What makes team-sport athletes different from an ordinary filing?
Athletes have a dedicated treaty article that lets the country of performance tax income from appearing there, regardless of how short the visit — so a road schedule is a tax schedule. 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 it cost to file taxes in several countries as a player?
The fee follows the number of filings your schedule creates, not the size of your contract. We start from the fixture list and the pay statements: each country where you appeared and each payer that withheld is a separate piece of work, and we can see how many there are before we begin. Once they are counted, the fee for the whole package goes in writing and does not move unless you ask for something outside it. If a country turns out to have no filing requirement for the days you spent there, that piece comes out of the scope and out of the price. Call +1 (416) 619-0068 and we will talk the schedule through.
Do you charge per country or one fee for the whole season?
One fee for the season's filings, built up from the individual returns inside it. A player's tax year is made of separate obligations in separate countries, so we price each one and then agree the total in writing before work starts. That matters more in sport than in most work, because the treaty article for athletes lets the country of performance tax what you earned there however brief the visit. A short road trip can therefore add an entire return. Pricing the season rather than the invoice means a two-day fixture does not arrive months later as a surprise cost.
Will my fee change if the club trades me mid-season?
A transfer during the season usually adds work, and we would re-quote for the part that is genuinely new rather than reopening the whole engagement. A move changes which country treats you as resident, splits the salary across two employers and often introduces a fixture list in a different set of countries. The returns already scoped stay at the price agreed. The new country's filing, the split of the year and any relief claim that comes with it are quoted separately, in writing, before anything is prepared.
Is the quote fixed before you look at my game schedule?
No. We look first, then quote. The schedule is the thing that decides how much work there is, so pricing before reading it would be guesswork on our side and a moving number on yours. Send the fixture list, the contract, the bonus paperwork and whatever withholding statements you hold. We read them, establish which appearances create a filing obligation and which do not, and then put the fixed fee in writing. Nothing is prepared until you have agreed that figure.
What does a fee for a signing bonus review usually cover?
It covers establishing which country has the right to tax the bonus, and whether the country now taxing it is the one that should be. Bonuses cause trouble because they are frequently paid before a player moves and assessed after, so two countries can each see the payment as theirs. The work is reading the contract terms that say what the payment is for and when it was earned, matching that to the period and place of the work it relates to, and documenting the position taken. Where a country has already withheld on it, the reclaim or credit claim is scoped alongside and priced in the same written quote.
Do endorsement contracts cost extra to review alongside my playing income?
They are usually a separate line in the quote, because they are separate work. Playing income follows the days you appeared. Endorsement income follows what the contract actually pays you for, which may be image rights, personal appearances, filmed content or simple exclusivity, and each of those is allocated on a different basis. Players often arrive with endorsement income attributed to countries they barely visited because a payer applied the performance rule to all of it. Untangling that means reading the contract rather than the fixture list, so we scope and price it on its own and tell you what it involves before you decide.
Is double taxation illegal?
It is legal. Two countries can each have a valid claim on the same income — one because the income arose there, the other because you live there — and nothing prohibits both from exercising it. What exists instead is relief: tax treaties allocate the claim, and domestic law gives a credit for foreign tax paid. The relief is not automatic, though. It is claimed on a return, and unclaimed relief is simply lost. See how double taxation is relieved.
How many days can I spend in a country before I become tax resident?
It depends on the country, and a day count is only ever the start. Many use a threshold in a tax year, some also look at averages across several years, and some have no day test at all and decide on where your home and life are. Two countries can both conclude you are resident, which is what the treaty tie-breaker exists to settle. Counting days without checking the tie-breaker is how people end up filing as resident nowhere. See the residency tie-breaker.
