What makes non-resident landlords different from an ordinary filing?
Rent paid to a non-resident owner is generally withheld at source on the gross rent, and the elective return that allows expenses has its own deadline separate from the ordinary filing date. 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 much does a non-resident landlord tax return cost?
It depends on the file, which is why we read it before quoting rather than after. One property, one agent and a complete set of statements is a different piece of work from several units, changed agents and years to reconstruct. What does not vary is the method: send what you already have, we set out in writing what the engagement covers and what it costs, and preparation starts once that is agreed and not before. You are not billed by the hour for the time it takes us to work out what we are dealing with.
What makes one rental file cost more than another?
Almost always the state of the records rather than the tax. A year with the agent's annual statement, the lender's interest summary and the repair invoices in one place is quick. The same year reconstructed from bank entries because two agents have come and gone is not. The other drivers are how many properties and owners are involved, whether more than one country's return is in scope, and whether there are earlier years to bring up to date. We will tell you which of these apply to you after reading the papers, and price them as separate parts so you can see where the work sits.
Do you charge separately for each property I own?
The fee follows the work rather than a count of doors. Several small units with separate agents can involve more bookkeeping than one larger property under a single managing agent, and it is the bookkeeping that takes the time. What we do is set out in writing what the engagement covers — which properties, which years, which countries — and what it costs, before any preparation begins. If a property surfaces later that was not in that scope, it is priced and agreed before it is touched, rather than appearing on the invoice at the end.
Will I be charged extra if the tax authority asks questions?
Answering correspondence is not the same work as preparing a return, and we do not pretend it is covered by the preparation fee. If a query arrives, we set out what answering it involves and what it costs, agree that in writing, and then do it. In practice the cost of answering is heavily influenced by how well the original filing was documented, which is part of why the schedules behind each figure are built properly the first time rather than assembled in a hurry when someone asks.
Do I have to pay before you know what my file involves?
No. The order is deliberate. You send the documents you already have, we read them, and the price comes back in writing before any preparation starts. That is the only honest way to fix a fee on this kind of work, because the cost sits in the state of the records rather than in the forms. If the papers show the job is smaller than you feared, the quote reflects that. If they show years that need reconstructing, you learn it at the start rather than halfway through.
Can you quote for catching up several unfiled years?
Yes, but not before seeing what survives from those years. The work in a catch-up is evidence rather than preparation: which years are involved, what the property earned in each, what was withheld, and how much of that can be supported from statements you hold or can still request. We go through that first, then put the whole catch-up in writing as one price, and tell you which documents you need to obtain yourself. Pricing it any earlier would be a guess, and a guess that moves later is not a fixed fee.
How does a non-resident file a tax return?
On the non-resident form for that country, reporting only the income that country may tax. In the US that is the 1040-NR; in Canada it is a T1 restricted to Canadian-source amounts, plus the elective returns under sections 216 and 217 where withholding on rent or pension income exceeded the real tax. The commonest error is filing the resident form by default and reporting worldwide income to a country with no right to it. See Form 1040-NR.
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.
