Low-cost Software developers: relief you're probably missing

Cross-border tax filing for software developers, planned and filed from one desk, at a fixed fee agreed in writing before any work starts. Ask us about low-cost software developers: relief you're probably missing: 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

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
  • 18,000+ clients served
  • Google rating 5.0 out of 5
  • 15+ years of cross-border experience
In short

A developer working remotely for a foreign employer can create a taxable presence for that employer in the country where the code is written — which turns a personal arrangement into the employer's problem.

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

A developer working remotely for a foreign employer can create a taxable presence for that employer in the country where the code is written — which turns a personal arrangement into the employer's problem.

Read this first; the rest is procedure. 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 team reviewing a file together at a desk

Software developers relief you're probably missing — priced before we start

On relief a software developer is probably missing, the fee follows how far back the claim reaches: reopening a single year to credit foreign tax withheld is narrow work, while several years of unclaimed credits and an option grant taxed twice means each year is recomputed separately before anything is filed. Priced in writing beforehand.

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

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

Foreign asset & information reporting

From $349

fixed, quoted before work starts

The information returns that carry the heaviest penalties — foreign accounts, foreign property, foreign affiliates — prepared from one asset list.
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

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

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

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 — the complete list of what each engagement costs, stated as figures rather than ranges.

Three things we hear on the first call

  • My employer has no entity where I live and does not want one.
  • I am paid in a foreign currency into a foreign account and report neither properly.
  • My share options were granted in one country and vested after I moved.

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 US payroll for a Canadian company.

A worked example

This is what the rule produces when you put figures through it.

Equity that vests after the move

A grant worth C$179,000 at vest, over a 38-month vesting period, 10 months of which were worked in the first country and 28 in the second.

Equity that vests after the move
ItemAmount
Value at vestC$179,000
Vesting period (months)38
Months worked in the first country10
Months worked in the second country28
Apportioned to the first countryC$47,105
Apportioned to the second countryC$131,895

Two countries tax slices of one gain: C$47,105 and C$131,895 on this apportionment. Where their taxing points differ — grant, vest, exercise or sale — the credit can arrive in a year the other country is no longer taxing, which is the mismatch to plan around. 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.

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

The same point, with figures rather than adjectives.

Credit relief on one stream of income

Take C$143,000 of income taxed in both countries. Assume the other country charged 32% on it and the home country would charge 35% on the same amount.

Credit relief on one stream of income
ItemAmount
Income taxed in both countriesC$143,000
Tax paid abroad (assumed 32%)C$45,760
Home tax on the same income (assumed 35%)C$50,050
Credit available (lesser of the two)C$45,760
Home tax still payableC$4,290

The credit absorbs C$45,760 and leaves C$4,290 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.

Example figures throughout, selected to make the rule visible, with rates and thresholds assumed for the demonstration. Your actual filing uses figures confirmed with the issuing authority for your tax year.

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
  • Rated 5.0 out of 5 stars on Google, on a profile open for you to read.
  • A named reviewer signs off every statutory filing.
  • Your existing accountant keeps the domestic file; we take the cross-border piece, with the boundary in writing.

What to do next

We would rather scope it properly than quote it quickly.

Checked and signed off 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.

International tax accountant — what this page covers

The subject here is software developers: relief you're probably missing, which is what people mean when they search for international tax accountant. This page covers who it applies to, the filings it produces, and the fixed fee agreed before work begins.

From first contact to filed return

  1. Start with a conversation about the facts

    Dates, residence, where the income arose. Fifteen minutes is usually enough to know what applies.

  2. Scope and price, both written down

    You get the scope and the fixed fee together, so there is no question later about what was included.

  3. Prepared by one team, reviewed by a named practitioner

    The same people see both sides of the file, and the reviewer signs their name to it.

  4. Filed, then followed through

    Submission is not the end of the engagement — the queries that arrive afterwards are part of it.

The difference a dedicated cross-border team makes

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

Treaty override
Domestic legislation that displaces a treaty provision. Where it exists, the treaty text alone does not settle the position.
Subsidiary
A separate company in the foreign country, which ring-fences liability and creates withholding, transfer pricing and a second set of accounts.
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.
FBAR
The report of foreign bank and financial accounts filed with the US financial-crimes bureau. It is tested on the aggregate of all foreign accounts at their highest point in the year.

Software developers relief you're probably missing — what the published fees look like

The published fees below sit beside that review. What moves them is whether the relief can be claimed on a return still open to amendment or has to be argued under a treaty article with the other country's authority, and how many statements a developer can still obtain from a former foreign employer.

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

Transfer pricing documentation

$2,500fixed, before work starts

Covers: Intercompany pricing documented before it is questioned — the functional analysis, the benchmarking and the files that support it.

See this fee page

What working with us on software developers relief you're probably missing looks like

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.

One team, not two firms billing separately

You are not the go-between for two sets of advisers with two sets of assumptions. One engagement covers each country the file touches.

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.

You deal with the person who did the work

The practitioner who prepared and reviewed your file is the one who answers the question about it.

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

Software developers relief you're probably missing — the four phases

Step 1

Initial call

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

Step 2

Scope and fee

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

Step 3

Preparation and review

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

Step 4

Filing and payment

Nothing is filed until you have read it

Two of the firm’s advisers and the team in the open-plan office

From first document to filed return

  • Step 1: Send what you already have – Slips, statements, prior returns — in any order. We list what is still needed after reading them.
  • Step 2: A fee agreed in writing – Quoted from those documents, before the work starts, and it does not move once you accept it.
  • Step 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.
  • Step 4: You approve before it is filed – The finished return comes to you first. Nothing is submitted on your behalf unseen.

Quoted up front, in writing.

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

More of the same work, from other angles

Browse sideways: the pages below answer the neighbouring questions.

Core services for this situation

Schedule TR — tax relief claimed (India) Its own page: schedule tr India — mechanism, deadlines and published fees.
Intercompany agreements Everything on intercompany agreements, at the same depth as this page.
Form RC268 — US plan contributions (cross-border) Rc268 US plan contributions cross-border — the guide, the FAQ and the fixed fee.
Cross-border charity and donation relief The full guide to cross-border charity and donation relief, with the fee fixed before any work starts.
EPF, PPF and gratuity when you leave India Its own page: epf, ppf and gratuity when you leave India — mechanism, deadlines and published fees.
Post-mortem planning & pipeline Everything on post-mortem planning & pipeline, at the same depth as this page.
Form T1243 — deemed disposition T1243 deemed disposition — the guide, the FAQ and the fixed fee.
Form 1065 — partnership return with foreign partners The full guide to form 1065 partnership return foreign, with the fee fixed before any work starts.
Capital gains on Indian shares and mutual funds for NRIs Its own page: capital gains on Indian shares and mutual funds for NRIs — mechanism, deadlines and published fees.

Clients who arrive with this exact page

Tax for seafarers & mariners Its own page: seafarers & mariners tax — mechanism, deadlines and published fees.
Seafarers & mariners — what you owe in each country Everything on seafarers & mariners what you owe in each country, at the same depth as this page.
App & game studios cross-border tax App & game studios cross border tax — the guide, the FAQ and the fixed fee.
Nurses working abroad — what we charge The full guide to nurses working abroad what we charge, with the fee fixed before any work starts.
Professional services firms cross-border tax Its own page: professional services firms cross border tax — mechanism, deadlines and published fees.
Tax for architects Everything on architects tax, at the same depth as this page.
Seafarers & mariners — what we charge Seafarers & mariners what we charge — the guide, the FAQ and the fixed fee.
Civil & structural engineers — what you owe in each country The full guide to civil & structural engineers what you owe in each country, with the fee fixed before any work starts.
Franchise owners — your filing calendar Its own page: franchise owners your filing calendar — mechanism, deadlines and published fees.

Where our clients live and work

Colombia tax for expats — country guide Its own page: Colombia tax for expats — mechanism, deadlines and published fees.
Finland tax for expats — country guide Everything on Finland tax for expats, at the same depth as this page.
Canada–India tax corridor Canada India tax — the guide, the FAQ and the fixed fee.
Ghana tax for expats — country guide The full guide to Ghana tax for expats, with the fee fixed before any work starts.
US–Mexico tax corridor Its own page: US Mexico tax — mechanism, deadlines and published fees.
US–Spain tax corridor Everything on US Spain tax, at the same depth as this page.
Canada–UAE tax corridor Canada UAE tax — the guide, the FAQ and the fixed fee.
Luxembourg tax for expats — country guide The full guide to Luxembourg tax for expats, with the fee fixed before any work starts.
Hong Kong tax for expats — country guide Its own page: Hong Kong tax for expats — mechanism, deadlines and published fees.

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

Files that look like this one

Case study 1

The Same Income Taxed Twice on Paper

Relief usually exists and is lost to sequence: one country taxes at source and the other credits it, and preparing them in the wrong order claims a credit against a figure nobody has computed.

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

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 4

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
Case study 5

A Retirement Plan That Grows Tax-Deferred in Only One Country

Cross-border retirement accounts are recognised by treaty, but the deferral usually has to be elected rather than assumed. The engagement checks whether the election was made, makes it where it was missed, and reports the account on whichever side requires it.

Read how this one runs
Case study 6

A US Citizen Settled in India, Filing on Both Sides

Residence in India and citizenship in the United States produce two annual returns for one income. The order decides the credit, and the Indian financial year and the US calendar year have to be reconciled before either is prepared.

Read how this one runs
Case study 7

A Residency Determination Review After Leaving the Country

Residence is decided on ties, not on a form, and the review asks for evidence of every one of them. The file assembles the ties that were severed and the ones that remained, and answers the questionnaire against the treaty rather than around it.

Read how this one runs
Case study 8

An Assignee Paid at Home and Taxable Away

Where pay stays on the home payroll but the tax arises elsewhere, a shadow run reports the second country's liability without duplicating the payment. Setting it up correctly is what keeps both sides reconcilable.

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

Working from anywhere doesn't mean taxed nowhere: residency defaults, employer payroll exposure and treaty relief decide where income actually lands.

Working from another country does not by itself end tax residence in the one you left, and it can start one where you are sitting. Day counts, ties, the employer's own exposure and the treaty tie-breaker all point at the same question, and the year you move is the year it has to be answered on paper.

  • 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

Software developers — relief you're probably missing — questions we are asked

What makes software developers different from an ordinary filing?

A developer working remotely for a foreign employer can create a taxable presence for that employer in the country where the code is written — which turns a personal arrangement into the employer's problem. 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 American citizens living abroad have to pay taxes?

American expats and green card holders need to file US returns for life, and many of them pay little or no US tax once the relief is applied — but the filing is what unlocks the relief, so the two questions have different answers. The exclusion for foreign earned income, the credit for foreign tax already paid and the treaty between the two countries between them usually leave the total at roughly the higher of the two countries' tax rather than the sum. Skip the return and none of it applies. See Americans abroad.

What is a permanent establishment, and how easily do we create one?

A taxable presence in another country under the treaty — typically a fixed place of business such as an office, branch, factory or workshop, or a dependent agent habitually concluding contracts on your behalf. Some treaties add a services test measured in days. Purely preparatory or auxiliary activity is excluded, but that carve-out is narrower than it sounds: one senior employee working from home in the other country, with authority, has been enough. See business profits and permanent establishment.

Can you work alongside my existing accountant?

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

Can you handle a fourth country?

We coordinate with a local adviser there and keep ownership of the interaction between the systems, which is where the value and the risk both sit.

A named reviewer on every filing

Software developers 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.

  • 24-hour helpline, +1 (416) 619-0068
  • Rated 5.0 out of 5 stars on Google
  • 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