Back in the days when I knew virtually nothing about US tax and information reporting, I timidly called a chartered accountant in Victoria and asked if his firm prepared US tax returns.
After a brief pause, he responded “Ahh… yep, I’ve done a couple” I was not reassured.
If you are new to filing US taxes and you take only one piece of advice from me, never, EVER hire an accountant who is inexperienced at US taxes to do your US tax returns. Accountants simply do NOT have time to pore over all the instructions and uncover every nuance … or they may charge you an arm and a leg to take the time. The US tax system is complex.
One of my early clients contacted me after her Canadian accountant had “figured out” how to do five back years of her US taxes as a favor to her, and the IRS responded with several rather hefty bills! The list of errors and omissions was quiet long. Some were obscure and totally forgivable. Others were too obvious, including failing to use the income exemption, resorting instead to the US foreign tax credit!
Read the full story on my Testimonials page…
If your corporation does business in the US, then by all means see a chartered accountant. But make sure they specialize in US taxes, or have a partner or department devoted to that. And before you select one, shop around, then call me to compare!
At US Tax Victoria, I love answering client questions to empower them with all their options. US Tax Victoria specializes in US taxes, and helping US citizens who can’t justify accountants’ fees is my favorite thing to do.