Getting a
cross-border accountant
If you have worked in the United States last year and it is approaching tax season (both for the U.S. and Canada), then you may have come across a bit of a snag . . . Finding a good cross-border accountant!
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Here is Karan's contact info with PPATax.
Due to the discount he gives us travel nurses, if you end up reaching out to him, please do let him know you were referred by Kat Ann or from the Canadian Travel Nurses (to the U.S.A.) Facebook group!
Contact PPATax Today
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Here is Hasib's contact info with Taxscrubs.
Due to the discount he gives us travel nurses, if you end up reaching out to him, please do let him know you were referred by Kat Ann or from the Canadian Travel Nurses (to the U.S.A.) Facebook group! He will give you a discount of 50 USD!
Contact Taxscrubs Today
Karan Narang of PPATAX
Needless to say, I was looking for another accountant and had a lot of travel nurses asking me if there was a good accountant for them as well.
I contacted several accountants, but . . .
- Many accountants opt not to do American or cross-border taxes and just want to stick to Canadian taxes.
- Most were charging $1000+ CAD for joint taxes to start (not including any additional state filings, extra forms, etc.).
- Some were too busy to handle the volume of our group.
- Karan was happy to maximize and hire staff to handle the volume if necessary.
- He offered a significant discount for travel nurses & healthcare workers.
- He offered to give webinars, help with a tax FAQ article, and create documents for us.
- Just like with recruiters or any third-party, I value response times. And he is extremely responsive. Understandably, he is slightly less available during their busy season end of February-May.
- When asked about the subject of CRA reviews and audits, he put it like this, "You just forward it to us and boom, that's it. We take care of it. You don't need to think about it again." Which was pretty reassuring.
Presenting
How did you find Karan & PPATax?
Most accountant I found charged a base price of approx. $1000+ CAD. And with most accountants, any additional complexities to your taxes or additional filings or forms can have an additional cost per form or filing.
Likewise, if incorporated in Canada, corporate taxes can be higher.
Sometimes a TFSA can add come issues (if deemed a U.S. resident for tax purposes).
My best suggestion is to ask for a breakdown or itemized quote from your accountant to see exactly what you are paying for.
With Karan, during covid, he reduced the price of filing a Canadian and American (including one state) for healthcare workers down to a SWEET $450. Every year he reassesses the feasibility of continuing this discount. At this point, he has a lot of travel nurses coming to him, nearly 100 nurses have gone to him for filing their returns or for consults, etc.
I am hoping if travel nurses continue going to him, he will keep the $450 price! So, please do let him know Kat Ann sent you or you are from the Facebook group.
How much does he charge?
To start, he was suggested by a nurse from the group who used him and had a positive experience. At this point, approx. 70-100 nurses in the group have gone to Karan for filing their taxes with largely positive reviews. I'll add a few testimonials at the end.
I especially like how interested he is in our group and helping travel nurses. When he does things like a presentation on CRA reviews or residency status, he is doing all of these webinars on his own time and for free which is pretty fantastic!
Additionally, with that many returns, he has become a go-to expert specifically for Canadian-to-American travel nurses.
Also, a nurse did come to me with a mistake on her taxes. Karan fixed it, and compensated her for the trouble. His customer service was excellent!
Finally, through google reviews, it looks like at the time of writing this, he has a 4.6 rating out of 5 with almost 3 dozen reviews.
How reliable is he?
Karan Narang
Tel: 519-946-2921 (ext. 109)
Email: knarang@ppatax.com
Website: https://www.ppatax.com/
Again, please let him know Kat Ann sent you and I'm hoping he keeps giving us the healthcare heroes discount for our group!
What is his contact Info?
PPATax is based in Windsor, Ontario; so, that might explain why they aren't scared of cross-border taxes.
However, even if you aren't local, everything is done either via phone or online and he submits everything online!
There is a platform for submitting documents that is fairly simple to use and they are very accommodating at PPATax. If you prefer email (like me), he is okay with that too.
What is his location?
Hasib Naziri of TaxScrubs
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For Hasib's story, see his bio on taxscrubs here: https://www.taxscrubs.com/about
Hasib's & Taxscrubs unique angle is in being a newer and smaller business where he works for himself and it provides a concierge and boutique-style experience for clients. He has the experience of working for one of the 'Big 4' accounting firms in Canada after graduating, but after being laid off due to covid, he decided to go into business for himself and for client's just like his travel nurse wife, and he has the Canadian background to understand both countries' tax systems.
- He also will be available throughout the year for reviews and letters you get from the CRA -- Especially those scary letters that go out every July and August from the CRA asking you to clarify American taxes paid to the IRS.
- He is eager since he is starting out with his own business so has a certain personal touch to every tax filing.
- He also has a significant discount for travel nurses of $50 if you say 'Kat Ann' referred you, bringing the cost down to $850 USD instead!
- He offered to give webinars and serve as a resource for us and has already starting with a social media presence answering common tax questions for Canadian-toAmerican travel nurses.
- I'm trying him out for the first time t his year to test taxscrubs out! I'll keep you posted how my filing goes and will update here. Aside from that, his response times have been great and taxscrubs.com advertises 24/7 support
How did you find Hasib & TaxScrubs?
Hasib charges 900 USD. which is pretty on par with most accountants. However, for most accounting firms, their price starts around 100+ CDN and every additional form costs extra. With Hasib/Taxscrubs, the price is all inclusive... unlimited state filings (versus an additional charge for more than one state filing) and currently he doesn't charge for additional forms.
And just a reminder, he also has a significant discount for travel nurses of $50 if you say 'Kat Ann' referred you, bringing the cost down to $850 USD instead. So please, do make use of the discount! It also helps support us and our mission to keep providing resources for Canadian nurses wanting to travel or move to the United States too!
How much does he charge?
I appreciate that he found us, our group and took the initiative to reach out to me to offer his services. He reminded me, followed up, and was very responsive and consistent.
This is the first year I am recommending Hasib/Taxscrubs and I will be trying him out myself.
Something that impressed me was the additional and extra time and interest he takes into every client's taxes.
For an example, Hasib and his partner Hamza noticed receipts for therapy among a client's receipts. He inquired as to what they were for and the client explained her child had a medical condition. Hasib and Hamza followed up to suggest, "Have you thought about applying for disability?" If recognized as a disability, it could mean a big tax credit every year, even going back retroactively 10 years and it could mean monthly payments and assistance through other government programs. His attention to detail in the boutique-style he offers his clients resulted in this client likely saving thousands and possibly meant the client could get thousands back in taxes from the CRA.
I'm excited to test him out myself and possibly feature him in the future in a webinar or two!
How reliable is he?
Taxscrubs is based virtually; Hasib is in the United States with his wife and his friend and business partner, Hamza, is a CPA in Canada.
Everything can and is done online or via zoom meetings, phone, etc. and he submits everything electronically.
What is his location?
Hasib Naziri
Email: hasib@taxscrubs.com
Website: https://www.taxscrubs.com/home
Again, please let him know Kat Ann sent you and he should give a $50 discount!
What is his contact Info?
- Aissa (member of the Canadian Travel Nurses (to the U.S.A.) Facebook group
I'm so thankful that I found this accountant last year, I only had to send him the docs online. We had a couple of facetime meetings just to verify the information. He's prompt and responsive. I did my second U.S. filing with him this month. I only had one meeting since he's got all my info from last year. I also asked him about getting 'incorporated' in case I decide to work with the agencies in the GTA. He answered everything I asked and informed me of the costs.
- Francine (member of the Canadian Travel Nurses (to the U.S.A.) Facebook group
Just to let everyone know, the accountant that Kat recommended in Windsor is fantastic. My U.S. return is done already! Thank you, Karan at ppatax.com!
He charged four hundred and fifty dollars CAD. He has been great and I did tell him who referred me!
So thankful for Karan's expertise. It's my first year as a travel nurse in the U.S. and Karan has made filing taxes painless. I highly recommend his services.
- Erika (member of the Canadian Travel Nurses (to the U.S.A.) Facebook group
I signed up with him; however, my tax situation is pretty complex! The rate he provided is fair, around eleven hundred dollars CAD given I have a Canadian rental property, worked in Canada and the U.S.A. and have quite a few different bank accounts for various things. He was super pleasant to speak with, very engaged, and the free consultation vs. the hundred and twenty-five dollar fee USD from Travel Tax was also great. I found Karan to be actually interested in my business and taxes.
- Nicolette (member of the Canadian Travel Nurses (to the U.S.A.) Facebook group
