Every check on this page resolves to a public register or to a document you'll sign anyway. That means you can run the whole list on us, and on anyone you're comparing us with, without taking a word of it on trust.
| What to check | How you check it yourself | What that does and doesn't tell you |
|---|---|---|
| C1An active US CPA licenceIn the name of the person who'll sign your return | Search NASBA CPAverify by jurisdiction, last name and licence number, then repeat it at the issuing state board's own search. Florida's is the DBPR licensee search. | That the licence exists, in that jurisdiction, and what its current status is.Doesn't tell you: anything about competence, about cross-border work, or about the Canadian side. CPAverify doesn't carry every jurisdiction, which is why the state board is the second stop. |
| C2An active Canadian CPA registrationSame person, same name | The provincial body's member directory. Ontario's is the CPA Ontario member directory, which lists "members that are in good standing or subject to a membership suspension". | That the Canadian registration exists, and its status.Doesn't tell you: whether that member may practise where you live. We couldn't source a mobility rule, so ask. A blank result isn't proof either, because the same directory notes a member can be left off the public list under Bylaw s. 13.3.3 for personal-security reasons. |
| C3A PTIN, and the name in the IRS directoryThe federal register for preparers | The IRS Directory of Federal Tax Return Preparers. It has a Country field that includes Canada, so a Canada-based preparer is searchable. | An active PTIN plus a credential the IRS recognizes, as at the date printed on the directory.Doesn't tell you: quality, and a blank result is not a verdict. The IRS says an update can take up to four weeks to appear, and that preparers who hold PTINs but aren't listed "may provide quality return preparation services". |
| C4Who signs the US return, and their PTINA name, not a firm | Ask for both when you get the quote. Then read the paid-preparer block on the finished 1040 before you sign it. | Who the IRS holds accountable for that return.Doesn't tell you: who actually did the work behind the signature. That's a separate question and it's worth asking out loud. |
| C5Who transmits the Canadian return, and their EFILE numberPrinted on a form you sign | Form T183, Part C, has fields for "Name of person or firm", "Electronic filer number" and "Representative identifier (Rep ID)". You sign that form, so you can read it first. | Who the CRA records as the electronic filer of your return.Doesn't tell you: any credential, because Canada attaches none to that role. We also found no public CRA lookup for an EFILE number, so the number is something you read on the form rather than something you verify. |
| C6Both countries under one roof, or a named counterpartWho owns the seam between the two returns | If one firm does both sides, run C1 and C2 on the same person. If it's two firms, ask for the second firm's name and run C1 or C2 on them. Our own argument for a single dual-licensed CPA is set out in our guide on one CPA licensed in both countries, and it's an argument rather than a check. | Whether you're buying one accountable party or two, and which of them owns the seam.Doesn't tell you: that either shape is the right one. A named, licensed counterpart at a second firm is a real answer and it passes this row. |
| C7Representation rights if the file gets questionedAudit, collection, appeals | 31 CFR 10.3 sets out who may practise before the IRS, and the IRS credentials page splits unlimited from limited rights. On the Canadian side, the CRA's list of who you can authorize runs to "a friend" and "another family member". | Who can stand in front of the IRS for you at audit, collection or appeal. In Canada, that representation is an authorization you grant, with no credential attached to it.Doesn't tell you: that they will represent you, or that it's inside your fee. Both of those are separate questions and both belong in the engagement letter. |
| C8Firm-level registration, where it appliesThe entity, not just the individual | In Florida, FS 473.3101 requires a firm with an office in the state that uses the title "CPA" to hold a firm licence, searchable at DBPR. In Ontario, the CPA Ontario firm directory lists registered firms. | That the entity itself is registered where registration is required.Doesn't tell you: that every firm serving you needs one. FS 473.3141 lets an individual with no office in Florida serve Florida clients "without obtaining a license under this chapter or notifying or registering with the board or paying a fee", where the licence comes from a state the board has ruled substantially equivalent. So a missing firm licence in your own state is often the correct answer rather than a flag. |
| C9A fixed fee, in writing, before work startsNever a share of the refund | Read the engagement letter. 31 CFR 10.27 says at (b)(1) that a practitioner "may not charge a contingent fee for services rendered in connection with any matter before the Internal Revenue Service", and (c)(1) defines that to include "a fee that is based on a percentage of the refund reported on a return". The exceptions at (b)(2) to (b)(4) are narrow and named: an examination or challenge to an original return, a refund claim for interest and penalties, and a judicial proceeding. It's also fair to ask whether you can get a written starting price before you book a call, of us and of anyone else. Ours are on what cross-border tax help actually costs, with our starting prices. | The fee structure you're actually buying.Doesn't tell you: whether the number itself is a good one. That's a different question and this page doesn't answer it for anybody. |
| C10Public discipline historySame registers, different tab | DBPR shows licence status and discipline for Florida. CPA Ontario publishes its hearings and appeals cases. | Whether a public finding exists.Doesn't tell you: that a clean search means a clean practice. It means nothing has been published, which isn't the same thing. |
| C11Professional liability coverThe one row here you can't verify | There's no public register for this on either side, so there's nothing to look up. Ask for the insurer, the policy period and the per-claim limit, in writing. | Only what you're told. A refusal to answer is itself the signal.Doesn't tell you: anything you can check. Treat this as a question rather than a rule, because we found nothing on either side requiring a CPA to carry it. |
| C12CapacityWho covers your file if your main contact is unavailable in March | No register carries this. Ask before you engage, get the answer in writing, then hold it against what the firm publishes about itself and against the firm directories in C8. | What you're told, and whether it matches what the firm publishes.Doesn't tell you: anything verifiable from outside. This one you ask us directly and get in writing; the seasonal half is covered in the next section. |
C1 to C3 are register lookups and take about five minutes for all three. C4 to C8 are things you read on documents. C9 to C12 are things you ask for and get in writing. Run them in that order and most of the shortlist sorts itself out before you speak to anyone.
We have no published client reviews. None. If you weight what other clients have written, there's nothing here for you to read, and choosing a firm with a public track record is a fair call. We're not putting anything in its place on this page.
Capacity is worth asking us about directly rather than assuming. February through April is the busiest stretch of the year for every firm in this field, ours included, so the honest answer to "do you have room for my file this season" depends on when you ask. Ask it early, and ask it of everyone on your shortlist.
| Worth stopping over | What lets you check it | What you do about it |
|---|---|---|
| F1You can't get a name and PTIN for whoever signs, or the finished return comes back with the preparer block blank | IRC 6695(b) attaches a penalty to a preparer who's required to sign a return and doesn't. The IRS puts it plainly in its Dirty Dozen release: "Paid preparers must sign and include a valid preparer tax identification number (PTIN) on every tax return." | Ask for the name and PTIN before you pay, then read the paid-preparer block before you sign. |
| F2You ask whose EFILE number goes on your T183 and the answer doesn't come | Part C of the form requires the name of the person or firm and the electronic filer number, on a page you personally sign. | Read Part C before you sign it. If the fields are blank at signing, that's the moment to ask. |
| F3Your fee is quoted as a share of the refund, or of the tax saved | 31 CFR 10.27(b)(1) with the (c)(1) definition, and the narrow carve-outs at (b)(2) to (b)(4). The same IRS release lists preparers who "base their fees on a percentage of the taxpayer's refund" among its warning signs, next to cash-only payment with no receipt. | Get the fee basis in writing before you engage, and read it against C9. |
| F4You're promised a specific outcome with the IRS or CRA, or told someone has pull with either | 31 CFR 10.30(a)(1) bars a practitioner from any public communication on an IRS matter containing "a false, fraudulent, or coercive statement or claim; or a misleading or deceptive statement or claim". That rule binds us on this page too. | Treat a guaranteed outcome as a disqualifier, and ask for it in writing, which usually ends it. |
| F5A credential you're shown doesn't resolve in any register, or a membership is handed to you as a licence | The registers settle it. The IRS states that CPAs are "Licensed by state boards of accountancy, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories", so the board is the authority. A membership in a professional body is a membership. | Run C1, C2 and C3. If nothing resolves in any of them, the claim is unsupported and you're entitled to say so. |
| F6You're told the other country will be "handled" and no name or jurisdiction comes with it | Without a name there's nothing to check. With a name, C1 or C2 settles it in about two minutes. | Ask for the name and the jurisdiction, then look it up while you're still deciding. |
| F7You're quoted by someone who won't be signing, and you never speak to the signer before you pay | F1 and F2 both put people's names on documents you sign, so those names exist at quote stage. There's nothing to wait for. | Ask to speak to whoever signs, before payment. |
| F8You can't get a written list of what your file needs on each side before you pay | Every form on such a list has an IRS or CRA page you can open and read. The IRS publishes its own guidance on choosing a tax professional as well. | Ask for the filing list in writing, then check three of the form names against the agency's own page for each side. |
Each of these is a behaviour you can observe and a document or rule you can open. None of them is a claim about any firm or any person.
C1 resolves at CPAverify and at DBPR under Florida CPA licence AC61704. C2 resolves in the CPA Ontario member directory. C3 resolves in the IRS preparer directory. C8 resolves at DBPR, where Blue Cloud is registered as a Florida-licensed CPA firm. Run the same check in CPA Ontario's firm directory and it comes back blank for us; the Canadian-side register entry to check is the individual registration in C2. That's C8's own limit working in both directions: a register tells you where a firm is registered, not more. The licence numbers and the register links sit together on the page with our licence numbers and the registers to check them in.
C4 and C5 you test on your own paperwork rather than on ours. The same CPA prepares and signs the returns here, which is our statement about ourselves and not something a register will confirm, so the way to check it is to ask for the PTIN and read the signature block when the return comes back. What sits behind that is written up at who actually does the work at Blue Cloud.
C9 resolves on our published starting prices. C11 and C12 aren't in any register, for us or for anyone else, so you have to ask and get the answer in writing.
The list above is free and you can run all of it without us. What it can't do is tell you what your file needs on each side, which is the other half of choosing anyone.
The $249 Cross-Border Assessment is an hour with a CPA licensed on both sides plus a written summary: what's outstanding, what has to be filed where, and a firm quote. It credits in full toward the work if you go ahead, and it's non-refundable. Taking the summary and filing elsewhere is a normal outcome and it's fine.
All twelve checks and the eight red flags, with the register links, in a form you can work through while you're comparing firms.
About this page: it's general information about choosing a firm, current as of July 28, 2026, and it isn't tax advice for your situation. No outcome with the IRS or CRA is promised, by us or by anyone else named here. The registers, statutes and agency pages linked above are the ones we could open on that date; agencies move pages and rules get amended, so open the live source before you rely on it. Where a check can't be verified from outside, the row says so and tells you to get the answer in writing instead.