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, but I set up an appointment for the next Monday.

Fortunately I did not stop phoning!  (Even more fortunately, I managed to speak with an US tax assistant in a local firm, who sent me a lot of information on the streamlined procedure, tax returns and FBAR’s free of charge.  Clearly this firm was experienced and prepared… and generous!  (They do charge full pricing for their services when they charge!)

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 discover every little detail… or charge you an arm and a leg to take the time… and the US tax system is so 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 of them were obscure and totally forgivable. Others were too obvious, including failing to use the income exemption, resorting instead to the US foreign tax credit!  It took me a full year, and a special relationship I forged with the Technical Advisor to the Streamlined Procedure Office, to straighten around her tax situation.

Read that client’s account of this story on our Testimonials page… second testimonial.

If you have a thriving corporation, especially one that does business in the US, then by all means see a chartered accountant.  But make sure it is one that specializes in US taxes, or has a partner or department devoted to that.  And before you select one, shop around… or call and ask us!

Either way, at US Tax Victoria, we love answering clients’ questions and empowering them with all their options.  US Tax Victoria started with US taxes, and helping US citizens who can’t justify accountants’ fees is our favorite thing to do.