What US-Canada cross-border tax help actually costs

You're comparing firms and nobody will show you a number. Here are ours. These are the starting prices we quote real clients, in US dollars, current as of July 21, 2026.

The short answer: annual filing for both countries at our firm starts between $1,495 and $2,495 a year for one person, set by the accounts and forms in your file. Catching up on unfiled US returns through the Streamlined procedure starts at $2,495. A first-year move file starts around $3,245. Every engagement starts with a fixed $249 assessment that credits in full toward the work, so the real cost of finding out your exact number is zero if you go ahead.
Your situationStarts at (USD)What that covers, and what moves it
Cross-Border AssessmentThe entry point for everything below $249 flatabout $349 CAD 60 minutes with a dual-licensed CPA plus a written summary of your file: what you owe where, what needs filing, and your exact quote. Credits in full toward any engagement. Non-refundable.
Annual filing, both countriesUS return + Canadian return, one person from $1,495/yr Both returns prepared by one firm so the residency call and treaty positions line up. Complex files (equity comp, multiple states, executive packages) run from $2,495. A spouse's second separate return is typically 50%.
First year after a moveDeparture year, both sides of the border from $3,245 Most movers price from the $2,495 base, because investments or a home are what the exit-tax math turns on, plus the departure-year module from $750: exit date, deemed disposition, T1161/T1243, and the US arrival-year elections. Want a number before you commit? Try the departure tax estimator first. Moving on an E-2 to buy a business? That file adds the corporation and the entity returns: what an E-2 mover files in year one.
Streamlined catch-upNever filed US returns from Canada from $2,495 Three years of returns, six years of FBARs, and the non-willful certification. The from-$2,495 base fits the foreign-path (SFOP) file with ordinary accounts; TFSAs, Canadian mutual funds, rental years, or the domestic (SDOP) path raise it, and complex catch-ups have run near $5,000. Full breakdown: what the Streamlined procedure costs.
TFSA reporting add-onOn top of any US return above memo from $350
from $400 per fund		 From $350 for the Form 3520 position memo on a TFSA, and from $400 per fund per year for each PFIC Form 8621. This add-on is why two files with the same salary can land far apart. Details: what TFSA reporting costs.
Business and entity workLLCs, corporations, dual-entity setups quoted at assessment Corporate cross-border files vary too much for a useful starting number here. The $249 assessment produces a fixed written quote before you spend anything else.

All figures USD. Each "from" price is the real base we charge for the simplest version of that file; the section below lists the variables that raise or lower it. Domestic (single-country) pricing lives on the main pricing page.

What moves the price up or down

Two people with the same job can get quotes thousands of dollars apart, and it's almost never the income. It's the accounts and the forms they drag in. These are the variables that set where your file lands:

Pushes the price up

  • TFSAs, RESPs, and Canadian mutual funds or ETFs held outside registered accounts (each fund can mean its own PFIC form, every year)
  • Lots of bank and investment accounts (more FBAR and disclosure lines)
  • Self-employment or rental income on either side
  • Corporations, LLCs, or partnerships anywhere in the picture
  • Extra state returns beyond the first
  • Back years that need cleaning up before the current year can be filed right

Keeps the price down

  • Salary income only (W-2 or T4), standard accounts
  • Investments held inside RRSPs and other registered plans
  • A handful of accounts instead of a drawer full
  • One state, one province
  • A spouse whose separate return rides along, typically at 50%
  • Coming in before deadlines instead of after them

Your exact quote comes from the $249 assessment

The table above gets you in the right neighborhood. It can't price your file, because nobody can price a file they haven't seen. So we don't try, and we don't make you sit through a sales call to find out either.

The Cross-Border Assessment is a fixed $249: an hour with a CPA licensed on both sides of the border, then a written summary with your filing list and a firm quote. If you engage us for the work, the $249 comes off the bill in full. If you take the summary and file elsewhere, or on your own, that's a fine outcome too. It's non-refundable, and it's the only thing here with a fixed price, because it's the one piece of work that's the same size for everyone.

Start with the $249 assessment

Why almost nobody publishes fees, and why we do

There are fair reasons cross-border pricing is hard to find. No two files match, so a posted number can turn into an argument about a file the firm never saw. And the work spans two tax systems, which makes "it depends" genuinely true.

We publish starting prices anyway. You're probably comparing three or four firms right now with no numbers from any of them, and that helps nobody. A real base price plus an honest list of what moves it lets you rule us in or out in five minutes. The numbers on this page are the same ones we quote on calls.

Email me this fee table

The full table above, plus the list of questions worth asking any cross-border firm you're comparing us against.

About these numbers: prices are in US dollars and current as of July 21, 2026. Every figure except the $249 assessment is a starting point, not a quote: your final fee depends on the variables listed above and is fixed in writing at the assessment stage. This page is general pricing information for planning, not tax advice for your situation, and no outcome with the IRS or CRA is promised. Fees shown are our preparation fees and don't include any tax you may owe.

Want your number instead of a range?

One fixed $249, one hour, one written summary with a firm quote for your exact file. Credited in full if you go ahead.

See the $249 assessment