Fixed fees agreed before work starts – 18,000+ clients served
At Legal Quotient Consultants, we manage all your U.S. real estate tax & FIRPTA requirements, from compliance to strategic planning. Our expert team ensures compliance, maximizes deductions, and optimizes your financial strategies so you can focus on growing your business. Low-cost U.S. Real Estate Tax & FIRPTA for Cross-Border & Global Clients 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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Stay compliant and optimize your financial processes with our specialized U.S. real estate tax & FIRPTA services.
| Service | Includes | Fee | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Individual Cross-Border Tax | T1 + treaty coordination · Foreign income · Credits | FROM- $349 | Explore More |
| U.S. Tax Returns | 1040 / 1040-NR · State returns · FBAR | FROM- $449 | Explore More |
| Corporate International Tax | T2 + foreign affiliate · T1134 · Repatriation | FROM- $999 | Explore More |
| Transfer Pricing Documentation | Local file · Benchmarking · s.247 compliance | FROM- $2,500 | Explore More |
| Cross-Border Estate & Trust | Terminal returns · U.S. estate tax · Clearance | FROM- $799 | Explore More |
The Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act treats a non-resident's gain on US real estate as US-source income taxed like a resident's, and it collects that tax through the buyer: on closing, the buyer withholds a fixed share of the gross price and remits it to the IRS unless the seller obtains a withholding certificate in advance that reduces it to the actual tax expected. The withholding is a deposit, not the tax — the seller files a non-resident return for the year to report the real gain and recover the excess.
While the property is held, the rent is taxed either by gross withholding through the property manager or, after an election, on a net basis with depreciation and expenses, which almost always produces a lower liability but requires a return every year the property is rented. Canada taxes the same rent and gain as worldwide income and credits the US tax, and the exchange rate used for each transaction matters because the two gains are computed in different currencies.
Can I avoid the buyer withholding on my sale? Not avoid, but reduce: a withholding certificate obtained from the IRS before closing sets the withholding at the tax actually expected, and any excess is refunded through the return.
Why did I pay tax on a gain in the US but a different gain in Canada? Each country computes the gain in its own currency using the exchange rates on purchase and sale, so the two figures differ; Canada credits the US tax paid against its tax on its own figure.
U.S. Real Estate Tax & FIRPTA: Legal Quotient Consultants provides u.s. real estate tax & firpta for U.S. persons in Canada and Canadians with U.S. income or property — planned and filed by cross-border specialists, with fixed fees agreed up front and every position explained before anything is submitted.
Send your documents securely through our portal or by email.
We prepare your U.S. real estate tax & FIRPTA return and every supporting schedule.
You review each figure and approve before anything is filed.
We file with the CRA and send you the confirmation of receipt.
| Factor | Legal Quotient Consultants | Typical Firm |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Fixed, flat fee | Hourly / unpredictable |
| Experience | 15+ years, 18,000+ clients | Varies |
| Helpline | 24 hours a day, +1 (416) 619-0068 | Office hours only |
| Where we work | Our offices in India, the USA, Canada and the UAE | One office only |
| CRA audit support | Included | Billed extra |
FIRPTA withholding is cash-flow, not final tax: withholding certificates, 1040-NR reporting and Canadian credit coordination recover what the statute over-collects.
U.S. citizens and green-card holders file U.S. returns wherever they live, so a U.S. person in Canada runs two parallel systems — 1040 plus T1 — sequenced so foreign tax credits absorb the overlap. Engagements are quoted as a fixed fee for a defined scope, and reviews of prior-year filings are included where earlier positions affect the current one.
Covers: The elective Canadian rental return on net income, with the deductions the gross withholding ignored, plus the pre-year undertaking where the timing still allows it.
What moves it up: The number of properties and whether the records separate repairs from improvements. One property with an agent's statement is quick; four properties with mixed receipts is not.
See this fee pageCovers: The non-resident US return, with income separated between the net-basis and gross-basis systems and any treaty position claimed and, where required, disclosed.
What moves it up: Whether there is US business activity as well as passive income. Two rate systems on one return is the work; a single withheld dividend stream is not.
See this fee pageCovers: The terminal and estate returns, date-of-death valuations by asset and currency, and the clearance that has to issue before the representative can safely distribute.
What moves it up: Assets in more than two jurisdictions. Each one adds its own valuation, its own filing and its own clearance timetable, and the slowest one sets the schedule.
See this fee pageProviding tailored U.S. real estate tax & FIRPTA services to ensure compliance and maximize deductions.
Our cross-border tax accountants protect your business with complete federal and provincial tax compliance.
A dedicated team that handles your financials quickly and accurately, at a fixed fee agreed in writing before any work starts.
Dedicated preparation processes built around the countries each client files in.
Documents, questions and signatures in one portal, whichever country you are filing from.
Customized packages designed to grow as your business operations expand.
Start with a free, no-obligation consultation to review your business’s financial, tax filing and compliance needs and outline our affordable solutions.
Receive a comprehensive checklist and securely provide the required financial records and documents.
Our tax accountant and accounting experts carefully prepare your filings, identify all applicable deductions and credits, and conduct thorough reviews.
We file your documents electronically with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) on time and provide post-filing support.
Quoted up front, in writing.
Contact UsCA (India), CA (Malaysia)
CA (India)
FCA (India)
CPA (Canada), CPA (USA), CA (India)
CPA (Canada), CA (India)
U.S. Real Estate Tax & FIRPTA starts at a fixed fee quoted before any work begins. The quote is locked at the outset and does not change mid-engagement, and you review the deliverable with us before it is filed. Compare every plan on our transparent pricing page.
At minimum: prior-year returns and notices of assessment, your bank and credit-card statements for the fiscal period, payroll records if you have employees, and GST/HST filings. We send a checklist tailored to your situation after the first call to our 24-hour helpline.
Most engagements are completed within 3 to 5 business days once your documents are complete. Catch-up work covering multiple years takes longer, and we tell you the realistic timeline before you commit rather than after.
We respond on your behalf at no extra charge for any return we prepared. Every figure we file is supported by documentation retained in your file, which is what turns a CRA review from a crisis into correspondence. See how our CRA audit support works.
Yes. The late-filing penalty is 5% of the balance owing plus 1% of that balance for each full month the return is late, to a maximum of 12 months (CRA, 2025 tax year). Interest is what compounds, daily, on top. We prioritise catch-up work and, where eligible, file under the CRA's Voluntary Disclosures Program to reduce penalties.
Yes. We work with clients wherever they live, from our offices in India, the USA, Canada and the UAE, and your location does not change the price or the service. Browse our coverage by country and region to find yours.
We work across construction, healthcare, e-commerce, professional services, restaurants, real estate, transportation, technology and non-profits, each with its own deduction profile and the points tax authorities scrutinise. See all industries we serve.
Software applies the rules you told it about. It does not ask whether a treaty caps the withholding on that payment, whether the foreign credit was claimed in the right country, whether an information return was due on an account that earned nothing, or whether your related-party pricing is documented. Those are the questions that move the number on a cross-border file.
Our U.S. real estate tax & FIRPTA services include complete filing, compliance management, and strategic advice customized to Canadian tax laws.
You can start by calling our 24-hour helpline on +1 (416) 619-0068 or sending the form. We will review your files, provide a fixed quote, and start working immediately.
Twice over, then relieved. The country where the property sits taxes the rent — often by withholding on the gross amount, with an election available to file on the net result instead. Your residence country also taxes it, generally on net income under its own rules, and credits the foreign tax. Because the two countries compute "net" differently, the numbers rarely match without work. See the section 216 election.
The inheritance itself is often not income to you, but three other things can create tax: the estate may owe tax where the deceased or the property was situated, some countries tax the recipient directly, and the gain from the date you inherit to the date you sell is yours. Reporting obligations can also attach to holding the asset. See inheriting property abroad.
Still have questions? View our FAQ page or contact us.
A client had agreed the sale of a holiday property and discovered, weeks before closing, how much the buyer was required to hold back. We assembled the purchase documents, invoices for the capital improvements made over the years of ownership, and the contract of sale, then prepared an application showing the tax likely to arise. The closing agent was notified so that funds were held correctly while the application was outstanding. The engagement produced a lodged application, a documented cost base the client can rely on, and a clear instruction to the closing agent about the sums to be retained.
A seller came to us months after their closing, with funds already remitted and no documentation beyond the settlement statement. We obtained the withholding forms from the closing agent, established the cost of the property from the original purchase file, and applied for the identification number the seller needed before any return could be processed. The work consisted of preparing the non-resident return for the year of sale, reporting the disposal and crediting the sum withheld. The engagement produced a filed return claiming the excess and an ordered record of the correspondence for the client's file.
Two siblings owned a US property in unequal shares and sold it together. The withholding had been applied to the transaction as a whole, and each owner needed their own position established. We traced the original purchase contributions, allocated the proceeds and the costs of sale between them, and documented each share of the withheld sum. The work included separate returns reflecting different cost bases and different holding histories. The engagement produced two filed returns that reconcile to one closing statement, with a written allocation note both owners hold in case the position is ever queried.
A family inherited a property in the United States and sold it without knowing what cost to use. The original purchase papers were decades old and the estate documents were held in another country. We collected the probate record, the valuation prepared at the date of death and the deeds, and established the basis on which the gain should be measured. The work consisted of documenting that chain before the withholding position was addressed, then preparing the returns for the beneficiaries. The engagement produced an evidenced cost base and a filed return for each heir.
A client had let a US property for many years, reported the rent in Canada and nothing in the United States. A sale was in prospect. We reconstructed the rental history from bank records and agent statements, prepared the outstanding US returns for the years concerned, and dealt with the depreciation position so that the eventual gain would be computed on a defensible cost. The work ran in date order so the returns formed a consistent series. The engagement produced a filed set of rental years and a cost base ready for the sale return that followed.
A client sold US property in one year and the withholding was not recovered until the next. Left alone, the Canadian and US filings would have claimed relief in mismatched periods. We computed the gain under each country's rules, converted the amounts consistently, and set out which Canadian year the foreign tax belonged to and on what evidence. The work included a schedule linking the closing statement, the US return and the Canadian claim. The engagement produced both filings prepared from the same figures and a written note explaining the timing to the client.
US shares and US real estate sit inside the US estate tax net regardless of where the owner lives. The treaty provides relief that is proportionate rather than automatic, and the calculation depends on the worldwide estate.
Read how this one runsDual 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 runsAll case studies — every published engagement in one place.
Strategy and compliance for income, assets and families spread across borders.
Holding structures live or die on treaty access, beneficial ownership and substance — the MLI's principal-purpose test now sits over every arrangement.
A holding structure is only as good as its reporting. Foreign affiliates, accrued passive income and distributions each carry their own return, and the penalties on those attach to the form rather than to any tax being owed — so a structure that saves tax can still cost money if the information returns are late.
Where our partners studied — CPA Canada (In-Depth Tax Program), AICPA, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and the Malaysian Institute of Accountants.
