International students and exchange visitors
F-1 and J-1 holders, including J-2 spouses, who file Form 8843 in any year they are excluding days, even with no income.
What it covers
What international accounting services cover
Two groups need it — foreign nationals coming in, and US taxpayers with foreign accounts.
International accounting services, sometimes listed as global accounting services, are US tax and accounting work for people and companies whose money crosses a border. That means filing the right return for your residency status, meeting the reporting rules that attach to foreign accounts, gifts, and property, and running the books of a US entity that is owned from abroad.
Two groups
Two groups need it
- Foreign nationals and foreign founders coming into the United States
- US taxpayers with foreign accounts, foreign income, or a move to or from Canada
Which return you file is a legal test based on your green card status, your visa, and the days you were present, and the wrong answer stays in your record.
This is tax and accounting work, not immigration law.
12+ years
serving New York City
150,000+
returns filed
50 states
covered
5 star
Google, Yelp, Thumbtack
01Who we work with
Who we work with
Cross border work splits into a small number of situations, and each has its own filing.
Foreign professionals on work visas
H-1B, L-1, O-1, and TN holders, especially in the year they arrive or leave.
Foreign founders and foreign owned US companies
Entity setup, EIN, books, payroll, and the annual returns the structure triggers.
Foreign sellers of US real estate
FIRPTA withholding at closing, and the refund you claim by filing the return.
US taxpayers with unreported foreign accounts
Offshore disclosure through the streamlined procedures.
People moving between the US and Canada
The deemed disposition on the way out and any tax it triggers, T1135 once specified foreign property passes C$100,000 in cost, and returns on both sides in one year.
02Filings we handle
International tax filings we handle
Getting the right return filed against the right residency status.
Nonresident tax return (Form 1040-NR)
Schedule OI puts your visa, entry dates, and treaty positions on the record, with Form 8843 added when you are excluding days.
Dual status returns
For the year you arrive or leave, when you are a nonresident for part of it and a resident for the rest.
ITIN applications (Form W-7)
A tax ID for a spouse or dependent who needs one for a US filing and cannot get a Social Security Number.
Treaty positions and FICA refunds
Form 8833 when the position has to be disclosed, and Form 843 with Form 8316 once your employer declines to refund FICA withheld in error.
FBAR, Form 8938, and Form 3520
FBAR once aggregate accounts exceed $10,000 at any time, Form 8938 on thresholds that vary by filing status and residence, and Form 3520 once gifts from nonresident individuals or foreign estates exceed $100,000 for the year.
Streamlined Domestic Offshore Procedures
Three years of amended returns, six years of FBARs, and the non willful certification.
FIRPTA and Form 8288-B
15% of the amount realized is generally withheld from a foreign seller at closing, and a withholding certificate can reduce or remove it.
Canadian returns
The T1, the deemed disposition when you leave Canada and any departure tax it produces, and T1135 once specified foreign property passes C$100,000 in cost.
03US business from abroad
Running a US business from abroad
International accounting services for a foreign owned US entity: formation, books, payroll, and the annual return, handled by one team.
Entity formation and EIN
Name check, state registration, articles, and the entity election. If the responsible party has no SSN or ITIN, or the business has no US base, the online EIN tool is closed and Form SS-4 goes in directly.
Bookkeeping and payroll
Monthly reconciliation and statements, plus state employer registrations, quarterly filings, W-2s, and 1099s.
Sales tax registration and nexus
Inventory in a warehouse, staff in a state, or an economic threshold can each create a filing duty, and registration and filing follow.
Business tax returns
Form 1120 for C corporations, and Forms 1065 and 1120-S for pass throughs, which issue a Schedule K-1 to each partner or shareholder.
Fractional CFO
Forecasting, cash runway, and investor ready reporting once the entity is scaling.
04Situations we see most
The situations we see most
If any of these describe you, a filing app will not get it right.
- A filing app told you to file a resident return while you are on an F-1 or J-1. Inside the exempt period you are a nonresident and file Form 1040-NR. The wrong return claims deductions you were not entitled to.
- You arrived on a work visa partway through the year. If your US residency starts that year you file dual status, and if it does not you file as a nonresident for the whole year. Either way it is calculated, not assumed.
- Your spouse or child needs a tax ID for a benefit you are claiming and cannot get an SSN. The Form W-7 goes in attached to a paper return, because a return carrying a new ITIN application cannot be e-filed.
- Your parents sent you money from abroad. Gifts from nonresident individuals and foreign estates are reportable once they pass $100,000 for the year in total, and the penalty can reach a quarter of the gift.
- You are a foreign person selling US property. FIRPTA generally withholds 15% of the amount realized, not 15% of your profit, so the withholding can exceed the tax you owe.
- You are forming a US company without an SSN or ITIN. The online EIN tool is closed to you, and if you are a nonresident alien the S corporation is closed too, because an S corporation cannot have a nonresident alien shareholder.
05Residency
How US tax residency is decided
Residency for tax purposes is set by a test.
Most people are tested under the substantial presence test. You meet it if you were present at least 31 days this year and your weighted three-year day count reaches 183, counted as:
- All of your days this year
- One third of your days last year
- One sixth of your days the year before
Some visa holders exclude days from that count:
F-1 and J-1 students:exempt for five calendar years, and any part of a year counts as a whole one.
J-1 teachers and trainees:exempt in two of the previous six years.
Both exemptions depend on keeping to the terms of the visa.
Filing as a nonresident has two consequences worth knowing:
- No standard deduction, generally, with students and business apprentices from India the main exception.
- No joint return, unless a specific election is made with a US citizen or resident spouse.
A smaller refund than a colleague’s is often the correct result.
How US tax residency is decided
Residency for tax purposes is set by a test, worked top to bottom.
Are you a green card holder?
Resident
Files Form 1040 for the full year
In an F-1 or J-1 exempt period?
Students 5 calendar years; teachers 2 of the last 6
Nonresident
Files Form 1040-NR, with Form 8843
Meets the substantial presence test?
At least 31 days this year and 183 weighted across three years, then:
Which outcome
Meets it
Resident, Form 1040
Arrived or left midyear
Dual status
Does not meet it
Nonresident, Form 1040-NR
The shorthand “under 183 days means nonresident” is wrong: it ignores the weighted prior-year days. The full weighted count is what the test turns on.
06Engagement
How the engagement works
An international accounting services engagement follows a set sequence.
Free consultation
We establish your visa, your entry and exit dates, and the countries involved.Flat quote
A fixed fee for the full scope, agreed before any work starts.Documents
Passport, visa, I-94 travel history, income documents, and any foreign account records.Preparation and CPA review
A senior CPA checks the residency determination, treaty positions, and state treatment before filing.Filing and next year
We file and flag what changes next year, because residency often flips.
07Cost
What cross border accounting costs
Cost depends on scope, not a flat rate. The main factors:
Your residency status, and whether the year is a dual status year.
The number of countries and states involved.
Whether a tax ID is needed for a spouse or dependent.
Whether foreign accounts, foreign gifts, or a property sale have to be reported.
Whether prior years need correcting or bringing current.
These are the factors, not a quote. Every engagement is scoped and quoted at a flat fee before work starts.
From the record
On working across borders
“We work with clients all over the country as well as internationally. Our license transfers all 50 states. So don't feel constrained and say, hey, I need to find something I can drive to. Reach out and we'll let you know.”
George Dimov, CPA
“Coming to the US as a foreign national with bank accounts abroad, I was struggling to navigate what was required of me but the team was available to answer any questions and handled all my queries. They were quick, efficient, and very supportive.”
Estelle Meyer
Google review
08Related services
Where cross-border work touches the rest of the practice
Talk to a cross border CPA
Talk to a cross border CPA
Tell us your visa, the countries involved, and what needs filing. We will confirm which returns are required, scope the international accounting services you need, and quote a flat fee before any work starts.