Affordable Cross-border tax for professional services firms

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Cross-border tax advice and filing for professional services firms: your position assessed, the returns prepared, the fee fixed in writing before we start. Ask us about affordable cross-border tax for professional services firms: call the 24-hour helpline on +1 (416) 619-0068, or request a written fixed quote today.

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

Whatever documents you hold are enough to begin: we read them and put a fixed price in writing first.

24-hour helpline: +1 (416) 619-0068
  • Offices in India, the USA, Canada and the UAE
  • 24-hour helpline: +1 (416) 619-0068
  • Fixed fee agreed before work starts
In short

Partnership income is allocated by rules that ignore where a partner happens to live, so an internationally mobile partner group creates allocation and credit questions the firm has to solve centrally.

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

Partnership income is allocated by rules that ignore where a partner happens to live, so an internationally mobile partner group creates allocation and credit questions the firm has to solve centrally.

Here is the part that decides your answer. The general rules are the same for everyone; the provision that changes the answer is not. That is why a general adviser applies the default and stops, and why the relief written for this group goes unclaimed year after year.

The team at work in the open-plan office

Professional services firms cross border tax — priced before we start

For a professional services firm the fee is driven by the partner group: how many countries the partners are resident in, and whether an allocation performed in only one of them has to be rebuilt so foreign tax credits can be claimed properly. Secondments between offices add payroll registrations to the same engagement.

Corporate cross-border filing

From $999

fixed, quoted before work starts

Corporate returns with foreign income, related-party reporting and cross-border structures, for companies of any size.
See the fee schedule

Payroll & mobility setup

From $999

fixed, 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

Individual tax filing

From $349

fixed, quoted before work starts

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 the fee schedule

Transfer pricing documentation

From $2,500

fixed, quoted before work starts

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

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

Catch-up & voluntary disclosure

From $349

fixed, quoted before work starts

For a filing history that stopped — the penalty position assessed first, then the years filed in the order that protects it.
See the fee schedule

Estate & trust filing

From $799

fixed, quoted before work starts

Trust and estate filings that reach across a border, including the reporting a foreign beneficiary or a foreign asset creates.
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

  • Our partners live in three countries and the allocation is done in one.
  • Secondments between our offices create payroll problems every year.
  • Client work performed abroad may have created presences we never registered.

That list is the reason this desk exists. Individually each question has an answer; together they need someone who holds both systems at once. See also paying interest on a shareholder loan abroad.

Worked through with figures

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$115,000 for a year with 238 working days, 134 of them performed in the other country. Employment income is generally sourced to where the work was physically done.

ItemAmount
Annual salaryC$115,000
Working days in the year238
Days worked in the other country134
Days worked at home104
Income sourced to the other countryC$64,748
Income sourced at homeC$50,252

C$64,748 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. We run this on your actual numbers before advising anything, because the conclusion can invert with a modest change in inputs.

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.

What this looks like with numbers

Worked through with figures, the mechanism looks like this.

Credit relief on one stream of income

Take C$60,000 of income taxed in both countries. Assume the other country charged 20% on it and the home country would charge 40% on the same amount.

ItemAmount
Income taxed in both countriesC$60,000
Tax paid abroad (assumed 20%)C$12,000
Home tax on the same income (assumed 40%)C$24,000
Credit available (lesser of the two)C$12,000
Home tax still payableC$12,000

The credit absorbs C$12,000 and leaves C$12,000 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.

From first call to filed

  1. 1A short call to work out what actually applies to you and what does not
  2. 2A written quote against a defined scope, with nothing billed by the hour
  3. 3We prepare, a named reviewer checks it, and you see it before it goes
  4. 4You approve, we file, and only then do you pay
  • Your existing accountant keeps the domestic file; we take the cross-border piece, with the boundary in writing.
  • Documents move through an access-controlled portal rather than email.
  • Consultations scheduled to your working day rather than ours.

Your next step

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

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.

Cross border tax issues — what this page covers

Read this page for cross border tax issues. It works through cross-border tax for professional services firms 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.

The four phases of the work

  1. Share your documents

    A secure upload link arrives after the first call — send files in any state.

  2. A written fixed fee

    The quote is fixed from what you send; it does not move once accepted.

  3. Preparation, both sides at once

    The returns are drafted together, reconciled line against line.

  4. Approve, then file

    Nothing is filed until you have seen it and approved it.

What you are actually buying with professional services firms cross border tax

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

Four terms worth pinning down

Limitation on benefits
A treaty eligibility test written to deny benefits to conduit entities, applied through ownership, listing, active-business and base-erosion conditions.
Section 247 penalty
Canada's transfer-pricing penalty, which contemporaneous documentation is designed to prevent. It sits on top of the adjustment, not instead of it.
Section 116 clearance
The certificate the CRA issues on a non-resident's disposition of taxable Canadian property, without which the purchaser holds back part of the price.
GST/HST
Canada's federal and harmonised sales taxes. Registration for a non-resident turns on carrying on business in Canada and on the nature of the supply.

Professional services firms cross border tax — what the published fees look like

Establishing whether client work performed abroad created a presence nobody registered is priced separately, because it means reading engagement records territory by territory; where it did, registration and late returns follow. The written quote covers both parts before anything is submitted on behalf of the firm.

Payroll & mobility setup

$999fixed, before work starts

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

See this fee page

Corporate cross-border filing

$999fixed, before work starts

Covers: Returns for companies with foreign subsidiaries, foreign income or foreign shareholders, and the schedules each of those triggers.

See this fee page

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

The difference a dedicated cross-border team makes

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.

Filed with the authority, not just prepared

The engagement runs to submission and to the correspondence that follows it, including the queries that arrive months later.

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.

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 firm’s founder at his desk in the Delhi office

Professional services firms cross border tax — the four phases

Step 1

First conversation

We establish what happened and when, because every position here is anchored to a date

Step 2

Written quote

A written scope and a fixed price, so you know the cost before committing

Step 3

Preparation and sign-off

The filings are prepared, cross-checked against each other, and reviewed by name

Step 4

Submission

You see the result, approve it, and we file it

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

From first document to filed return

  • Step 1: Send the documents as they are – No tidying required — forward what you have and we tell you what is missing.
  • Step 2: Get a fixed quote in writing – Priced from your actual documents before any work begins, not estimated after.
  • Step 3: Both countries prepared together – One team builds the filings against each other so the relief lands exactly once.
  • Step 4: Review, then file – You approve the finished work before we file 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.

Services these clients use most

Intercompany loan pricing Everything on intercompany loan pricing, at the same depth as this page.
Form ITR-6 — companies (India) ITR-6 India — the guide, the FAQ and the fixed fee.
Expatriation tax (US s.877A) The full guide to expatriation tax (US s.877a), with the fee fixed before any work starts.
Why a Canadian should rarely own an LLC Its own page: why Canadian should not own LLC — mechanism, deadlines and published fees.
Form T2062B — life insurance disposition Everything on t2062b life insurance disposition, at the same depth as this page.
Remote work policy — tax exposure Remote work policy — tax exposure — the guide, the FAQ and the fixed fee.
Filing an Indian return from Canada or the US The full guide to filing an Indian return from Canada or the US, with the fee fixed before any work starts.
State residency & domicile forms Its own page: US state residency domicile forms — mechanism, deadlines and published fees.
Section 195 — TDS under a DTAA on Indian payments Everything on TDS under DTAA with UK, at the same depth as this page.

Who we help

Manufacturers cross-border tax Everything on manufacturers cross border tax, at the same depth as this page.
Tax for seasonal agricultural workers Seasonal agricultural workers tax — the guide, the FAQ and the fixed fee.
Physicians & surgeons — your filing calendar The full guide to physicians & surgeons your filing calendar, with the fee fixed before any work starts.
Tax for teachers abroad Its own page: teachers abroad tax — mechanism, deadlines and published fees.
Tax for corporate & charter pilots Everything on corporate & charter pilots tax, at the same depth as this page.
Tax for offshore vessel crew Offshore vessel crew tax — the guide, the FAQ and the fixed fee.
Tax for airline pilots The full guide to airline pilots tax, with the fee fixed before any work starts.
Tax for professors & lecturers Its own page: professors & lecturers tax — mechanism, deadlines and published fees.
Tax for postdocs & researchers Everything on postdocs & researchers tax, at the same depth as this page.

Where our clients live and work

Barbados tax for expats — country guide Everything on Barbados tax for expats, at the same depth as this page.
Canada–Germany tax corridor Canada Germany tax — the guide, the FAQ and the fixed fee.
Chile tax for expats — country guide The full guide to Chile tax for expats, with the fee fixed before any work starts.
Hungary tax for expats — country guide Its own page: hungary tax for expats — mechanism, deadlines and published fees.
Argentina tax for expats — country guide Everything on Argentina tax for expats, at the same depth as this page.
Zimbabwe tax for expats — country guide Zimbabwe tax for expats — the guide, the FAQ and the fixed fee.
Panama tax for expats — country guide The full guide to panama tax for expats, with the fee fixed before any work starts.
Ecuador tax for expats — country guide Its own page: ecuador tax for expats — mechanism, deadlines and published fees.
US–Australia tax corridor Everything on US Australia tax, at the same depth as this page.

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 tax case studies

Case study 1

Fifteen Per Cent Held Back From a Fee for Services in Canada

A payer must withhold from fees paid to a non-resident for services rendered in Canada, whether or not any tax is ultimately owed. A waiver applied for before the work is invoiced avoids the withholding; after it, the money comes back through a return.

Read how this one runs
Case study 2

Three Countries in One File and Two Treaties That Disagree

Income sourced in one country, paid to a resident of a second, held through an entity in a third: three bilateral treaties, no three-way rule. The analysis works out which pair governs each flow, and whether the middle entity is entitled to anything at all.

Read how this one runs
Case study 3

Expanding Abroad — Branch or Subsidiary, Decided on the Numbers

The choice sets the tax on profits, the treatment of early losses, and what it costs to take money home later. The file models all three across the first years rather than deciding on the incorporation cost alone.

Read how this one runs
Case study 4

An Indian Company Paying a Foreign Supplier

Payments abroad carry deduction at source and a certification filed before the money moves. Whether the treaty reduces the rate depends on what is being bought, and the classification is the decision the whole filing rests on.

Read how this one runs
Case study 5

A Company That Needed a Resident on Its Board

Several jurisdictions require a locally resident director before a company can be registered or keep its filings current. The requirement is structural and is settled at incorporation rather than discovered at the first annual return.

Read how this one runs
Case study 6

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 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

Withholding Reduced by the Right Article

Dividends, interest and royalties each have their own article and their own rate, and the payer applies whichever it is satisfied of. Establishing entitlement before payment is what secures the lower rate at source.

Read how this one runs

All case studies — every published engagement in one place.

How and where the work is delivered

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

Where the work is delivered

More coverage detail

Core International & Cross-Border Tax Services

International Tax Planning & Advisory

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

Treaty residency & tie-breaker
FATCA reporting (Form 8938)
Foreign tax credit (Form 1116)
Multi-country filing calendar
Real estate holding structures
International tax planning
Pre-immigration tax planning
Family office structures
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

Form 1040 from abroad
US state non-resident returns
FBAR (FinCEN 114) filing
Form 5472 — foreign-owned US corp
FIRPTA withholding (Form 8288)
US estate tax exposure
IRS streamlined foreign offshore
PFIC reporting (Form 8621)
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

Departure tax leaving Canada
T1161 properties on emigration
Residency planning
Step-up in cost base on arrival
Split-year residency
Employment income under a treaty
Social security totalization
Returning to Canada after years abroad
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

Section 216 rental return
NR4 & NR6 withholding
Section 217 pension return
Section 116 clearance certificate
Regulation 105 waiver
Non-resident employment income
Taxable Canadian property
Part XIII withholding review
Default withholding is 25% of gross: elective returns routinely turn over-withheld rent and pensions into refunds.

Transfer Pricing & BEPS

s.247 contemporaneous documentation
Functional & risk analysis
Benchmarking study
Intercompany agreements
Country-by-country report
BEPS & Pillar Two
Permanent establishment risk
TP audit defence file
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

Cross-border wills
US estate tax for non-resident aliens
Terminal return & clearance certificate
Non-resident trusts (s.94)
T1141 & T1142 trust reporting
Inheriting property abroad
Graduated rate estates
Post-mortem planning & pipeline
Wills drafted for one country routinely misfire in the other — deemed disposition here, estate tax there, credits in between.

Cross-Border Corporate Tax

Entity selection across borders
Business profits & PE
Intercompany loans & thin cap
Paying dividends to a foreign parent
Global mobility & day tracking
Debt vs equity funding
Branch or subsidiary
Cross-border M&A due diligence
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

NRI residency day tests
NRE, NRO & FCNR accounts
TDS on property (s.195)
Lower or nil TDS certificate
Repatriating sale proceeds
Capital gains on Indian shares
India–Canada DTAA
ITR-2 for NRIs
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

T1135 foreign property
T1134 foreign affiliates
Departure tax
Newcomer's first return
Returning to Canada
Split-year residency
US citizens in Canada
Canada–US corridor
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

Expat tax in the UAE
Moving to the UAE
Moving back from the UAE
UAE property purchases
Retiring in the UAE
Canada–UAE corridor
India–UAE DTAA
US–UAE corridor
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

Related-party purchasing, customs value versus transfer price, and foreign-affiliate structures put trading businesses inside the s.247 documentation rules.

Goods crossing a border move the tax question from income to indirect: registration thresholds, place of supply, the customs value and the transfer price between related entities all have to agree with each other. When they do not, the adjustment arrives from two authorities at once and each one uses the other's number.

  • 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

Professional services firms cross-border tax — questions we are asked

What makes professional services firms different from an ordinary filing?

Partnership income is allocated by rules that ignore where a partner happens to live, so an internationally mobile partner group creates allocation and credit questions the firm has to solve centrally. 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 counts as foreign income, and what is a foreign tax?

Foreign income is income sourced outside the country you are filing in — where the work was done, where the property sits, where the payer is resident, depending on the type. A foreign tax, for credit purposes, is a levy imposed by another country that functions as an income tax and that you were legally required to pay. Consumption taxes, property taxes and most social contributions are not, however real the cost. Sourcing is decided by rule, not by which bank received it. See the foreign tax credit.

What is a totalization agreement and how do I use one?

A social security agreement that stops you contributing to two systems for the same work, and lets periods in both count towards benefit eligibility in either. Which system you stay in depends on the agreement's rules for your situation — a seconded employee usually remains in the home system for a set period, a locally hired one usually joins the host system. You evidence it with a certificate of coverage obtained before or shortly after the assignment starts. See certificates of coverage.

Do you publish your fee schedule?

Yes — the pricing pages carry the published fees and what moves them. The exact number for your scope is confirmed in writing after the first call.

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.

Tax terms explained

Chapter 3 withholdingEmigrantCountry-by-country reportResident alienInput tax creditTax equalisationSojourner ruleStatute-barred yearNon-resident alienSpecified foreign financial assetBenchmarking studyTDST1135Effective tax rate Browse the full A–Z glossary

Related pages

More in this section

All sectorsImporters & exporters cross-border taxAI & deep-tech startups cross-border taxDev & design agencies cross-border taxDropshipping businesses cross-border taxAgriculture & agri-tech cross-border taxAmazon FBA sellers cross-border tax

Where this leads next

Advance pricing arrangement — CanadaDigital services & the marketplace rulesExpatriation tax (US s.877A)Giving up a green cardDrop-shipping tax exposureExit strategy for founders

Questions on this

How is a professional services firms business taxed across borders?
Fixed fee agreed before we start

Ready to deal with professional services firms filing?

Tell us the situation and we quote in writing before any work starts. You approve the result before it is filed.

Contact Us 24-hour helpline +1 (416) 619-0068 See fixed fees
  • A named reviewer signs off every filing
  • Fixed fees agreed before work starts
  • 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.

Request a Quote +1 (416) 619-0068