Yes, we can. But see our answer to the next question.

U.S. resident taxpayers are usually more efficiently served by a local accountant because that person is aware of the state and local tax laws in the state of residence. However, certain U.S. resident taxpayers who receive foreign income or who maintain foreign ties while resident in the United States may be better served by Unbordered than by a local accountant who has no international tax expertise.

Yes, we can. We are quite willing to work co-operatively with other U.S. and Canadian accountants in providing service to our mutual clients.

Yes, we can. We can interact with you electronically or by courier/mail. We create a web portal for each new client through which we can exchange documents in a secure environment. We also have DocuSign built into the portal so that signature documents can be signed electronically.

When we send you a web link to book a meeting with one of our staff, you will be given three options for how you can meet with us:

• If you live in Nova Scotia, you can visit our office in Halifax to meet with us in person
• You can book a video meeting (which takes place in Microsoft Teams)
• You can book a phone call

You can send your records to us in the following ways:

• You can send electronic records via your client portal (this will be set up for you when you become a client)
• You can deliver paper records to our office, in person or by mail

We can distribute your copies of our work products as either a PDF, a paper package or both.

We take the protection of your personal information very seriously. In choosing our software providers, we only deal with world-class companies with strong data protection, such as Microsoft, Dropbox and Wolters Kluwer.

We do not send sensitive client information using email. If we have something to send you that contains a sensitive piece of information (like a social insurance number, social security number or a bank account number), we will upload it to your client portal.

That depends on the time of year. For returning clients, we schedule each client’s tax compliance between the months of January and October. In scheduling, we ensure that all deadlines are met (using extensions, if necessary, in the case of U.S. filings) and try to minimize interest and late payment penalties where we can anticipate an amount owing. For new clients, we schedule the work based on our capacity (given obligations to existing clients).

Yes, we can – if your return is eligible for e-file. Certain U.S. states have restrictions on e-filing in situations which are commonly encountered by our clients (for example, where the address on the return is a foreign address).

We expect our senior staff to have one of three qualifications:

• To be a Canadian CPA
• To be a U.S. CPA
• To have completed a U.S. Master of Tax degree

In addition, each of our senior staff members are U.S. enrolled agents to give us the right to represent clients before the IRS and state tax authorities.

The IRS defines an enrolled agent as follows: “An enrolled agent is a person who has earned the privilege of representing taxpayers before the Internal Revenue Service by either passing a three-part comprehensive IRS test covering individual and business tax returns, or through experience as a former IRS employee. Enrolled agent status is the highest credential the IRS awards. Individuals who obtain this elite status must adhere to ethical standards and complete 72 hours of continuing education courses every three years.

Enrolled agents, like attorneys and certified public accountants (CPAs), have unlimited practice rights. This means they are unrestricted as to which taxpayers they can represent, what types of tax matters they can handle, and which IRS offices they can represent clients before.”

At present, the hourly rates for our staff range from $60-$100 per hour for technicians and administrative staff to $200-$300 per hour for senior staff.

Every return is different, but here is a general summary: the range for simple U.S. returns is $500-$750; the range for moderately complex returns is $750-$1,250; complex returns start at $1,250 (all prices are in Canadian dollars). There is no upper limit for complex returns, but we have very few that routinely exceed $2,000 for a single tax return. In fact, we routinely provide our clients with advice on how to simplify their lives in order to reduce the cost of their U.S. filing.

In general, because we only take Canadian tax clients with significant cross-border tax complications, our average price for a Canadian return would be higher than our price for a U.S. return. If we accept you as a Canadian tax client, it means that you need a higher level of specialization, and you can expect to pay for it. If you need a less specialized (and cheaper) firm, we’ll send you to one.

If you move from the U.S. to Canada or from Canada to the U.S., you will typically need to do a Canadian return, a U.S. federal return and a U.S. state return. There may be a second Canadian return where you are moving with a spouse (Canada doesn’t have joint filings for couples). In cases like this, the price for a package (1-2 Canadian returns, a U.S. federal and a U.S. state filing) averages between $2,000 and $4,500 CAD.

Some of the things which make a U.S. return more costly are the following:

• whether the return is for one individual or two (U.S. taxpayers can file joint returns with a spouse)
• whether the return involves income from more than one country
• the need to file certain foreign asset disclosure forms (FinCEN Form 114, IRS Forms 8938, 5471, and 3520 are the common ones)
• the number of foreign (non-U.S.) financial accounts that need to be reported on FinCEN Form 114 and IRS Form 8938
• the number of investment accounts and the type of investments in each (Google “PFIC” to learn about one particularly problematic type of investment)
• the number of “investment transactions” occurring during the year (investment transactions are purchases and sales of stock and the receipt of investment income)

We are required to charge Canada’s Goods and Services Tax (or Harmonized Sales Tax) to residents of Canada. If you are a non-resident of Canada, you will not be charged the GST/HST. If you are a resident of Canada, you will be charged GST/HST based on your province of residence.

For most compliance (tax return preparation) assignments, we invoice you when we deliver the final product. Short consultation engagements require payment at the time of booking. In rare cases, we bill monthly for assignments which will be of a long-term nature. We may ask for a retainer at the beginning of a sizable project.

You can pay us using one of the following methods:

• A cheque
• Payment via credit card or PayPal on our website (unbordered.ca/payments)
• An Interac e-transfer
• A wire transfer

See the bottom of your invoice for instructions about each of these methods.

No. However, you can pay your Canadian dollar invoice on our website with a U.S. credit card or PayPal, and the financial company will do the foreign exchange conversion for you. There is no need to have access to Canadian dollars to pay our fees.