Do you add a percentage for rush work?
Nothing is added after the fact. Where a compressed timetable changes what the work costs, it is in the number you agree before the work starts, and the quote says so. If you would rather not pay for the compression, we will tell you what the realistic timetable is instead.
Can you get a late-filing penalty removed?
The penalty belongs to the tax authority, so nobody can simply remove it. What exists is a relief route: each authority has its own process for cases with a recognised explanation, and the strength of an application depends on the facts and on the filings being brought current. We tell you honestly how a case looks before it is made.
Is a late return more expensive to prepare?
Usually it is a larger engagement rather than a more expensive one — several years instead of one, often with records to rebuild. Each year is scoped and quoted, so you can see what bringing the whole set current costs before committing to it.
Will I be charged extra if I need my return done this week?
Nothing is added to an invoice because a file turned out to be urgent. If meeting your date means moving work that is already scheduled, that is discussed on the first call and built into the fixed fee you agree before anything starts. You see what the compressed timetable costs and what the ordinary one costs, and you choose between them. Where the date cannot be met at the standard the work needs, we say so rather than accept the engagement. On a cross-border file, an unverified treaty position filed in a hurry costs far more to unpick later than a late filing does.
Can an accountant get my late-filing penalty cancelled?
The penalty is charged by the tax authority under its own rules, so no adviser can simply remove it. Two separate things can be done. The first is to file correctly and quickly, because the penalty and the interest running on it generally stop growing once the return is in. The second is a relief application, where the authority has a route for taxpayers whose circumstances it recognises; its strength depends on the facts and on the outstanding filings being brought current first. We tell you how an application looks before it is made rather than after.
How much does it cost to file several years of back returns?
It is quoted year by year, and the total is agreed in writing before the first one is prepared. A catch-up is normally a larger engagement rather than a dearer one: the same work repeated, with records to rebuild where statements and receipts have gone. Scoping asks how many years, which countries, and what has to be reconstructed. Sequence matters as well. The earliest unfiled year usually has to be prepared first because it fixes balances the later years carry forward, so the order of work is part of what you agree to.
Why does a rush job cost more if the work is the same?
The work is the same. What changes is everything it displaces. A file that has to be finished this week is finished ahead of files already in the queue, and somebody carries the cost of that reordering. Quoting it before you commit puts the decision with you: the compressed timetable has a price, and you can weigh it against how much the deadline actually matters. A charge that appears afterwards takes the same money and removes the choice, which is the reason we do not use one.
Do you take on files the day before the deadline?
Sometimes, and sometimes not. The question we ask is whether the work can be finished properly in the time left, not whether the date is close. Where it can, the compressed timetable is priced into the quote and the deadline is treated as part of the scope. Where it cannot, we say so on the first call and set out what filing slightly late actually involves, so you can weigh a correct return against an on-time one. Declining is occasionally the honest answer, and we would rather give it early than discover it halfway through.
Is the quote still fixed if my file turns out to be late?
Yes. Lateness changes the scope of an engagement, often adding years, reconstruction work and sometimes a relief application alongside the returns, but it does not change how the fee is set. Everything in scope is priced in writing before the work begins. If the facts turn out to be different from what you described, we re-quote and you decide before we carry on. What never happens is a surcharge arriving on the invoice at the end because the file proved harder or more urgent than expected.
Branch or subsidiary — which should we use to expand?
A branch keeps one taxpayer: results consolidate at home, losses are usable sooner, and the exposure is that the branch is a permanent establishment whose profit the host country taxes, sometimes with a branch tax on repatriation. A subsidiary is a separate taxpayer with limited liability and local rates, at the cost of withholding on dividends home and transfer pricing on everything between them. The deciding facts are usually expected losses, liability and exit plans. See branch against subsidiary.
How many days can I spend in a country before I become tax resident?
It depends on the country, and a day count is only ever the start. Many use a threshold in a tax year, some also look at averages across several years, and some have no day test at all and decide on where your home and life are. Two countries can both conclude you are resident, which is what the treaty tie-breaker exists to settle. Counting days without checking the tie-breaker is how people end up filing as resident nowhere. See the residency tie-breaker.
