Competitively priced Franchise owners: your filing calendar

We prepare and file the cross-border returns franchise owners need — both countries handled together, on a fixed fee agreed in writing up front. Ask us about competitively priced franchise owners: your filing calendar: 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

Secure a fixed quote

First we read your documents, then you get the price in writing, and only then does the work begin.

24-hour helpline: +1 (416) 619-0068
  • 15+ years of cross-border experience
  • 24-hour helpline: +1 (416) 619-0068
  • Fixed fee agreed before work starts
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.

On this page: the rule that applies here, the questions we are asked first, two finished files with their numbers, how an engagement runs, and the fee it starts from.

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.

Read this first; the rest is procedure. Two people with identical incomes and identical passports can owe completely different amounts because one of them falls inside a provision the other does not. That is the whole reason this page exists as its own page rather than as a paragraph on a general one.

The team at work in the open-plan office

Transparent, fixed pricing for franchise owners your filing calendar

A franchise owner's filing calendar is priced on how many returns it actually contains: one operating company in one country is a short year, and units held under a holding company across two countries means separate corporate filings, royalty withholding returns and owner returns, each with its own deadline. The calendar is costed in writing before it starts.

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

Returns for people whose tax position did not stay in one country, including the years residence itself is in question.
See the fee schedule

Payroll & mobility setup

From $999

fixed, quoted before work starts

Registrations, withholding and the employer obligations that follow staff working across a border, set up once and correctly.
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

Non-resident & departure filings

From $349

fixed, quoted before work starts

The filings that follow a move: the departure year, the arrival year, and the income that keeps arriving from the country behind you.
See the fee schedule

Catch-up & voluntary disclosure

From $349

fixed, quoted before work starts

Missed years brought current under the disclosure programme that fits, with the penalty position worked out before anything is filed.
See the fee schedule

Estate & trust filing

From $799

fixed, quoted before work starts

Cross-border estates and trusts, from the reporting on the assets to the returns the beneficiaries then have to file.
See the fee schedule

All published fees on one page — each engagement priced as one number on one list, with nothing left as a range.

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 team-sport athletes.

The arithmetic, worked through

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$69,000 of income taxed in both countries. Assume the other country charged 25% on it and the home country would charge 31% on the same amount.

Credit relief on one stream of income
ItemAmount
Income taxed in both countriesC$69,000
Tax paid abroad (assumed 25%)C$17,250
Home tax on the same income (assumed 31%)C$21,390
Credit available (lesser of the two)C$17,250
Home tax still payableC$4,140

The credit absorbs C$17,250 and leaves C$4,140 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 interesting question is where your own figures fall relative to that, which is a computation rather than an opinion.

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

Put numbers against it and the shape of the answer is obvious.

Credit relief on one stream of income

Take C$80,000 of income taxed in both countries. Assume the other country charged 22% on it and the home country would charge 40% on the same amount.

Credit relief on one stream of income
ItemAmount
Income taxed in both countriesC$80,000
Tax paid abroad (assumed 22%)C$17,600
Home tax on the same income (assumed 40%)C$32,000
Credit available (lesser of the two)C$17,600
Home tax still payableC$14,400

The credit absorbs C$17,600 and leaves C$14,400 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.

Illustrative figures, not a client engagement: the amounts are chosen to make the mechanism legible, and the rates and thresholds are assumptions stated for the example only. We confirm every one of them against the issuing authority for your own tax year before anything is filed.

The four steps

  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
  • 18,000+ clients served across 4 global offices: India, the USA, Canada and the UAE.
  • Your existing accountant keeps the domestic file; we take the cross-border piece, with the boundary in writing.
  • Authorisation with each authority, so we see the assessments and slips directly rather than asking you for them.

Where to go from here

We would rather scope it properly than quote it quickly.

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

Where international tax accountant comes into this file

This is the page to read on international tax accountant. It takes franchise owners: your filing calendar in order — the test that decides who is affected, the returns and forms that follow from it, and a fee quoted in writing before anything starts.

How the engagement runs, phase by phase

  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 franchise owners your filing calendar 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

Customs valuation
The rules determining the value on which duty is assessed, related to but distinct from transfer-pricing rules on the same price.
Certificate of coverage
The document evidencing which social security system applies to a cross-border worker. Without it, both systems bill.
Tax protection
A policy under which the employee is reimbursed only if the assignment leaves them worse off, keeping any windfall.
Permanent establishment
The threshold at which a foreign enterprise's business profits become taxable locally. It can be created by a place or by a person.

The published fees closest to franchise owners your filing calendar

Where the fees below move most is on how far behind the calendar has slipped. Bringing one missed franchise year current is a contained piece of work; several years, with royalty payments already made and no withholding considered, means reopening each of them before the current year can be filed.

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: Returns for people whose tax position did not stay in one country, including the years residence itself is in question.

See this fee page

Why choose Legal Quotient for franchise owners your filing calendar

The fee is fixed before we start

Quoted from your documents and agreed in writing. The number you accept is the number you pay.

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.

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.

Cross-border is the whole practice

International and cross-border tax is all we do — not a sideline next to domestic work. The edge cases on this page are our ordinary Tuesday.

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

From first call to filed return

Step 1

Establishing the facts

A call to the 24-hour helpline to find out whether this is a filing or a project

Step 2

Agreeing the fee

A fixed fee for a written scope — re-quoted if the scope changes, never invoiced silently

Step 3

Drafting and review

Preparation against the evidence, with the positions documented as we go

Step 4

Filing and follow-up

Your approval, then the filing — in that order

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

From first document to filed return

  • 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

More of the same work, from other angles

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

Services these clients use most

Form T5013 — partnership information return T5013 partnership information return — the guide, the FAQ and the fixed fee.
Form NR4 Summary — the return filed with the slips The full guide to NR4 summary return, with the fee fixed before any work starts.
Repatriating profits to Canada Its own page: repatriating profits to Canada — mechanism, deadlines and published fees.
Form NR6 — undertaking to file a section 216 return Everything on NR6 undertaking to file section 216, at the same depth as this page.
Secondment agreements and reimbursement Secondment agreements and reimbursement — the guide, the FAQ and the fixed fee.
Pillar Two readiness assessment The full guide to pillar two, with the fee fixed before any work starts.
Stock options across borders Its own page: stock options across borders — mechanism, deadlines and published fees.
Safe harbour rules (India) Everything on safe harbour rules (India), at the same depth as this page.
Form 8865 — foreign partnership Form 8865 foreign partnership — the guide, the FAQ and the fixed fee.

Clients who arrive with this exact page

Tax for adult-platform creators Adult-platform creators tax — 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.
Tax for touring musicians Its own page: touring musicians tax — mechanism, deadlines and published fees.
Tax for djs & electronic artists Everything on djs & electronic artists tax, at the same depth as this page.
Tax for data scientists & ai engineers Data scientists & ai engineers tax — the guide, the FAQ and the fixed fee.
Tax for dentists The full guide to dentists tax, with the fee fixed before any work starts.
Tax for franchise owners Its own page: franchise owners tax — mechanism, deadlines and published fees.
Tax for defence contractors Everything on defence contractors tax, at the same depth as this page.
Food & beverage brands cross-border tax Food & beverage brands cross border tax — the guide, the FAQ and the fixed fee.

Countries and corridors this work reaches

Vietnam tax for expats — country guide Vietnam tax for expats — the guide, the FAQ and the fixed fee.
US–Mexico tax corridor The full guide to US Mexico tax, with the fee fixed before any work starts.
Algeria tax for expats — country guide Its own page: algeria tax for expats — mechanism, deadlines and published fees.
Trinidad & Tobago tax for expats — country guide Everything on Trinidad & tobago tax for expats, at the same depth as this page.
Poland tax for expats — country guide Poland tax for expats — the guide, the FAQ and the fixed fee.
US–Spain tax corridor The full guide to US Spain tax, with the fee fixed before any work starts.
Norway tax for expats — country guide Its own page: Norway 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.
Mexico tax for expats — country guide Mexico 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

Cross-border situations we are engaged for

Case study 1

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 2

The Two-Year Window After Returning to India

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

Read how this one runs
Case study 3

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 4

A US Filer Married to Someone Outside the System

Electing to treat a non-resident spouse as a US filer buys joint rates and brings that spouse's worldwide income and foreign accounts into the return. The election is easy to make and hard to revoke, so both positions are modelled first.

Read how this one runs
Case study 5

Moving Money Out of India and the Certificates It Needs

A remittance out of India needs its tax position certified before the bank will process it. The file establishes the character of the funds, produces the certification, and keeps the position consistent with the returns already filed.

Read how this one runs
Case study 6

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

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

Read how this one runs
Case study 7

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 8

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

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

  • 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

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.

  • Treaty access & PPT reviews
  • FAPI & surplus computations
  • Withholding-efficient routing
  • Governance & substance
Explore Funds & Holdcos

Franchise owners — your filing calendar — 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.

What happens if I have not filed for several years?

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

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.

Do I have to come to an office?

No, though you are welcome to: we have offices in India, the USA, Canada and the UAE. Documents move through a secure portal and meetings can be in person or by video, arranged around your time zone, which is how clients across Canada, the United States, the Gulf and India work with us.

How do you handle my documents?

Through an access-controlled portal rather than email attachments, with retention limits. Tax records are the most sensitive papers most people own and they are treated that way.

A named reviewer on every filing

Franchise owners filing, quoted before we start

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
  • Your existing accountant keeps the domestic file
  • A named reviewer signs off every filing

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