Any good reference for a specialist able to do taxes ?

[melusine 5]

I kinda looked how to do it myself and it's soo confusing....

I don't even know if i m considered a canadian resident or not......

My situation is I think pretty straight forward....

very low income in canada (like perhaps max 2k)

moved and married in june

worked a few weeks here in california (around 10k)

a good tax credit for school fees from 2007 waiting

I just moved with a couple of personal items

Any name of a professional who could do it all ? How much does that cost ?

[SAT 9,609]

I kinda looked how to do it myself and it's soo confusing....

I don't even know if i m considered a canadian resident or not......

My situation is I think pretty straight forward....

very low income in canada (like perhaps max 2k)

moved and married in june

worked a few weeks here in california (around 10k)

a good tax credit for school fees from 2007 waiting

I just moved with a couple of personal items

Any name of a professional who could do it all ? How much does that cost ?

Turbo Tax (Premier edition) it works.........

[melusine 5]

I don't think turbo tax will be able to make my

federal canadian

provincial quebec

federal US

state california....

Any other hint ? or awesome advice as of how to start

[chris11xb 0]

I don't have any recommendations for professionals, but I will say that Turbo Tax is a lifesaver!

You would do two tax returns. First, your Canadian (federal and provincial) and then you do your US return (federal and state), and Turbo Tax is super easy to use. I've been using it for my fiance's US taxes (I do his for him) and for mine in Canada, and will continue to use the program after the move - even in that critical "exit return" year.

Regardless of what you use or who you hire, you will need to file a separate Canadian and a US return. Best to do Canadian first so as to know what to include/exclude for the US taxes.

Unfortunately, the carry-over for your 2007 tuition credits will only be applied to your Canadian tax return this year, since they were acquired in Canada. Hopefully you can make the best of that deduction for your Canadian/Quebec return, so you have a nice refund.

Best of luck. Taxes are soooo fun.

Lori (and Chris)

[chris11xb 0]

Ooops. I forgot to share links. I think they are www.quicktaxweb.ca for the Canadian version and then http://intuit.turbotax.com for the US version. Nice part is, you can do your taxes online and see how they look (and how comfortable you are doing them yourself) without paying upfront. You only pay when you choose to complete and file the taxes.

Best of luck!

Lori (and Chris)

[chris11xb 0]

And.... I also forgot to mention that filing your federal/provincial Canadian taxes through QuickTax (TurboTax) would be free for you, since you are a) a student and B) your income (in Canada) was less than $20K. Free!

http://quicktax.intuit.ca/tax-software/per...e-catalogue.jsp

Really, I don't work for them. But I do love their products.

Lori (and Chris)

[neiks 19]

I would contact a tax preparer or accountant in Quebec and see if they can help or refer you to a cross border specialist. I would try a bigger firm that has maybe more resources and contacts. Check with some that are located in border towns/cities as there probably is a good chance someone is familiar with it.

I was lucky enough to find a local person that had experience preparing cross border taxes for MB and ND. I was suprised at how cheap it was. Don't think it cost me over $200 to get both my Canadian and US taxes done. I have seen the quotes for some cross border tax preps on different websites that "specialize" in cross border taxes and they are in the thousands of dollars.

[trailmix 77]

I would contact a tax preparer or accountant in Quebec and see if they can help or refer you to a cross border specialist. I would try a bigger firm that has maybe more resources and contacts. Check with some that are located in border towns/cities as there probably is a good chance someone is familiar with it.

I was lucky enough to find a local person that had experience preparing cross border taxes for MB and ND. I was suprised at how cheap it was. Don't think it cost me over $200 to get both my Canadian and US taxes done. I have seen the quotes for some cross border tax preps on different websites that "specialize" in cross border taxes and they are in the thousands of dollars.

Hi Neiks,

I'm wondering if that person would consider taking on business from people who aren't local - might be a great for people here who are looking for someone. Would you mind posting his/her contact information?

Thanks!

Edited January 21, 2009 by trailmix

[neiks 19]

I don't know if I should give out my source. lol. She gets pretty busy and don't want to lose her. Also I think it is best to try to find someone that prepares for your home province.

I can give you some suggestions of firms to try.

Myers, Norris Penny have firms from BC to Ontario and then they have an affiliation with Horwath International

http://www.mnp.ca/02services/U.S.TaxCompliance.php

or BDO Dunwoody - they have locations accross Canada and International offices.

http://www.bdo.ca/contactus/locations.cfm

Or just google Charter Accountants in your province.