Cross-border truck drivers: what we charge

We prepare and file the cross-border returns cross-border truck drivers need — both countries handled together, on a fixed fee agreed in writing up front.

  • 15+Years of the founder's cross-border experience
  • 18,000+Clients served across our offices in India, the USA, Canada and the UAE
  • 5.0Google rating
  • 4Global offices — India, USA, Canada & UAE

Secure a fixed quote

Your own file sets the fee. Send it over, and a written quote arrives before anything is prepared.

24-hour helpline: +1 (416) 619-0068
  • Google rating 5.0 out of 5
  • 24-hour helpline: +1 (416) 619-0068
  • Offices in India, the USA, Canada and the UAE
In short

A long-haul driver crossing between Canada and the United States is taxed on employment income by reference to where the work is performed, and there is no aircraft-or-ship article to simplify it — which makes the mileage and day records the return.

Below: the rule, what clients ask first, two worked files with their numbers, the process end to end, and the published fee.

The rule that applies to this group and not the one next to it

A long-haul driver crossing between Canada and the United States is taxed on employment income by reference to where the work is performed, and there is no aircraft-or-ship article to simplify it — which makes the mileage and day records the return.

Here is the part that decides your answer. That is the practical value of a specialist here: not better arithmetic, but knowing which of several possible rules governs cross-border truck drivers before the return is built on the wrong one.

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

Transparent, fixed pricing for Cross-border truck drivers

On a cross-border truck driver's file the charge turns on substantiation: whether the meals and lodging claimed on the road are backed by trip records that hold up when they are questioned, or have to be pieced together from receipts and settlement statements once the year has closed.

Individual tax filing
From $349

in US dollars, fixed and quoted before work starts

Individual returns where salary, investments or property sit outside the country of residence, prepared so relief is claimed once and in the right place.
See the fee schedule
Non-resident & departure filings
From $349

in US dollars, fixed and quoted before work starts

Non-resident filings and the two part-year returns a move produces, sequenced so neither country taxes the same income twice.
See the fee schedule
Foreign asset & information reporting
From $349

in US dollars, fixed and quoted before work starts

Foreign holdings mapped once — accounts, real property, shareholdings — then reported to each authority in the form it requires.
See the fee schedule
Catch-up & voluntary disclosure
From $349

in US dollars, fixed and quoted before work starts

Bringing an unfiled history current: which years are still open, which programme applies, and what the exposure is before you commit.
See the fee schedule
Corporate cross-border filing
From $999

in US dollars, fixed and quoted before work starts

The corporate return and its cross-border schedules as one engagement, so the group files a consistent position everywhere.
See the fee schedule
Payroll & mobility setup
From $999

in US dollars, fixed and quoted before work starts

Employer registration and withholding for staff on assignment, arranged before the first pay run rather than corrected after it.
See the fee schedule
Transfer pricing documentation
From $2,500

in US dollars, fixed and quoted before work starts

Benchmarking and documentation for related-party dealings, prepared to the standard the reviewing authority applies.
See the fee schedule
Estate & trust filing
From $799

in US dollars, fixed and quoted before work starts

For an estate holding property in more than one country, or a trust with beneficiaries who are taxed somewhere else.
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.

Three things we hear on the first call

  • I cross the border four times a week and have no idea how to split my income.
  • My meal and lodging claims get questioned every single year.
  • A US state sent me a notice for a year I only drove through it.

These are not edge cases. They are what happens when two systems each apply their own logic to one person, and the person is expected to reconcile the result. See also tax for auditors & accountants abroad.

The numbers, end to end

Numbers make this concrete, so here is the same rule applied to a set of figures.

Splitting one salary between two countries

A salary of C$182,000 for a year with 242 working days, 114 of them performed in the other country. Employment income is generally sourced to where the work was physically done.

Splitting one salary between two countries
ItemAmount
Annual salaryC$182,000
Working days in the year242
Days worked in the other country114
Days worked at home128
Income sourced to the other countryC$85,736
Income sourced at homeC$96,264

C$85,736 is sourced abroad on this split, which is the figure the host country taxes and the figure the home credit is computed on. Reproduce this from a travel record, not from memory — it is the first thing an auditor asks for. That is an illustration of the mechanism, not a prediction about your file — the same computation on your figures is the first thing we do.

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.

Worked through with figures

Worked through with figures, the mechanism looks like this.

Credit relief on one stream of income

Take C$131,000 of income taxed in both countries. Assume the other country charged 29% on it and the home country would charge 32% on the same amount.

Credit relief on one stream of income
ItemAmount
Income taxed in both countriesC$131,000
Tax paid abroad (assumed 29%)C$37,990
Home tax on the same income (assumed 32%)C$41,920
Credit available (lesser of the two)C$37,990
Home tax still payableC$3,930

The credit absorbs C$37,990 and leaves C$3,930 payable at home, because the home rate on this income is the higher of the two. The balance is real cash and it is due on the home timetable, which is why instalments get raised in the first meeting. Change any one of those inputs and the answer moves, which is why we run it on your own figures rather than on an illustration.

These amounts illustrate the mechanism only. The rates and thresholds are assumptions of the example, not your numbers: each is checked against the issuing authority for your specific tax year before any return is filed.

How the engagement runs

  1. 1A call to the 24-hour helpline to find out whether this is a filing or a project
  2. 2A fixed fee for a written scope — re-quoted if the scope changes, never invoiced silently
  3. 3Preparation against the evidence, with the positions documented as we go
  4. 4Your approval, then the filing — in that order
  • Fixed fees agreed before any work starts, so the number in the quote is the number on the invoice.
  • A 24-hour helpline, +1 (416) 619-0068, before you commit to anything.
  • Nothing is filed until you have read it.

What to do next

Describe the situation in your own words; translating it into forms is our job.

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

International tax accountant, in practice

If you came here for international tax accountant, this is where it is dealt with. The subject is cross-border truck drivers: what we charge, and the page covers who it reaches, what then has to be filed, and what we charge to do the work.

How the engagement runs, phase by phase

  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.

  2. Fixed fee, defined scope, in writing

    Both agreed before work starts, so the engagement cannot grow into a larger bill.

  3. Prepared together, not passed between firms

    You are not the go-between for two sets of advisers working from two sets of assumptions.

  4. Reviewed, approved, filed

    A named practitioner checks it, you approve it, and then it goes.

What you are actually buying with Cross-border truck drivers

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

One-stop scheme
A centralised registration and return arrangement letting a seller account for multiple countries' tax through a single filing.
Physical presence test
One of the two US qualifying tests for the exclusion, satisfied by days of presence in a foreign country during a twelve-month period.
Foreign earned income
Wages and self-employment income for services performed outside the country. Only earned income qualifies for the US exclusion; investment income does not.
Hybrid surplus
A surplus pool arising principally from certain capital gains of a foreign affiliate, with its own rules on distribution.

Fixed fees around Cross-border truck drivers

Nothing runs against an hourly clock. We read what the year actually contains before quoting — the filings it needs and the records a driver can produce for them — and the figure comes back in writing, along with what would change it, such as a second carrier's settlements turning up mid-engagement.

Non-resident & departure filings
$349in US dollars, fixed before work starts

Covers: Arrival and departure years priced as one engagement, with the part-year residence position and the assets deemed disposed of on exit.

See this fee page
Foreign asset & information reporting
$349in US dollars, fixed before work starts

Covers: Foreign holdings mapped once — accounts, real property, shareholdings — then reported to each authority in the form it requires.

See this fee page

Why choose Legal Quotient for Cross-border truck drivers

We say early if it is not our work

If a file needs something this practice does not do, you hear that at the start rather than after a bill.

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.

Both sides prepared together

Two returns built against each other by one team, so relief is claimed exactly once and nothing falls between the two systems.

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.

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

A fixed quote first, in writing

  • Step 1: Upload the file as it stands – A secure link arrives after the first call. Incomplete is fine; that is what the review is for.
  • Step 2: The number is settled up front – Priced from your own documents and confirmed in writing before any preparation begins.
  • Step 3: Both returns on one desk – One engagement covers every country the file touches, reconciled line against line.
  • Step 4: Your approval, then the filing – The return is yours to check first. We file once you say so.

Quoted up front, in writing.

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

Where to go next

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

Core services for this situation

Indian TP documentation & Form 3CEB Everything on Indian tp documentation & form 3ceb, at the same depth as this page.
FinCEN Form 114 — the FBAR FBAR form — the guide, the FAQ and the fixed fee.
Canadian company opening in India The full guide to Canadian company opening in India, with the fee fixed before any work starts.
Foreign company with an Indian subsidiary — filings Its own page: foreign company with an Indian subsidiary — filings — mechanism, deadlines and published fees.
Permanent establishment in India — service PE and secondments Everything on permanent establishment in India — service PE and secondments, at the same depth as this page.
Capital gains on Indian shares and mutual funds for NRIs Capital gains on Indian shares and mutual funds for NRIs — the guide, the FAQ and the fixed fee.
Dual citizen with two passports, two returns The full guide to dual citizen two tax returns, with the fee fixed before any work starts.
Form T4A-NR — services rendered in Canada Its own page: t4a-nr services rendered in Canada — mechanism, deadlines and published fees.
Holding company across borders Everything on holding company across borders, at the same depth as this page.

Who we bring this work to

Professors & lecturers — what you owe in each country Everything on professors & lecturers what you owe in each country, at the same depth as this page.
Franchise owners — what we charge Franchise owners what we charge — the guide, the FAQ and the fixed fee.
Dropshipping businesses cross-border tax The full guide to dropshipping businesses cross border tax, with the fee fixed before any work starts.
Software developers — relief you're probably missing Its own page: software developers relief you're probably missing — mechanism, deadlines and published fees.
Civil & structural engineers — relief you're probably missing Everything on civil & structural engineers relief you're probably missing, at the same depth as this page.
Seafarers & mariners — your filing calendar Seafarers & mariners your filing calendar — the guide, the FAQ and the fixed fee.
Amazon FBA sellers — what you owe in each country The full guide to amazon fba sellers what you owe in each country, with the fee fixed before any work starts.
Amazon FBA sellers — what we charge Its own page: amazon fba sellers what we charge — mechanism, deadlines and published fees.
Software developers — what you owe in each country Everything on software developers what you owe in each country, at the same depth as this page.

Where our clients live and work

Malaysia tax for expats — country guide Everything on Malaysia tax for expats, at the same depth as this page.
Ukraine tax for expats — country guide Ukraine tax for expats — the guide, the FAQ and the fixed fee.
Canada–United Kingdom tax corridor The full guide to Canada United Kingdom tax, with the fee fixed before any work starts.
Iceland tax for expats — country guide Its own page: Iceland tax for expats — mechanism, deadlines and published fees.
India–Australia tax corridor Everything on India Australia tax, at the same depth as this page.
Zambia tax for expats — country guide Zambia tax for expats — the guide, the FAQ and the fixed fee.
China tax for expats — country guide The full guide to China tax for expats, with the fee fixed before any work starts.
Russia tax for expats — country guide Its own page: Russia tax for expats — mechanism, deadlines and published fees.
United States tax for expats — country guide Everything on United States tax for expats, at the same depth as this page.

The people on your file

Named practitioners, each with the countries and the part of a cross-border file they carry, across India, the USA, Canada and the UAE. Every page on this site says who reviewed it, and the reviewer is one of these people rather than an unnamed team.

Udit Gupta, International tax, cross-border tax and transfer pricing: USA, Canada, India and UAE, Legal Quotient Consultants
Director, International tax, cross-border tax and transfer pricing: USA, Canada, India and UAE

CA (India), CA (Malaysia)

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

Raghav Gupta, UAE and India international tax, cross-border tax and transfer pricing, Legal Quotient Consultants
Director, UAE and India international tax, cross-border tax and transfer pricing

FCA (India)

Files that run between the UAE and India: residence, the treaty position, and the benchmarking and documentation behind intercompany pricing.

Anmol Mittal, USA and Canada international tax, cross-border tax and transfer pricing, Legal Quotient Consultants
Director, USA and Canada international tax, cross-border tax and transfer pricing

CPA (Canada), CPA (USA), CA (India)

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

Meet the whole team

What these engagements turn on

Case study 1

Owner-operator's dual-country filing quoted as one fixed fee before the season began

An owner-operator running cross-border routes needed both countries' filings quoted as one fixed fee agreed before the filing season began, rather than billed separately as each return was prepared. We reviewed the driver's routes and agreed a single fixed fee covering both countries' filings before work started.

Case study 2

Company driver's first cross-border filing year quoted against their prior domestic-only fee

A company driver whose routes newly began crossing the border needed their filing fee quoted against the added complexity, since their prior domestic-only fee no longer covered the new cross-border filings. We reviewed the added work and agreed a revised fixed fee before preparing the first cross-border return.

Case study 3

Family trucking business's per-driver filing fees structured before the season's routes were set

A small trucking business with several cross-border drivers needed each driver's filing fee structured before the season's routes were finalized, so the business could budget for the filing work in advance. We reviewed each driver's expected routes and agreed a fee for each one ahead of the season.

Case study 4

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 5

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 6

Canadian Pension Paid Abroad and Taxed at the Flat Rate

Pension and annuity payments to a non-resident carry a flat withholding that often exceeds what a return would produce. The alternative filing is elective, and whether it helps depends on the total income for the year rather than on the payment alone.

Read how this one runs
Case study 7

Leaving Canada — the Bill You Get for Assets You Still Own

Emigrating triggers a deemed disposition of most holdings, which produces tax on gains never realised in cash. The file values the property, identifies what is excluded, and looks at whether security can be posted rather than the tax paid outright.

Read how this one runs
Case study 8

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

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

Software revenue crosses borders by default — sourcing rules, withholding on licence-like payments and IP location decide the effective rate.

Software revenue is rarely taxed where the team sits. Licence, subscription and service income are characterised differently by each side, and the answer decides withholding at source, treaty relief and whether a foreign customer creates a taxable presence at all — questions that are cheap to settle before the contract and expensive afterwards.

  • 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
  • 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

Cross-border truck drivers — what we charge — questions we are asked

What makes cross-border truck drivers different from an ordinary filing?

A long-haul driver crossing between Canada and the United States is taxed on employment income by reference to where the work is performed, and there is no aircraft-or-ship article to simplify it — which makes the mileage and day records the return. An ordinary preparer applies the general rule and stops there, which is how the relief in the specific provision goes unclaimed.

Can you work with my existing accountant?

That is how most of these engagements run. They keep the domestic file, we take the cross-border piece, and the boundary is agreed in writing so nothing is done twice or missed.

How do you determine fees for a cross-border truck driver's tax return?

Fees are scoped around how many jurisdictions you file in, whether you operate as a company driver or owner-operator, and how many trip records need to be reconciled for the year. We agree the fee in writing before work begins once we understand your operating structure, so there is no ambiguity about what the engagement covers.

Does having your own trucking company change the cost of filing?

Running your own operation adds corporate filings, payroll if you employ other drivers, and equipment depreciation schedules on top of your personal cross-border return, so the scope is larger than for a company driver filing individually. We price the corporate and personal work together once we see your structure, with the full fee confirmed in writing before we start.

Is the fee different if I cross the border only occasionally?

Yes, scope depends on how much of your driving time and income touches the other country, not just the fact that you cross it. A driver with occasional cross-border runs typically needs less reconciliation than one who spends most working days on the other side. We review your trip history first and set the fee to match that actual complexity.

Is "fund transfer pricing" the same thing as transfer pricing?

No — and if you came here to calculate FTP, this is not it. Fund transfer pricing is a bank's internal allocation of funding costs and benefits between its own business units, a treasury and asset-liability management discipline used to measure branch or product profitability. Tax transfer pricing is about prices between legally separate related parties across borders, and about which country taxes the resulting profit. The words overlap; the fields do not. See our transfer pricing work.

Do I get credit for all of the foreign tax I paid?

Only up to your own country's tax on that same income, and only for tax you were legally obliged to pay. Two consequences follow. Living somewhere that taxes you more heavily than your residence country does leaves an excess that becomes a carryover rather than a refund. And withholding suffered above the treaty rate is not creditable — the route back to that money is a refund claim in the country that took it. See claiming the credit.

15+ years of cross-border experience

Let us take cross-border truck drivers filing off your desk

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

  • 18,000+ clients served
  • A named reviewer signs off every filing
  • 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.

Request a Quote +1 (416) 619-0068