Competitively priced Software developers: what you owe in each country

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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 competitively priced software developers: what you owe in each country: 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
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  • 4Global offices — India, USA, Canada & UAE
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Secure a fixed quote

Begin with the papers you already have. The engagement is priced from them, in writing, before the work.

24-hour helpline: +1 (416) 619-0068
  • Fixed fee agreed before work starts
  • Google rating 5.0 out of 5
  • Offices in India, the USA, Canada and the UAE
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.

Start with the mechanism, not the form. 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 reviewing a file together at a desk

Fixed fees for software developers what you owe in each country, agreed up front

Working out what a software developer owes in each country is itself the priced work: residency dates, where the code was written, and the split of an option gain between grant and vesting decide how many returns arise. One country and one employer is narrow; two payrolls and a mid-year move is not.

Individual tax filing

From $349

fixed, quoted before work starts

Personal returns for individuals, expats and non-residents — foreign income, foreign property and treaty relief handled in one engagement.
See the fee schedule

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

Transfer pricing documentation

From $2,500

fixed, quoted before work starts

The transfer pricing file a group needs when goods, services or finance move between its own companies across a border.
See the fee schedule

Foreign asset & information reporting

From $349

fixed, quoted before work starts

The reporting obligations that attach to owning something abroad, worked out from your holdings rather than from the tax return alone.
See the fee schedule

Non-resident & departure filings

From $349

fixed, quoted before work starts

Non-resident filings and the two part-year returns a move produces, sequenced so neither country taxes the same income twice.
See the fee schedule

Payroll & mobility setup

From $999

fixed, quoted before work starts

The employer side of mobility — where to register, what to withhold, and what to report once someone works across a border.
See the fee schedule

Catch-up & voluntary disclosure

From $349

fixed, quoted before work starts

Bringing an unfiled history current: which years are still open, which programme applies, and what the exposure is before you commit.
See the fee schedule

Estate & trust filing

From $799

fixed, quoted before work starts

Estates and trusts with assets or beneficiaries in more than one country, with both sides prepared together.
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.

If any of that sounds familiar, it is because it is the standard experience of anyone in this position. The rules were not written to be read together, and nobody is given a map. See also Canadian working in the US — taxes on a tn, h-1b or l-1.

The numbers, end to end

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

Equity that vests after the move

A grant worth C$53,000 at vest, over a 36-month vesting period, 9 months of which were worked in the first country and 27 in the second.

ItemAmount
Value at vestC$53,000
Vesting period (months)36
Months worked in the first country9
Months worked in the second country27
Apportioned to the first countryC$13,250
Apportioned to the second countryC$39,750

Two countries tax slices of one gain: C$13,250 and C$39,750 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. 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.

A worked example

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

Credit relief on one stream of income

Take C$148,000 of income taxed in both countries. Assume the other country charged 29% on it and the home country would charge 29% on the same amount.

ItemAmount
Income taxed in both countriesC$148,000
Tax paid abroad (assumed 29%)C$42,920
Home tax on the same income (assumed 29%)C$42,920
Credit available (lesser of the two)C$42,920
Home tax still payableC$0

The credit fully absorbs the home liability on this income, so nothing further is payable at home — but the return still has to be filed and the credit still has to be claimed, by category and by country. 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.

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 an access-controlled portal rather than email.
  • Authorisation with each authority, so we see the assessments and slips directly rather than asking you for them.
  • Consultations scheduled to your working day rather than ours.

Where to go from here

The quote comes before the work, in writing.

Reviewed for the 2025 and 2026 filing seasons by Udit Gupta, Cross-Border Tax Expert, Legal Quotient Consultants. This is general information rather than advice about your file — a short call is the way to get the second.

International tax accountant — what this page covers

People reach this page searching for international tax accountant. It is covered here as it applies to software developers: what you owe in each country — who it applies to, what has to be filed, and what it costs, at a fixed fee agreed before the work starts.

The four phases of the work

  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.

What you are actually buying with software developers what you owe in each country

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

Secondary adjustment
A follow-on characterisation of the money that never moved after a transfer-pricing adjustment — often a deemed loan or dividend, with interest or withholding.
Zero-rated supply
A taxable supply charged at nil, which preserves input tax recovery — unlike an exempt supply, which does not.
Arrival valuation
Documentation of what property was worth on the day residence began, which sets the cost base and cannot be recreated years later.
Cost contribution arrangement
An arrangement in which participants share the cost and risk of developing something in exchange for a share of the benefit.

Software developers what you owe in each country — what the published fees look like

The fees below cover the filings that follow once that split is settled — the non-resident return, the credit claim at home, the account disclosure — and what changes each of them is the number of countries involved and whether a developer's employer withheld anything at all. Quoted in writing first.

Corporate cross-border filing

$999fixed, before work starts

Covers: Corporate returns with foreign income, related-party reporting and cross-border structures, for companies of any size.

See this fee page

Individual tax filing

$349fixed, before work starts

Covers: Personal returns for individuals, expats and non-residents — foreign income, foreign property and treaty relief handled in one engagement.

See this fee page

Transfer pricing documentation

$2,500fixed, before work starts

Covers: The transfer pricing file a group needs when goods, services or finance move between its own companies across a border.

See this fee page

What working with us on software developers what you owe in each country looks like

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.

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 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.

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.

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

How the engagement runs, phase by phase

Step 1

First conversation

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

Step 2

Written quote

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

Step 3

Preparation and sign-off

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

Step 4

Submission

Nothing is filed until you have read it

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

The rest of this practice

Browse sideways: the pages below answer the neighbouring questions.

The work we do for clients like this

Non-resident receiving a Canadian pension Everything on non-resident receiving Canadian pension, at the same depth as this page.
Canadian with an offshore account Canadian with an offshore account — the guide, the FAQ and the fixed fee.
IRS streamlined domestic offshore The full guide to IRS streamlined domestic offshore, with the fee fixed before any work starts.
Digital services & the marketplace rules Its own page: digital services & the marketplace rules — mechanism, deadlines and published fees.
Crypto tax in India for non-residents Everything on crypto tax in India for non-residents, at the same depth as this page.
Reporting a foreign trust (3520 / 3520-A) Reporting a foreign trust (3520 / 3520-a) — the guide, the FAQ and the fixed fee.
Local resident director services in India The full guide to resident director services India, with the fee fixed before any work starts.
Form 1120-F — foreign corporation return Its own page: form 1120-f foreign corporation return — mechanism, deadlines and published fees.
India ↔ Australia — DTAA Everything on India ↔ Australia — DTAA, at the same depth as this page.

Who we help

Physicians & surgeons — what we charge Everything on physicians & surgeons what we charge, at the same depth as this page.
Amazon FBA sellers — relief you're probably missing Amazon fba sellers relief you're probably missing — the guide, the FAQ and the fixed fee.
Tax for team-sport athletes The full guide to team-sport athletes tax, with the fee fixed before any work starts.
Importers & exporters cross-border tax Its own page: importers & exporters cross border tax — mechanism, deadlines and published fees.
Crypto traders — relief you're probably missing Everything on crypto traders relief you're probably missing, at the same depth as this page.
Advisors & referral partners cross-border tax Advisors & referral partners cross border tax — the guide, the FAQ and the fixed fee.
Software developers — what we charge The full guide to software developers what we charge, with the fee fixed before any work starts.
Tax for oil & gas rotational workers Its own page: oil & gas rotational workers tax — mechanism, deadlines and published fees.
Food & beverage brands cross-border tax Everything on food & beverage brands cross border tax, at the same depth as this page.

Countries and corridors this work reaches

Oman tax for expats — country guide Everything on Oman tax for expats, at the same depth as this page.
Sri Lanka tax for expats — country guide Sri Lanka tax for expats — the guide, the FAQ and the fixed fee.
US–Germany tax corridor The full guide to US Germany tax, with the fee fixed before any work starts.
India–Singapore tax corridor Its own page: India Singapore tax — mechanism, deadlines and published fees.
Australia tax for expats — country guide Everything on Australia tax for expats, at the same depth as this page.
Mauritius tax for expats — country guide Mauritius tax for expats — the guide, the FAQ and the fixed fee.
Ukraine tax for expats — country guide The full guide to Ukraine tax for expats, with the fee fixed before any work starts.
Latvia tax for expats — country guide Its own page: latvia tax for expats — mechanism, deadlines and published fees.
United Kingdom tax for expats — country guide Everything on United Kingdom tax for expats, 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

A Second Opinion on a Return Already Filed

A cross-border return prepared on one side only is usually right in isolation and wrong in combination. The review checks residence, source and relief in that order, and says plainly whether an amendment is worth making.

Read how this one runs
Case study 2

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 3

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 4

The Year of Leaving India

The departure year carries a transition status with its own treatment of foreign income, and the position for the following years follows from how it is set. Getting the first year right saves arguing about the rest.

Read how this one runs
Case study 5

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 6

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 7

Indian Rent Collected While Resident Somewhere Else

Rent from Indian property is taxed in India and again where you live, with relief on one side only. The file gets the Indian deduction right first, then claims the credit on the home return against what was actually paid.

Read how this one runs
Case study 8

A Canadian Employer With Staff in the United States

Employing someone in the US creates federal and state obligations that begin with registration, not with the first return. Which states are engaged is decided by where the work happens rather than where the company is.

Read how this one runs

All case studies — every published engagement in one place.

How and where the work is delivered

Each of these carries its own guide, pricing pointers and FAQ.

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

  • 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

Software developers — what you owe in each country — 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.

How does a remittance actually work, and is it taxed?

A remittance is a transfer of money, not a category of income, and moving your own funds between your own accounts is not what creates tax. What can create tax is the income behind the money and the rules of the country it leaves. India, for instance, collects tax at source when a resident individual remits abroad under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme, and requires certification before certain payments leave. The transfer is the trigger for paperwork rather than for tax. See the LRS and tax collected at source.

Do I have to file in both countries?

Frequently yes, and the two filings do different jobs. The country where the income arises taxes it at source; the country where you are resident taxes your worldwide income and then gives credit for the tax already paid. Filing only one side is what leaves relief unclaimed — the credit has to be asked for on a return. We prepare both sides so the numbers agree. See dual filing.

Do you charge for the first meeting?

No. The helpline is open 24 hours a day and the first call is free, and if the conclusion is that there is no work to do we tell you that on the call.

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.

Tax terms explained

Engagement letterNon-resident trustLocal fileHybrid entityEffectively connected incomeChapter 3 withholdingFixed place of businessHybrid surplusNotice of objectionTaxable Canadian propertyDomicileFBARJuridical double taxationCompetent authority Browse the full A–Z glossary

Related pages

More in this section

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Related work

Short-term business visitorsUS citizen living in IndiaNRI Indian return — do you need to declare foreign assets?RSUs across bordersTax for freelance designers & writersTax for team-sport athletes

Fee schedule

Streamlined catch-up — 3 years + 6 FBARs — fixed-fee priceReg 105 or 102 waiver application — fixed-fee priceSection 216 rental return — fixed-fee priceCross-border payroll setup — fixed-fee price
No hourly billing, ever

Let us take software developers filing off your desk

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.

Contact Us 24-hour helpline +1 (416) 619-0068 See fixed fees
  • Offices in India, the USA, Canada and the UAE
  • Fixed fees agreed before work starts
  • Re-quoted, never silently invoiced

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.

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