assess what is still open and what relief the delay attracts before the first return goes in.

The fee is fixed before we start

Quoted from your documents and agreed in writing. The number you accept is the number you pay.

The reporting penalties get named early

The heaviest exposure on a cross-border file is usually a disclosure form, not the tax. We identify which ones apply before a deadline turns into a penalty.

Two of the firm’s advisers at the glass desk in the Delhi office

How the engagement runs, phase by phase

Step 1

Establishing the facts

We start with the chronology: dates, countries, and what has already been filed

Step 2

Agreeing the fee

You get the scope and the fee in writing before we touch anything

Step 3

Drafting and review

The work is prepared and reviewed by a named person, not a queue

Step 4

Filing and follow-up

Nothing is filed until you have read it

The team reviewing a file together at a desk

The engagement, start to finish

  • Step 1: Tell us the dates and we will tell you the position – Arrival, departure, the years in between — the residence question turns on those before anything else.
  • Step 2: Fixed fee, defined scope, in writing – Both agreed before work starts, so the engagement cannot grow into a larger bill.
  • Step 3: Prepared together, not passed between firms – You are not the go-between for two sets of advisers working from two sets of assumptions.
  • Step 4: Reviewed, approved, filed – A named practitioner checks it, you approve it, and then it goes.

Quoted up front, in writing.

Contact Us 24-hour helpline +1 (416) 619-0068

Keep reading, sideways

Every link below is a full page of its own — the same depth as this one, for its own subject.

Services these clients use most

Royalty and fees for technical services — withholding The full guide to royalty and fees for technical services — withholding, with the fee fixed before any work starts.
Form 49A — PAN (residents) (India) Its own page: form 49a India — mechanism, deadlines and published fees.
Late T1135 — penalty relief Everything on late T1135 penalty relief, at the same depth as this page.
Trusts before becoming a resident Trusts before becoming a resident — the guide, the FAQ and the fixed fee.
Form 7004 — business extension The full guide to form 7004 business extension, with the fee fixed before any work starts.
US s.482 documentation Its own page: US s.482 documentation — mechanism, deadlines and published fees.
Form 8993 — FDII deduction Everything on form 8993 FDII deduction, at the same depth as this page.
Form 2553 — S-corporation election Form 2553 s corporation election — the guide, the FAQ and the fixed fee.
Safe harbour rules (India) The full guide to safe harbour rules (India), with the fee fixed before any work starts.

Who we help

Tax for construction workers abroad The full guide to construction workers abroad tax, with the fee fixed before any work starts.
Management consultants — what we charge Its own page: management consultants what we charge — mechanism, deadlines and published fees.
Physicians & surgeons — what you owe in each country Everything on physicians & surgeons what you owe in each country, at the same depth as this page.
Civil & structural engineers — what you owe in each country Civil & structural engineers what you owe in each country — the guide, the FAQ and the fixed fee.
Veterinary practices cross-border tax The full guide to veterinary practices cross border tax, with the fee fixed before any work starts.
Tax for physicians & surgeons Its own page: physicians & surgeons tax — mechanism, deadlines and published fees.
Cross-border truck drivers — what you owe in each country Everything on cross-border truck drivers what you owe in each country, at the same depth as this page.
Twitch & live streamers — your filing calendar Twitch & live streamers your filing calendar — the guide, the FAQ and the fixed fee.
Architecture practices cross-border tax The full guide to architecture practices cross border tax, with the fee fixed before any work starts.

Countries and corridors this work reaches

Serbia tax for expats — country guide The full guide to serbia tax for expats, with the fee fixed before any work starts.
Hungary tax for expats — country guide Its own page: hungary tax for expats — mechanism, deadlines and published fees.
India–UAE tax corridor Everything on India UAE tax, at the same depth as this page.
US–Portugal tax corridor US Portugal tax — the guide, the FAQ and the fixed fee.
Egypt tax for expats — country guide The full guide to Egypt tax for expats, with the fee fixed before any work starts.
Vietnam tax for expats — country guide Its own page: Vietnam tax for expats — mechanism, deadlines and published fees.
UAE tax for expats — country guide Everything on UAE tax for expats, at the same depth as this page.
Thailand tax for expats — country guide Thailand tax for expats — the guide, the FAQ and the fixed fee.
Indonesia tax for expats — country guide The full guide to Indonesia tax for expats, with the fee fixed before any work starts.

The people on your file

Five named practitioners, each with the part of a cross-border file they carry. Every page on this site says who reviewed it, and the reviewer is one of these people rather than an unnamed team.

Udit Gupta

Udit Gupta

Cross-Border Tax Expert

CA (ICAI), In-Depth Tax Trained

Reviews and signs off the practice's cross-border positions, and carries final responsibility for the treaty analysis on every file that leaves the office.

Abhinav Gupta

Abhinav Gupta

Canada Tax / International Tax

Canada Tax, International Tax, Cross-Border Tax, Transfer Pricing

Canadian returns with foreign income, non-resident filings, and the transfer-pricing documentation that runs alongside intercompany work.

Raghav Gupta

Raghav Gupta

International Tax

International Tax, Transfer Pricing Specialist

Benchmarking, method selection and the local-file and master-file sets that support a group's pricing policy under examination.

Anmol Mittal

Anmol Mittal

Canada and US tax

CPA Canada, CPA USA, CA (ICAI)

Files that have to be right on both sides of the border at once — dual filings, streamlined catch-ups, and the foreign tax credit reconciliation between them.

Vinayak Indolia

Vinayak Indolia

CFO advisory

CPA, CA. Fractional CFO and Senior Advisory Specialist

Groups that need the tax position and the finance function to agree: structure reviews, intercompany policy, and the reporting a board can act on.

Meet the whole team

Cross-border tax case studies

Case study 1

Documentation Built to the US Standard

The US requirements differ from the OECD-aligned ones in what has to exist at the time of filing, and a file prepared for one regime can leave the other unprotected. The engagement builds to whichever governs.

Read how this one runs
Case study 2

The Same Income Taxed Twice on Paper

Relief usually exists and is lost to sequence: one country taxes at source and the other credits it, and preparing them in the wrong order claims a credit against a figure nobody has computed.

Read how this one runs
Case study 3

Moving Money Out of India and the Certificates It Needs

A remittance out of India needs its tax position certified before the bank will process it. The file establishes the character of the funds, produces the certification, and keeps the position consistent with the returns already filed.

Read how this one runs
Case study 4

The Year of Leaving India

The departure year carries a transition status with its own treatment of foreign income, and the position for the following years follows from how it is set. Getting the first year right saves arguing about the rest.

Read how this one runs
Case study 5

Deemed Resident or Factual Resident — Not the Same File

The two statuses attract different returns, different credits and different provincial treatment, and the label is decided by facts rather than chosen. Establishing which applies is the work; the filing follows from it without argument.

Read how this one runs
Case study 6

Coming Back to Canada After Years Abroad

Returning restarts Canadian residence and re-values what you own on the day you arrive. Foreign pensions, employer plans and accounts opened abroad each land differently, and the reporting thresholds are tested against the whole portfolio rather than each account.

Read how this one runs
Case study 7

Two Passports, Two Returns, One Income

Dual citizenship does not let you choose which country taxes you. The work is establishing residence, applying the treaty article that governs each income type, and preparing both returns from one set of figures so they agree line for line.

Read how this one runs
Case study 8

The Deemed Sale That Happens on Death

Canada treats most capital property as sold at fair market value on death, so a terminal return can carry tax on gains nobody realised. Valuations and the order of the returns are what decide the figure.

Read how this one runs

All case studies — every published engagement in one place.

Delivery, coverage and how we work

Each of these carries its own guide, pricing pointers and FAQ.

Where the work is delivered

More coverage detail

Core International & Cross-Border Tax Services

International Tax Planning & Advisory

Strategy and compliance for income, assets and families spread across borders.

Treaty residency & tie-breaker
FATCA reporting (Form 8938)
Foreign tax credit (Form 1116)
Multi-country filing calendar
Real estate holding structures
International tax planning
Pre-immigration tax planning
Family office structures
One coordinating team: filings on every side of the border are sequenced so treaty relief and foreign tax credits are claimed once — and in the right country.

U.S. & Cross-Border Tax Returns

Form 1040 from abroad
US state non-resident returns
FBAR (FinCEN 114) filing
Form 5472 — foreign-owned US corp
FIRPTA withholding (Form 8288)
US estate tax exposure
IRS streamlined foreign offshore
PFIC reporting (Form 8621)
Dual filers: U.S. citizens in Canada and Canadians with U.S. income run two parallel systems — we prepare both, in the right order, every year.

Expat & Emigration Tax

Departure tax leaving Canada
T1161 properties on emigration
Residency planning
Step-up in cost base on arrival
Split-year residency
Employment income under a treaty
Social security totalization
Returning to Canada after years abroad
The move year is its own project: the elections and valuations filed that year decide the next decade of both countries’ returns.

Non-Resident Canadian Tax

Section 216 rental return
NR4 & NR6 withholding
Section 217 pension return
Section 116 clearance certificate
Regulation 105 waiver
Non-resident employment income
Taxable Canadian property
Part XIII withholding review
Default withholding is 25% of gross: elective returns routinely turn over-withheld rent and pensions into refunds.

Transfer Pricing & BEPS

s.247 contemporaneous documentation
Functional & risk analysis
Benchmarking study
Intercompany agreements
Country-by-country report
BEPS & Pillar Two
Permanent establishment risk
TP audit defence file
Documentation prepared with the return is the cheapest insurance in international tax; reconstructing it during an audit is the most expensive.

Cross-Border Estates & Trusts

Cross-border wills
US estate tax for non-resident aliens
Terminal return & clearance certificate
Non-resident trusts (s.94)
T1141 & T1142 trust reporting
Inheriting property abroad
Graduated rate estates
Post-mortem planning & pipeline
Wills drafted for one country routinely misfire in the other — deemed disposition here, estate tax there, credits in between.

Cross-Border Corporate Tax

Entity selection across borders
Business profits & PE
Intercompany loans & thin cap
Paying dividends to a foreign parent
Global mobility & day tracking
Debt vs equity funding
Branch or subsidiary
Cross-border M&A due diligence
Expansion raises the same four questions every time — entity, PE, repatriation, payroll. We answer them before the tax authorities do.

India Tax for NRIs & Returning Residents

NRI residency day tests
NRE, NRO & FCNR accounts
TDS on property (s.195)
Lower or nil TDS certificate
Repatriating sale proceeds
Capital gains on Indian shares
India–Canada DTAA
ITR-2 for NRIs
The deduction is taken on the sale price, not the gain — which is why an NRI property sale strands cash unless the certificate is applied for before closing.

Canadian Tax with a Foreign Element

T1135 foreign property
T1134 foreign affiliates
Departure tax
Newcomer's first return
Returning to Canada
Split-year residency
US citizens in Canada
Canada–US corridor
Residency is decided on facts, not on a form — and the year you arrive or leave is the one where the largest amounts turn on the smallest details.

UAE Tax for Expats & Their Home Country

Expat tax in the UAE
Moving to the UAE
Moving back from the UAE
UAE property purchases
Retiring in the UAE
Canada–UAE corridor
India–UAE DTAA
US–UAE corridor
A zero-tax country is only half the answer — the question that decides the bill is whether the country you came from still treats you as resident.

Industries & Client Types We Serve Worldwide

Global E-commerce & Marketplaces
Technology & SaaS
Professional Services Firms
Cross-Border Real Estate
Importers, Exporters & Manufacturers
Athletes, Artists & Entertainers
Remote Workers & Digital Nomads
Investment Funds & Holding Companies

Global E-commerce & Marketplaces

  • Foreign VAT / GST / sales tax registrations
  • Marketplace withholding reviews
  • Inventory nexus & PE analysis
  • Multi-currency books reconciled
Explore E-commerce & Marketplaces

Technology & SaaS

  • Cross-border revenue sourcing & withholding
  • IP structuring with real substance
  • Equity for cross-border teams
  • U.S. expansion: entity & PE setup
Explore Technology & SaaS

Importers, Exporters & Manufacturers

  • Transfer pricing documentation (s.247)
  • Customs value vs transfer price
  • Foreign affiliate reporting (T1134)
  • Country-by-country reporting
Explore Trade & Manufacturing

Athletes, Artists & Entertainers

  • Reg 105 & U.S. CWA agreements
  • Multi-state & country calendars
  • Touring income allocation
  • Royalty & image-rights withholding
Explore Athletes & Entertainers

Remote Workers & Digital Nomads

Working from anywhere doesn't mean taxed nowhere: residency defaults, employer payroll exposure and treaty relief decide where income actually lands.

Working from another country does not by itself end tax residence in the one you left, and it can start one where you are sitting. Day counts, ties, the employer's own exposure and the treaty tie-breaker all point at the same question, and the year you move is the year it has to be answered on paper.

  • Residency analysis before moving
  • Employer payroll exposure
  • Totalization & social security
  • Foreign tax credits
Explore Remote Workers

Investment Funds & Holding Companies

  • Treaty access & PPT reviews
  • FAPI & surplus computations
  • Withholding-efficient routing
  • Governance & substance
Explore Funds & Holdcos

Paying from abroad: currency and method — questions we are asked

Which currency are your fees in?

Canadian dollars, unless the written quote states another currency — and where it does, the amount in that currency is fixed in the quote rather than converted later at whatever rate applies on the invoice date.

Which payment methods do you accept?

The methods available to you are confirmed on the call before you engage and are listed on the invoice. Because clients pay from a dozen countries, the practical route varies with where the money is coming from, and it is worth settling that at the start rather than at the end.

Do you charge extra for an international payment?

No. Nothing is added to the fee for the payment method or for the country the money comes from. What your own bank charges for the transfer is between you and your bank, and it is worth checking before you choose how to send it.

Do I have to declare my dual citizenship?

A tax return does not generally ask you to declare which passports you hold; it asks about residence, and in the US case it applies to citizens by definition. What does ask is your bank. Account-opening self-certification under FATCA and the Common Reporting Standard asks which countries you are a tax resident or citizen of, and the answer is reported onward to the tax authority. So the practical answer is that the information arrives either way. See FATCA reporting.

Do dual citizens pay taxes in both countries?

Both countries can have a claim, but paying double taxes on the same dollar is the exception rather than the rule. The United States taxes its citizens wherever they live; Canada, India and most others tax on residence. So a dual citizen living in one of them often files in both — a resident return in one, a citizen return in the other — while the credit and exclusion rules mean the total is usually close to the higher of the two, not the sum. Filing twice is not paying twice. See two returns as a dual citizen.

What is expat tax?

Not a separate tax — it is the ordinary tax of one or more countries applied to someone living outside the one that claims them. In practice it means two systems at once: the filing your home country still requires, the filing the country you live in requires, and the relief provisions that stop the same income being taxed twice at full rates. What makes it specialist work is that the relief has to be claimed in the right country, in the right order. See our expat filing work.

Tax terms explained

RNORTransfer pricingAngel taxAnnual information statementPlace of supplyStreamlined domestic offshoreEconomic substanceFixed feeTDSMark-to-market electionClearance certificateAlter ego trustDEMPESection 195 TDS Browse the full A–Z glossary

Pricing, terms and the work itself

The rest of this section

All pricingRush work and late filings — how we price themFixed fee against hourly, stage by stageFee terms: scope, re-quotes and correctionsWhat we never charge forFixed fee in writing first — how it worksWhat moves an engagement up a fee tier

Also relevant

CareersOur review process & who signs offStreamlined catch-up — 3 years + 6 FBARs — fixed-fee priceMaster file & CbCR — fixed-fee priceTP benchmarking study — fixed-fee priceEstate & trust returns — fixed-fee price

Fee schedule

Annual compliance retainer — fixed-fee price1120-F / 5472 filing — fixed-fee price1040-NR non-resident return — fixed-fee priceEstate & trust returns — fixed-fee price
No hourly billing, ever

A fixed fee for your engagement

One short call, one fixed quote in writing, and your approval before anything is filed.

Contact Us 24-hour helpline +1 (416) 619-0068 See fixed fees
  • A named reviewer signs off every filing
  • 24-hour helpline, +1 (416) 619-0068
  • Your existing accountant keeps the domestic file

Our practitioners are alumni of leading accounting and tax institutions

Where our partners studied — CPA Canada (In-Depth Tax Program), AICPA, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and the Malaysian Institute of Accountants.

Request a Quote +1 (416) 619-0068