Affordable Franchise owners: what you owe in each country

Cross-border tax filing for franchise owners, planned and filed from one desk, at a fixed fee agreed in writing before any work starts. Ask us about affordable franchise owners: what you owe in each country: call the 24-hour helpline on +1 (416) 619-0068, or request a written fixed quote today.

  • 15+Years of cross-border experience
  • 18,000+Clients served
  • 5.0Google rating
  • 4Global offices — India, USA, Canada & UAE

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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
  • Fixed fee agreed before work starts
  • 15+ years of cross-border experience
  • Google rating 5.0 out of 5
In short

Franchise fees and royalties paid across a border are withheld at source under the royalty article, and the deductibility of the fee depends on transfer-pricing support where franchisor and franchisee are related.

Further down: the governing rule, the first-call questions, two completed files with figures, the way the work runs, and where the fee is published.

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

Franchise fees and royalties paid across a border are withheld at source under the royalty article, and the deductibility of the fee depends on transfer-pricing support where franchisor and franchisee are related.

Here is the part that decides your answer. The difference between the two outcomes is a provision most people in this position have never heard of — and once it is identified, the rest of the file is straightforward.

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

Transparent, fixed pricing for franchise owners what you owe in each country

Working out what a franchise owner owes in each country turns on where each unit's profit is taxed and where you are taxed yourself: units in one country held by a company in another split the answer into returns that have to agree. Whether the franchisor is a related party decides how much support the royalty deduction needs.

Corporate cross-border filing

From $999

fixed, 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

Transfer pricing documentation

From $2,500

fixed, quoted before work starts

Intercompany pricing documented before it is questioned — the functional analysis, the benchmarking and the files that support it.
See the fee schedule

Individual tax filing

From $349

fixed, quoted before work starts

A personal filing built from your own documents — employment, investment and rental income across borders, with the treaty position set out.
See the fee schedule

Payroll & mobility setup

From $999

fixed, quoted before work starts

Payroll set up for a workforce split across countries, including the relief that stops the same salary being withheld on twice.
See the fee schedule

Non-resident & departure filings

From $349

fixed, quoted before work starts

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 the fee schedule

Foreign asset & information reporting

From $349

fixed, quoted before work starts

Accounts, property and company interests held outside the country of residence, reported on the schedules that carry penalties whether or not tax is owed.
See the fee schedule

Catch-up & voluntary disclosure

From $349

fixed, quoted before work starts

Late and unfiled years, sequenced and filed together, with the relief available for the delay identified before the first return goes in.
See the fee schedule

Estate & trust filing

From $799

fixed, quoted before work starts

The returns an estate or trust owes on each side, prepared together so relief for tax paid abroad is actually claimed.
See the fee schedule

All published fees on one page — every engagement, one list, no ranges hiding surprises.

Three things we hear on the first call

  • My franchisor is abroad and the royalty withholding was never considered.
  • I own units in two countries under one holding company.
  • The franchise agreement was drafted for a domestic operator and I am not one.

Every one of those is a question we answer weekly. They arise because two tax systems were written independently and neither was designed with the other in mind. See also tax for forex traders.

The numbers, end to end

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

Credit relief on one stream of income

Take C$78,000 of income taxed in both countries. Assume the other country charged 23% on it and the home country would charge 41% on the same amount.

Credit relief on one stream of income
ItemAmount
Income taxed in both countriesC$78,000
Tax paid abroad (assumed 23%)C$17,940
Home tax on the same income (assumed 41%)C$31,980
Credit available (lesser of the two)C$17,940
Home tax still payableC$14,040

The credit absorbs C$17,940 and leaves C$14,040 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. We run this on your actual numbers before advising anything, because the conclusion can invert with a modest change in inputs.

Treat these numbers as a worked example rather than advice — they exist to make the mechanics visible, and the rates and thresholds are assumed for the illustration. For a real filing, we verify each figure with the authority that publishes it, for your year.

What this looks like with numbers

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

Credit relief on one stream of income

Take C$89,000 of income taxed in both countries. Assume the other country charged 32% on it and the home country would charge 41% on the same amount.

Credit relief on one stream of income
ItemAmount
Income taxed in both countriesC$89,000
Tax paid abroad (assumed 32%)C$28,480
Home tax on the same income (assumed 41%)C$36,490
Credit available (lesser of the two)C$28,480
Home tax still payableC$8,010

The credit absorbs C$28,480 and leaves C$8,010 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. 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.

The four steps

  1. 1A call to our 24-hour helpline to establish the facts and the dates that matter
  2. 2A written scope and a fixed fee before any work starts
  3. 3Preparation, then a named reviewer's sign-off before anything is filed
  4. 4Filing, then payment — after you have seen and approved the result
  • Documents move through one secure portal, and you can meet us in person at any of our offices.
  • We will tell you when you do not need us, and that call is free.
  • Nothing is filed until you have read it.

Your next step

One call now is worth more than a filing season of guessing.

Read and approved for the 2025 and 2026 filing seasons by Udit Gupta, Cross-Border Tax Expert, Legal Quotient Consultants. General guidance only. Your own facts decide the answer, so bring them to a call before relying on this.

International tax accountant, in practice

Read this page for international tax accountant. It works through franchise owners: what you owe in each country from the beginning — whether it applies to you at all, what has to be filed if it does, and what the engagement costs, priced up front.

From first contact to filed return

  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.

How franchise owners what you owe in each country 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

Profit level indicator
The ratio used to measure the tested party's profitability — an operating margin, a return on costs or a return on assets, chosen to fit its functions.
Split-year treatment
The mechanism by which a year of arrival or departure is divided into resident and non-resident periods for reporting, even though the year itself remains one tax year.
Local file
The transfer-pricing document covering one entity's controlled transactions, functional analysis, method and comparables.
Graduated rate estate
An estate that qualifies for graduated rates for a limited period after death, subject to conditions met from the first return onwards.

Franchise owners what you owe in each country — what the published fees look like

The fees below are per country rather than per file. Each authority wants the same trading figures restated on its own rules, so the second country is never a copy of the first: the accounts are converted to that basis and the royalty payments sourced against it before either return can be signed.

Transfer pricing documentation

$2,500fixed, before work starts

Covers: Benchmarking and documentation for related-party dealings, prepared to the standard the reviewing authority applies.

See this fee page

Individual tax filing

$349fixed, before work starts

Covers: A personal filing built from your own documents — employment, investment and rental income across borders, with the treaty position set out.

See this fee page

The difference a dedicated cross-border team makes

Every figure on a page is traceable

Where a rate or a threshold appears in our writing it names the tax year it belongs to. Where it could not be confirmed, the page describes the mechanism and quotes no number.

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.

The quote comes from your documents

Nothing is priced from a phone call. We read what you have first, then the fee is set — so the scope and the number are agreed on the same evidence.

Late and missed years are ordinary work

An unfiled history is not a reason to wait longer. We assess what is still open and what relief the delay attracts before the first return goes in.

The team at work in the open-plan office

How the engagement runs, phase by phase

Step 1

The opening call

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

Step 2

Scope in writing

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

Step 3

Prepared and checked

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

Step 4

Filed, then supported

Nothing is filed until you have read it

The team reviewing a file together at a desk

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

The rest of this practice

Browse sideways: the pages below answer the neighbouring questions.

Core services for this situation

Form 8993 — FDII deduction Form 8993 FDII deduction — the guide, the FAQ and the fixed fee.
Employment income — the treaty article The full guide to employment income treaty article, with the fee fixed before any work starts.
US estate tax exposure for Canadians Its own page: US estate tax exposure for Canadians — mechanism, deadlines and published fees.
T1141 & T1142 trust reporting Everything on t1141 & t1142 trust reporting, at the same depth as this page.
Deemed disposition on death Deemed disposition on death — the guide, the FAQ and the fixed fee.
Form 26AS — tax credit statement (India) The full guide to form 26as India, with the fee fixed before any work starts.
Management fee study Its own page: management fee study — mechanism, deadlines and published fees.
Tax when citizenship is granted Everything on tax when citizenship is granted, at the same depth as this page.
Indian TP documentation & Form 3CEB Indian tp documentation & form 3ceb — the guide, the FAQ and the fixed fee.

Clients who arrive with this exact page

Tax for nurses working abroad Nurses working abroad tax — the guide, the FAQ and the fixed fee.
Food & beverage brands cross-border tax The full guide to food & beverage brands cross border tax, with the fee fixed before any work starts.
Tax for lawyers & in-house counsel Its own page: lawyers & in-house counsel tax — mechanism, deadlines and published fees.
Tax for authors & screenwriters Everything on authors & screenwriters tax, at the same depth as this page.
Civil & structural engineers — what you owe in each country Civil & structural engineers what you owe in each country — the guide, the FAQ and the fixed fee.
Veterinary practices cross-border tax The full guide to veterinary practices cross border 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.
Tax for non-resident landlords Everything on non-resident landlords tax, at the same depth as this page.
Construction & contracting cross-border tax Construction & contracting cross border tax — the guide, the FAQ and the fixed fee.

The corridors we work every week

Philippines tax for expats — country guide Philippines tax for expats — the guide, the FAQ and the fixed fee.
Algeria tax for expats — country guide The full guide to algeria tax for expats, with the fee fixed before any work starts.
Denmark tax for expats — country guide Its own page: Denmark tax for expats — mechanism, deadlines and published fees.
Canada–Saudi Arabia tax corridor Everything on Canada Saudi Arabia tax, at the same depth as this page.
South Africa tax for expats — country guide South Africa tax for expats — the guide, the FAQ and the fixed fee.
Kazakhstan tax for expats — country guide The full guide to kazakhstan tax for expats, with the fee fixed before any work starts.
Egypt tax for expats — country guide Its own page: Egypt tax for expats — mechanism, deadlines and published fees.
Jamaica tax for expats — country guide Everything on Jamaica tax for expats, at the same depth as this page.
South Korea tax for expats — country guide South Korea 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

What these engagements turn on

Case study 1

One Salary, Two Countries Claiming It

A US citizen resident in Canada, taxed in full on both sides because each return was prepared without the other in view. Deciding which country has the first right to the income, then claiming relief on the second return in the right order, is what stops the same dollar being taxed twice.

Read how this one runs
Case study 2

Green Card Kept, Moved to Canada — Both Returns Still Due

Holding a green card does not end the US filing obligation, and living in Canada starts a Canadian one. The engagement fixes residence under the treaty tie-breaker, then decides which return the relief is claimed on so the two do not contradict each other.

Read how this one runs
Case study 3

A Student or Researcher Covered by a Treaty Article

Several treaties carry a dedicated article for students, trainees and visiting researchers that displaces the ordinary employment rules. Whether it applies turns on the purpose of the stay and the source of the funds, both of which are evidenced rather than asserted.

Read how this one runs
Case study 4

Inheriting Property in India While Living Abroad

India does not tax the inheritance itself, but the later sale and the money leaving the country both have positions of their own. The file establishes the cost base to use on that sale and what the remittance will require.

Read how this one runs
Case study 5

Which Country Taxes the Salary

The employment article turns on where the work is done, who pays, and who bears the cost — three tests that can point in different directions. The file establishes all three before either return is drafted.

Read how this one runs
Case study 6

Ten Years of Missed Returns Filed as One Engagement

Filing many years at once is a sequencing problem: carry-forwards, instalments and credits from the earliest year feed the latest. Filing them out of order is what turns a recoverable position into an assessed one.

Read how this one runs
Case study 7

Deemed Resident or Factual Resident — Not the Same File

The two statuses attract different returns, different credits and different provincial treatment, and the label is decided by facts rather than chosen. Establishing which applies is the work; the filing follows from it without argument.

Read how this one runs
Case study 8

A Penalty Argued on the Facts Rather Than the Form

Reasonable cause is a documented story with dates, not an assertion of good intent. The engagement assembles what the client actually knew and when, and puts the sequence in writing alongside the filings it explains.

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

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

Performance income is taxed where earned — Regulation 105 in Canada, withholding agreements in the U.S. — with special treaty articles overriding the usual rules.

Performance income is taxed where the performance happens, and the deduction is usually taken at source on the gross fee before expenses. Recovering the difference is a filing exercise in the other country, and it only works if the tour, the residency and the withholding certificates were documented while the work was being done.

  • 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

Franchise owners — what you owe in each country — questions we are asked

What makes franchise owners different from an ordinary filing?

Franchise fees and royalties paid across a border are withheld at source under the royalty article, and the deductibility of the fee depends on transfer-pricing support where franchisor and franchisee are related. 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.

Do Canada and the United States share tax information?

Yes, through more than one channel. The treaty has an exchange-of-information article that supports both routine and on-request exchange. Separately, an intergovernmental agreement has Canadian financial institutions identify US-reportable accounts and report them to the CRA, which passes them to the IRS, with the reverse flow for Canadian residents. Most other country pairs use the Common Reporting Standard for the same purpose. See FATCA reporting.

How do I actually stop being taxed twice?

In this order. Fix your residence under each country's own rules, and if both claim you, apply the treaty tie-breaker. Identify where each type of income is sourced. Read the article that covers that income type, because it decides who taxes and at what maximum rate. Then claim the relief on the residence-country return, with proof of the foreign tax. Most of the tax people lose to double taxation is lost at the last step, not the first. See how double taxation is relieved.

Do you give a written opinion?

Where the position warrants one, yes — with the reasoning, the authority relied on, and what would change the answer. It is quoted as part of the scope rather than added afterwards.

Do you sign the return as preparer?

Where the filing requires a preparer identification, yes. The named reviewer appears on the advice either way, so you always know who stands behind the position.

A named reviewer on every filing

Ready to deal with franchise owners filing?

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.

  • Re-quoted, never silently invoiced
  • 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