We provide tax compliance and consulting services to individuals and to private, small to medium-sized businesses both in the U.S. and abroad. Compliance services include tax preparation and the electronic filing of tax returns, tax information returns (such as Form 5471 for U.S. persons owning foreign enterprises), and other documents required by U.S. federal and state laws (such as the FinCEN114 form, formerly known as the FBAR or Foreign Bank Account Report). Consulting services include advising on the tax consequences of such matters as inheriting business property, working across various countries or for an international organization, and starting a small business. Consulting services also include strategic planning to minimize taxes – particularly for businesses, individuals with rentals. More information can be found on our Services and Pricing Page.
Individual Tax Prep: $500 to $1,200 is the typical range ultimately charged to an individual client, and represents a total of a base charge plus per-form “add-on” charges. The base charge for an individual return is either $400 (for a U.S. expatriate, U.S. nonresident, or dual-status tax return) or $300 (for a U.S. citizen/resident return with no international concerns). Add-on charges vary, but can include, for example, $100 for a rental property (Schedule E), $100 for a sole proprietorship (Schedule C), and $25 for a Schedule D expansion. Please see our Services and Pricing page for details.
Business Tax Prep: the base charges for an S corporation, C corporation, or partnership income tax return are $550, $600, and $700, respectively, provided the business has gross assets valued at under $250,000 and gross receipts of under $250,000. If either of the latter thresholds is exceeded, the base charge rises by $150. Please see our Services and Pricing Page for Details
Consultations: $250/hour (in 15-minute increments, rounded down) is our default rate for tax planning and tax analysis services, but a flat fee can also be negotiated and may be preferred, depending on the work involved. A relatively simple 1-hour consultation to understand the tax effects of a life event or special circumstances should cost just $250, but a project to analyze the tax differences between multiple courses of action – or to plan out how to expand a business or go about a certain series of transactions in a tax-compliant and tax-efficient manner – may lead to a flat fee estimate in the thousands or tens of thousands of dollars, depending on complexity and other factors.
Controversy Resolution/Representation: $250/hour (in 15-minutes increments, rounded down) is our rate for representing clients in responding to tax authority notices, handling IRS examinations (tax audits), and similar work.
Rush Orders: If you request work to be completed less than 10 calendar days prior to a deadline by which the work is due, we may charge you an additional 10% for the rush. For example, if you request on June 8 that we complete a tax return due on June 15, we may charge an additional 10%.
Yes, we offer free initial consultations – meaning introductory sessions no longer than 30 minutes. The introductory session is for us to learn what your tax needs on and how we can help, for you to get comfortable communicating with us, and for both you and us to determine whether we would like to continue further. If the introductory session goes longer than 30 minutes, you may be charged at our normal consultation rate of $250/hour for any excess time (in 15-minute increments). That stated, our culture is not to nickel-and-dime clients, let alone prospective clients.
Yes.
$75 Early Bird Discount: With respect to tax preparation, we offer a $75 Early Bird discount for a client who engages with us to prepare a tax return at least two months before the applicable filing deadline (ignoring extensions). For example, an individual who agrees in January to have us prepare her taxes will receive the discount. The applicable filing deadlines are usually March 15 for S corporations and partnerships, April 15 for U.S. persons in the U.S., most nonresident aliens, and C corporations, and June 15 for U.S. persons overseas.
10% Loyalty Discount: Starting with services provided on or after September 1, 2025, if you have been a steady client of ours for five years or longer, you should receive a 10% discount on all services. Please note that this might not apply to certain returning clients (e.g., a client who worked with us four years ago and is now back), but do not be afraid to inquire.
Discretionary Discounts: Our employees have the authority to offer discounts at their discretion, with a general understanding that such discounts are intended for work that is unusually simple, quick, and/or closely related to other work for which you already paid. For example, a tax return for an S corporation with no income should not cost the full base price. If we provide a tax opinion letter and, a few months after completion you have a few follow-up questions that do not require additional research or planning, you should not be charged for those questions. We try not to nickel-and-dime our clients. Finally, our employees may also reduce prices or waive certain charges for individual (but not business) clients experiencing financial hardship, a medical emergency, detention (whether or not officially identified as detention), or other special circumstances. For example, if you are overseas with a June 15 deadline and had a baby in May, and you agree to our services but request a filing extension, you should not be charged for the extension.
Tax Returns: Two weeks or less is our typical turnaround time for most tax returns, including complex business returns, assuming we have all the information we need or can acquire such quickly from you.
All Other Projects: opinion letters, planning documents, and other work vary too significantly by project for us to be able to provide a typical turnaround time. Consultation and representation work takes as long as is needed to reach a quality result.
No, we do not provide payroll services.
Most likely, no, you should not have to provide any translations. Our staff is multilingual and quite familiar with viewing foreign documents in French, Arabic, Spanish, German, Thai, Greek, Russian, and other foreign languages. If for any reason a certified translation (or notarization or apostille is required), we will discuss such with you. That is very rarely the case.
Yes! We happily provide tax preparation services for individuals without any international or business concerns of any kind. In fact, your base charge is lower and you are more likely to receive a discretionary discount for simplicity.
For all calendar-year taxpayers, the following tax deadlines are standard:
We can file your returns! Most often, we see this scenario in the context of a U.S. citizen who has been living abroad for decades and either (a) did not know he or she had to file or (b) did not have to file, but learned that he or she could have been receiving refunds (or Recovery Rebate Credits, also known as COVID-19 “stimulus payments”). Depending on your situation, one of the following options may be available to you.
First, if you are owed refunds, you may simply file your returns to claim them – but only for up to three years back. The statute of limitations (time limit) for claiming refunds is three years.
Second, if you owe tax and simply did not know you had to file, Streamlined Filing Procedures allow you to come current with the IRS. You file the last three years’ returns, plus up to the last six years’ of foreign bank account reports (FBARs, also known as forms FinCEN114), and submit a statement swearing that your non-filing was not willful (Form 14653), and you are able to come current with your taxes without incurring late filing penalties. We can help walk you through the process.
Third, if you owe tax and did not know you had to file and you are a U.S. citizen planning to relinquish citizenship, Relief Procedures for Certain Former Citizens may allow you to satisfy the expatriate tax compliance certification process by filing returns for the year of expatriation and the prior five years, along with a non-willfulness statement (Form 14653). There are additional requirements, including eligibility requirements, and we can help walk you through the process.
If you are worried about having willfully failed to file tax returns or foreign bank account reports, the IRS has a Voluntary Disclosure Practice (VDP) through which you may seek to come forward, declare your noncompliance, agree to pay your back taxes in full, and otherwise cooperate with the IRS – all in exchange for the possibility of having criminal prosecution not recommended. We currently do not assist with voluntary disclosures (or with criminal proceedings of any kind) and would encourage you to seek the assistance of a tax attorney specializing in federal criminal procedures.
Yes! Specifically how we can help will depend on the notice you received, but we generally do provide tax controversy resolution services, which includes responding to IRS and state tax department notices.
Most often, the Notice is an imposition of a penalty, a recalculation of tax due, or a request for information. We highly recommend using our services – or any tax professional’s services – as opposed to communicating with authorities directly.
Yes. If you are a dual-citizen entrepreneur with 4 businesses across 5 countries, 3 rental properties in 2 states and a U.S. Territory, 2 nonprofit board positions, a nonresident alien spouse in a community property jurisdiction who just inherited a lodge that your college student son sometimes lives in, stock options, an infirm mother you care for, a part-time independent contractor position with an international organization, a foreign government pension, 3 foreign trusts, 9 foreign bank accounts, a daughter about to enter college on a student visa and earning a digital nomad internship stipend from a treaty country, another son who earns summer tips aboard a cruise ship sailing international waters, settlement proceeds from suing your home insurer after a fire, 2 tax notices in different languages you don’t read, a hope to relinquish your U.S. citizenship next year, and a newborn… We can help.
Every tax professional at TaxTime International is a tax attorney, a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), or both. Every tax professional at TaxTime International specializes in international taxation. In your case, you would likely receive the help of a tax attorney with an LL.M. in Taxation – a post-doctoral degree in the field – and experience not only in assisting U.S. persons abroad, but also in assisting businesses with their entity-level U.S. tax compliance and efficiency concerns. We will aim to spot planning and efficiency opportunities while prioritizing compliance.