Budget-friendly Form 8840 — closer connection (snowbirds)

Form 8840 — who files it, when it is due, what late filing costs, and what we charge to prepare it. United States (IRS). Budget-friendly Form 8840 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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In 60 words

Form 8840 is a residency or status filing: The closer-connection statement, which keeps a person who spent substantial time in the US from being treated as a US resident for tax. Individuals who meet the substantial presence day-count test but maintain a tax home and closer connection to another country — the classic Canadian snowbird position.

Who has to deal with this

Individuals who meet the substantial presence day-count test but maintain a tax home and closer connection to another country — the classic Canadian snowbird position.

Read this first; the rest is procedure. The day-count test does not care about immigration status, and it looks back over more than one year. Winter visitors are frequently residents on arithmetic alone, and this statement — or the treaty tie-breaker — is what unwinds it.

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Transparent, fixed pricing for form 8840 closer connection

A closer-connection statement for a snowbird is priced on the years, not the winter. Counting presence back over the earlier years, for each member of the household who travels, is most of the job, and a season that ran longer than usual can push the position onto the treaty tie-breaker instead.

1040-NR non-resident return — fixed-fee price

From $449

fixed, quoted before work starts

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.
See the full fee page

US state nexus review — fixed-fee price

From $999

fixed, quoted before work starts

A state-by-state review of sales, transactions, employees and inventory against each state's own tests, with the registration and collection start dates identified.
See the full fee page

Non-resident & departure filings

From $349

fixed, quoted before work starts

For anyone taxed by a country they do not live in — rent, pensions and investment income reaching across a border after the move.
See the fee schedule

Individual tax filing

From $349

fixed, quoted before work starts

Personal returns for individuals, expats and non-residents — foreign income, foreign property and treaty relief handled in one engagement.
See the fee schedule

Foreign asset & information reporting

From $349

fixed, quoted before work starts

The information returns that carry the heaviest penalties — foreign accounts, foreign property, foreign affiliates — prepared from one asset list.
See the fee schedule

Payroll & mobility setup

From $999

fixed, quoted before work starts

The employer side of mobility — where to register, what to withhold, and what to report once someone works across a border.
See the fee schedule

Corporate cross-border filing

From $999

fixed, quoted before work starts

Company filings where income, ownership or operations cross a border, with the related-party disclosures that come with them.
See the fee schedule

Catch-up & voluntary disclosure

From $349

fixed, quoted before work starts

Voluntary disclosure handled as one piece of work, from the review of what is outstanding to the returns that close it.
See the fee schedule

All published fees on one page — all of it on a single page, so the number you compare is the number you pay.

What the reporting test actually looks at

What decides whether Form 8840 applies
Test appliedEvidence that decides it
The obligationThe closer-connection statement, which keeps a person who spent substantial time in the US from being treated as a US resident for tax.
Who it bindsIndividuals who meet the substantial presence day-count test but maintain a tax home and closer connection to another country — the classic Canadian snowbird position.
Jurisdiction and authorityUnited States — IRS
Category of filingResidency or status filing

When it is due

Status filings are generally made with the return for the year of the arrival, departure or presence in question. Some are optional and can be made at any time; the ones that accompany a return follow the return's date. The date is confirmed for your year at the start of the engagement, not assumed from last year's.

What late or missed filing costs

The exposure is not usually a penalty. It is the default status: days that should have been excluded are counted, a residency position that should have been documented is not, and a whole year of worldwide income comes into a tax base it should never have entered. None of that is unusual, and none of it is unfixable. It is, however, cheaper to address before an authority raises it.

The numbers, end to end

Here is the rule doing its work on an actual set of amounts.

A deemed disposition on the day residency ends

A portfolio bought for C$389,000 is worth C$525,150 on the departure day. Nothing is sold. Assume half the gain enters income and assume a 34% marginal rate on it.

A deemed disposition on the day residency ends
ItemAmount
Cost of the propertyC$389,000
Value on the departure dayC$525,150
Accrued gain treated as realisedC$136,150
Amount assumed to enter incomeC$68,075
Tax at an assumed 34%C$23,146

C$23,146 becomes payable in a year with no sale and no cash. That is what makes the departure date a planning variable: losses realised before it, an election to defer payment against security, and defensible valuations for anything private all change this number. The shape of that result holds; the size of it depends entirely on your own numbers and dates.

An illustration, not a client file. The sums are chosen for legibility and the thresholds are stated for the example alone — nothing reaches a filing until it has been confirmed at source for your own year.

How we prepare and file it, and what it costs

Form 8840 is quoted with the rest of the year's filings so you see one number rather than a list of add-ons. If the scope changes we come back to you before doing the work. See the US citizen in Canada — filing US taxes from abroad for comparable engagements.

The four steps

  1. 1Reconstruct the presence record and the ties on both sides
  2. 2Determine the status under domestic rules and, where relevant, the treaty
  3. 3File the statement or schedule that documents it
  4. 4Keep the evidence pack, because this is the position most often reviewed later
  • A named reviewer signs off every statutory filing.
  • Authorisation with each authority, so we see the assessments and slips directly rather than asking you for them.
  • Fixed fees agreed before any work starts, so the number in the quote is the number on the invoice.

If that describes your position, the next step is a short call — not a form.

Reviewed for accuracy for the 2025 and 2026 filing seasons by Udit Gupta, Cross-Border Tax Expert, Legal Quotient Consultants. This is general information rather than advice about your file — a short call is the way to get the second.

Where foreign account reporting comes into this file

Readers arrive here searching for foreign account reporting, and Form 8840 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 day-count test does not care about immigration status, and it looks back over more than one year.

The four phases of the work

  1. Send what you already have

    Slips, statements, prior returns — in any order. We list what is still needed after reading them.

  2. A fee agreed in writing

    Quoted from those documents, before the work starts, and it does not move once you accept it.

  3. Each side drafted against the other

    The returns are built together rather than in sequence, so relief is claimed once and in the right country.

  4. You approve before it is filed

    The finished return comes to you first. Nothing is submitted on your behalf unseen.

How form 8840 closer connection 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

The vocabulary this page leans on

Place of supply
The rules deciding which jurisdiction taxes a supply and at what rate. For digital services they generally follow the customer.
Form 8938 threshold
The FATCA reporting threshold, which varies with filing status and with whether the filer lives in the United States or abroad — and is tested on two measures, not one.
Part XIII tax
Canada's flat withholding on passive payments to non-residents — rent, dividends, interest, pensions, royalties — which a treaty may reduce if the eligibility declaration is on file.
Delinquent FBAR
A late account report filed with a reasonable-cause statement where the income was reported and no examination is under way.
form 8840 closer connection: How we read this one

The day-count test does not care about immigration status, and it looks back over more than one year.

The engagement terms hold no matter what the analysis finds — fee and scope agreed in writing up front, a named reviewer on the output, your approval before the finished work is filed.

Fixed fees around form 8840 closer connection

What remains is evidence. The closer connection has to be shown to somewhere: the home you keep, and where your licence, bank and doctors are. Gathering that for a single year is different from doing it for several winters already gone by without a statement, and those late years are quoted as their own work.

Individual tax filing

$349fixed, before work starts

Covers: One engagement for a personal return that touches more than one country: the income, the assets held abroad and the relief claimed against them.

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

What working with us on form 8840 closer connection looks like

A named reviewer on every file

Every page on this site and every file we deliver says which practitioner reviewed it — a person, not a team inbox.

4 global offices

Meet us in person in India, the USA, Canada and the UAE, or send everything through the secure portal — the same process either way.

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.

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.

The firm’s founder at his desk in the Delhi office

From first call to filed return

Step 1

The opening call

A first call to map the obligations across every country involved

Step 2

Scope in writing

A single fixed fee covering the whole set, agreed before we begin

Step 3

Prepared and checked

Preparation in the order that makes the relief usable, with a reviewer's sign-off

Step 4

Filed, then supported

You approve the finished work, and we file it

The team reviewing a file together at a desk

The engagement, start to finish

  • Step 1: Share your documents – A secure upload link arrives after the first call — send files in any state.
  • Step 2: A written fixed fee – The quote is fixed from what you send; it does not move once accepted.
  • Step 3: Preparation, both sides at once – The returns are drafted together, reconciled line against line.
  • Step 4: Approve, then file – Nothing is filed until you have seen it and approved it.

Quoted up front, in writing.

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

Keep reading, sideways

Browse sideways: the pages below answer the neighbouring questions.

Core services for this situation

Tax when citizenship is granted Tax when citizenship is granted — the guide, the FAQ and the fixed fee.
Inheriting property abroad The full guide to inheriting property abroad, with the fee fixed before any work starts.
Form W-9 — US persons Its own page: form w-9 US persons — mechanism, deadlines and published fees.
Why a Canadian should rarely own an LLC Everything on why Canadian should not own LLC, at the same depth as this page.
Cross-border charity and donation relief Cross-border charity and donation relief — the guide, the FAQ and the fixed fee.
Canada–India DTAA explained The full guide to Canada India DTAA explained, with the fee fixed before any work starts.
Paying interest on a shareholder loan abroad Its own page: paying interest shareholder loan abroad — mechanism, deadlines and published fees.
US person with a foreign business Everything on US person with a foreign business, at the same depth as this page.
Filing 10 years of missed returns Filing 10 years of missed returns — the guide, the FAQ and the fixed fee.

Clients who arrive with this exact page

Tax for non-resident landlords Non-resident landlords tax — the guide, the FAQ and the fixed fee.
Tax for nurses working abroad The full guide to nurses working abroad tax, with the fee fixed before any work starts.
Physicians & surgeons — your filing calendar Its own page: physicians & surgeons your filing calendar — mechanism, deadlines and published fees.
Tax for data scientists & ai engineers Everything on data scientists & ai engineers tax, at the same depth as this page.
Tax for oil & gas rotational workers Oil & gas rotational workers tax — the guide, the FAQ and the fixed fee.
Mining & energy cross-border tax The full guide to mining & energy cross border tax, with the fee fixed before any work starts.
Technology & SaaS — what we charge Its own page: technology & saas what we charge — mechanism, deadlines and published fees.
Tax for auditors & accountants abroad Everything on auditors & accountants abroad tax, at the same depth as this page.
Tax for architects Architects tax — the guide, the FAQ and the fixed fee.

Countries and corridors this work reaches

Iceland tax for expats — country guide Iceland tax for expats — the guide, the FAQ and the fixed fee.
Canada–Hong Kong tax corridor The full guide to Canada Hong Kong tax, with the fee fixed before any work starts.
Ireland tax for expats — country guide Its own page: Ireland tax for expats — mechanism, deadlines and published fees.
Indonesia tax for expats — country guide Everything on Indonesia tax for expats, at the same depth as this page.
Tanzania tax for expats — country guide Tanzania tax for expats — the guide, the FAQ and the fixed fee.
United States tax for expats — country guide The full guide to United States tax for expats, with the fee fixed before any work starts.
Peru tax for expats — country guide Its own page: Peru tax for expats — mechanism, deadlines and published fees.
Cayman Islands tax for expats — country guide Everything on cayman islands tax for expats, at the same depth as this page.
Japan tax for expats — country guide Japan tax for expats — 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

Files that look like this one

Case study 1

Wintering in the US Long Enough to Become a US Filer

Days in the United States accumulate across three years, and enough of them make you a US resident for tax regardless of immigration status. The file counts the days properly and files the statement that keeps the position closer connection rather than residence.

Read how this one runs
Case study 2

A Canadian Working in the US on a Work Visa

Immigration status and tax residence are different tests, and a visa says nothing about which country taxes the salary. The file fixes residence, applies the employment article, and sequences the two returns so the credit lands where it is usable.

Read how this one runs
Case study 3

Information Returns Missed Behind a Correct Return

The heaviest exposure on a cross-border file is often a disclosure form rather than the tax. Where the return itself was right, the procedures for late information returns turn on a reasonable-cause narrative with dates and documents behind it.

Read how this one runs
Case study 4

A Foreign Property Form Filed Late, With Penalties Running Daily

The foreign asset return carries a penalty that accrues per day rather than per return, so the exposure grows quietly. Relief is discretionary and it is granted on the reasons given, which means the request is the work rather than the form.

Read how this one runs
Case study 5

A Canadian Employer With Staff in the United States

Employing someone in the US creates federal and state obligations that begin with registration, not with the first return. Which states are engaged is decided by where the work happens rather than where the company is.

Read how this one runs
Case study 6

An IRS Notice for a Year the Client Believed Was Settled

Most notices are proposals rather than assessments, and they carry a response window that is shorter than it looks. The engagement reads what is actually being proposed, gathers the support, and replies inside the window with the position rather than a request for time.

Read how this one runs
Case study 7

Years Filed Quietly, and What That Cost

Posting missing returns without taking a view on the route gives up the certification-based protection and can itself be read as an indicator. The first task on these files is mapping which years remain eligible for which route.

Read how this one runs
Case study 8

A Pension Taxed Where the Treaty Did Not Intend

Pension and annuity articles allocate taxing rights differently from employment income, and a flat withholding often exceeds what a return would produce. The alternative filing is elective and has a deadline.

Read how this one runs

All case studies — every published engagement in one place.

Core International & Cross-Border Tax Services

International Tax Planning & Advisory

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

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

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

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

Default withholding is 25% of gross: elective returns routinely turn over-withheld rent and pensions into refunds.

Transfer Pricing & BEPS

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

Wills drafted for one country routinely misfire in the other — deemed disposition here, estate tax there, credits in between.

Cross-Border Corporate Tax

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

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

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

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

Cross-Border Real Estate

Foreign property income and sales are taxed in both countries by default; Section 216, FIRPTA and treaty credits are the standing toolkit.

Property is taxed where it sits, which is the one rule no treaty overrides. What the treaty does decide is the credit, the rate on the rent and what happens on the sale — and the clearance certificate on a disposition is applied for before closing, not after the buyer has already held the money back.

  • Section 216 rental returns
  • FIRPTA withholding recovery
  • Section 116 clearance
  • Treaty credit optimization
Explore Real Estate

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

  • 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

Form 8840 — questions we are asked

Do I file Form 8840 even if no tax is owed?

Residency or status filing obligations of this kind are generally required on the facts rather than on the tax result, so a nil position does not remove one. Individuals who meet the substantial presence day-count test but maintain a tax home and closer connection to another country — the classic Canadian snowbird position.

What happens if I have missed Form 8840 for several years?

Missed years are dealt with as a package rather than one at a time, because the route chosen for the first year affects the relief available for the rest. We map the years and the obligations before anything is filed.

Is Form 8840 the same as the other reports I already file?

No. The closer-connection statement, which keeps a person who spent substantial time in the US from being treated as a US resident for tax. Satisfying a different obligation, even one covering the same accounts or entity, does nothing for this one.

How long do I have to be out of the country to stop being resident?

There is no single period that settles it. Canada looks at whether your ties were actually severed, not at a day count; the United States taxes citizens regardless of where they live; India applies day-count thresholds with a second limb reaching back over earlier years. Time abroad is evidence, not a rule — what decides it is where your home, family and economic life sit. See tax residency.

How does the treaty tie-breaker work when both countries say I am resident?

As a sequence, stopping at the first test that gives an answer: where you have a permanent home available; if in both or neither, where your centre of vital interests is; then habitual abode; then nationality; and if all of those tie, the two tax authorities decide by agreement. It is evidential rather than elective — you do not choose your treaty residence, you demonstrate it, which makes the record of homes, family and time the substance of the claim. See tie-breaking dual residency.

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.

Fixed fee agreed before we start

Form 8840, quoted before we start

Describe what happened and which countries are involved; the fee comes back in writing before anything begins.

  • Offices in India, the USA, Canada and the UAE
  • Re-quoted, never silently invoiced
  • 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.

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