What is in a written quote

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Five things, in writing, before anything is prepared — and one of them is what happens if the scope changes.

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In short

A quote here is a scope document with a number on it. It includes every return and form it covers, the years, the countries, what we need from you, the fee, and the rule for what happens if the picture changes once we are inside the file.

The five parts

  1. What will be prepared. Each return and each information return, named, with the tax year. "Your US filing" is not a scope; "1040 with 2555 and 1116 for 2025, plus FinCEN 114" is.
  2. Which years, and in which order. On a catch-up file the sequence matters, because the earliest year often sets figures every later year depends on.
  3. What we need from you, itemised. Documents, authorisations, and anything that has to come from a third party — so nothing stalls halfway through on a form nobody mentioned.
  4. The fee. One number for the scope, in Canadian dollars unless the quote says otherwise, stated in writing before the work starts.
  5. The re-quote rule. What counts as a change of scope, and the commitment that a change stops the work and produces a new number for you to agree rather than a larger invoice.
Two of the firm’s advisers at the glass desk in the Delhi office

What a quote is not

It is not an estimate, and the wording matters. An estimate is a prediction that can be revised against you; a quote is a price you can rely on for the work described. If a document says "approximately", or gives a range without saying what decides where in the range you land, it is not a quote — and the difference will show up at invoice time.

How to read two quotes against each other

Compare the scopes first and the numbers second, because on cross-border work the scopes are where quotes differ. Does the other quote include the information returns, or only the tax return? Does it cover both countries or one? Does it include the year that has to be reconstructed, or start from the year after? A cheaper number for a narrower scope is the most common way a cross-border engagement ends up costing more.

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. Published as general information. For a position on your own file, call the 24-hour helpline.

Where personal tax preparation cost comes into this file

Most readers of this page are looking for personal tax preparation cost. What follows sets out how it works for in a written quote: who is caught by it, what has to be filed, and what the work costs, agreed before it begins.

How the engagement runs, phase by phase

  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.

How what is in a written quote is handled here

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

Key terms behind this page, defined

Sojourner rule
A rule that makes a visitor resident for a whole year by reason of days spent in the country, regardless of ties. It is the trap for people who thought presence alone was harmless.
Construction PE
A permanent establishment created by a building site or installation project lasting beyond the treaty's duration threshold.
Annual information statement
India's compiled record of what banks, registrars and brokers reported about a taxpayer. A return that contradicts it draws an enquiry.
Safe harbour
A prescribed margin or method that a taxpayer may adopt for certainty, generally set above what a study would support. Certainty bought at a premium.

What is in a written quote — 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: Personal returns for individuals, expats and non-residents — foreign income, foreign property and treaty relief handled in one engagement.

See this fee page

Foreign asset & information reporting

$349fixed, before work starts

Covers: Disclosure of assets and interests held abroad, built once from a single asset list and filed on every side that asks for it.

See this fee page

The difference a dedicated cross-border team makes

The order of filing is planned, not improvised

Which return goes first decides whether relief can be claimed at all. That sequence is worked out before anything is submitted.

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.

18,000+ clients served

Individuals, expats and corporations across India, the USA, Canada and the UAE have filed with us — 15+ years of cross-border work.

Residence is tested, not assumed

Where you are resident for treaty purposes is a question with a method. We work through it and write down the answer, with the facts it rests on.

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

From first call to filed return

Step 1

First conversation

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

Step 2

Written quote

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

Step 3

Preparation and sign-off

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

Step 4

Submission

Nothing is filed until you have read it

The team at work in the open-plan office

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

Where to go next

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

Core services for this situation

Indian mutual fund TDS for NRIs Indian mutual fund TDS for NRIs — the guide, the FAQ and the fixed fee.
US payroll for a Canadian company The full guide to US payroll for a Canadian company, with the fee fixed before any work starts.
Indian company setting up in Canada Its own page: Indian company setting up in Canada — mechanism, deadlines and published fees.
Step-up in cost base on arrival Everything on step-up in cost base on arrival, at the same depth as this page.
MAT and AMT for foreign-owned companies Mat and amt for foreign-owned companies — the guide, the FAQ and the fixed fee.
India ↔ Canada — DTAA article by article The full guide to India ↔ Canada — DTAA article by article, with the fee fixed before any work starts.
Drop-shipping tax exposure Its own page: drop-shipping tax exposure — mechanism, deadlines and published fees.
Canadian beneficiary of a foreign trust Everything on Canadian beneficiary of a foreign trust, at the same depth as this page.
Subsection 45(2) & 45(3) — change-of-use elections Subsection 45(2) 45(3) change of use election — the guide, the FAQ and the fixed fee.

Who we bring this work to

Tax for pharmacists Pharmacists tax — the guide, the FAQ and the fixed fee.
Tax for restaurant & hospitality owners The full guide to restaurant & hospitality owners tax, with the fee fixed before any work starts.
Franchise owners — your filing calendar Its own page: franchise owners your filing calendar — mechanism, deadlines and published fees.
Day traders — what you owe in each country Everything on day traders what you owe in each country, at the same depth as this page.
Influencers & content creators — your filing calendar Influencers & content creators your filing calendar — the guide, the FAQ and the fixed fee.
Tax for authors & screenwriters The full guide to authors & screenwriters tax, with the fee fixed before any work starts.
Architecture practices cross-border tax Its own page: architecture practices cross border tax — mechanism, deadlines and published fees.
Technology & SaaS cross-border tax Everything on technology & saas cross border tax, at the same depth as this page.
Physicians & surgeons — what we charge Physicians & surgeons what we charge — the guide, the FAQ and the fixed fee.

Countries and corridors this work reaches

Latvia tax for expats — country guide Latvia tax for expats — the guide, the FAQ and the fixed fee.
Pakistan tax for expats — country guide The full guide to Pakistan tax for expats, with the fee fixed before any work starts.
Armenia tax for expats — country guide Its own page: armenia tax for expats — mechanism, deadlines and published fees.
India tax for expats — country guide Everything on India tax for expats, at the same depth as this page.
Kenya tax for expats — country guide Kenya tax for expats — the guide, the FAQ and the fixed fee.
US–Portugal tax corridor The full guide to US Portugal tax, with the fee fixed before any work starts.
China tax for expats — country guide Its own page: China tax for expats — mechanism, deadlines and published fees.
Costa Rica tax for expats — country guide Everything on Costa Rica tax for expats, at the same depth as this page.
Canada–Germany tax corridor Canada Germany tax — the guide, the FAQ and the fixed fee.

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

What these engagements turn on

Case study 1

A Retirement Plan That Grows Tax-Deferred in Only One Country

Cross-border retirement accounts are recognised by treaty, but the deferral usually has to be elected rather than assumed. The engagement checks whether the election was made, makes it where it was missed, and reports the account on whichever side requires it.

Read how this one runs
Case study 2

A US Citizen Settled in India, Filing on Both Sides

Residence in India and citizenship in the United States produce two annual returns for one income. The order decides the credit, and the Indian financial year and the US calendar year have to be reconciled before either is prepared.

Read how this one runs
Case study 3

The Two-Year Window After Returning to India

Returning residents pass through a transitional status in which foreign income is largely outside the Indian net. The engagement establishes when the window opens and closes, and puts the transactions that benefit inside it.

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

A Residency Determination Review After Leaving the Country

Residence is decided on ties, not on a form, and the review asks for evidence of every one of them. The file assembles the ties that were severed and the ones that remained, and answers the questionnaire against the treaty rather than around it.

Read how this one runs
Case study 6

Residency Changed Mid-Year and Both Returns Assumed a Full One

A move part-way through a year produces two part-year positions, not two full ones. The engagement establishes the date residence actually changed, allocates income either side of it, and amends whichever return was filed on the wrong footing.

Read how this one runs
Case study 7

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 8

Branch or Subsidiary, Decided Before Incorporation

The choice changes where profits are taxed, what has to be filed, and whether losses in the early years are usable. It is difficult to reverse once trading has begun, so it is modelled first.

Read how this one runs

All case studies — every published engagement in one place.

Where we deliver this work

Browse sideways: the pages below answer the neighbouring questions.

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

What is in a written quote — questions we are asked

How long is a quote valid?

The quote states its own validity period, and where a deadline is close it will also say what changes if the work starts after that deadline — because a return filed late is a different piece of work from one filed on time.

Is the quote binding on you?

For the scope it describes, yes. That is the point of quoting in writing after scoping properly rather than giving a number on the phone before anyone knows what is due.

What counts as a change of scope?

Something that adds a filing, a year, a country or an entity to the set — or a record that turns out to need rebuilding rather than reading. Volume of questions, extra document batches and a file being technically interesting do not count.

What is a double tax treaty and what does it actually do?

It is an agreement between two countries that divides up the right to tax. Article by article it decides which country taxes employment income, dividends, interest, royalties, pensions, property and business profits — and where both may tax, it caps what the source country can withhold and tells the other to give credit. It also breaks residence ties and opens a government-to-government channel for disputes. What it never does is apply itself: a treaty position is claimed. See our treaty work.

What happens if I have not filed for several years?

Missed years are handled as one package, not one at a time, because the route chosen for the first year determines the relief available for the rest. Each country has a disclosure or relief programme with its own conditions, and entering the right one — before the authority contacts you — is usually what keeps penalties down. Filing quietly outside a programme forfeits that protection. See catching up on missed returns.

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.

Tax terms explained

Factual residentPrincipal purpose testODIQualified domestic minimum top-up taxFC-TRSCost contribution arrangementAdvance pricing arrangementForeign tax creditAdvance rulingMATSection 195 TDSRollbackEvidence packNon-discrimination article Browse the full A–Z glossary

Pricing, terms and the work itself

Related in this section

All pricingFee terms: scope, re-quotes and correctionsWhy fixed fees, not hourly ratesWhat we never charge forWhat moves an engagement up a fee tierFixed fee against hourly, stage by stageRush work and late filings — how we price them

Where this leads next

CRA voluntary disclosure package — fixed-fee priceDual filing — 1040 + T1 together — fixed-fee priceNewcomer first return — fixed-fee priceT106 information return — fixed-fee priceUS state nexus review — fixed-fee priceNRI Indian return (ITR-2) — fixed-fee price

Pricing for this work

Departure (emigration) return — fixed-fee priceFBAR & Form 8938 disclosure — fixed-fee price1040-NR non-resident return — fixed-fee priceT2 with foreign income — fixed-fee price
No hourly billing, ever

Get your engagement handled for a fixed fee

One call to the 24-hour helpline is enough to tell you what has to be filed, what it costs, and whether you need us at all.

Contact Us 24-hour helpline +1 (416) 619-0068 See fixed fees
  • 18,000+ clients served
  • 24-hour helpline, +1 (416) 619-0068
  • Fixed fees agreed before work starts

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.

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