Frequently Asked Question

What are service charges?

Service charges depend on the complexity of your return. We have detailed service charges for most of the common scenarios. Every individual case could be different. To approximately figure your charges Click Here

What documents are required for preparing my return?

Every case is different as they could have different sources of income and investments. We have listed the most commonly applicable documents. To view the list Click Here and be ready with them whatever could be applicable to you. Any other specific cases if you are already not aware of can reach as via email or phone.

This is my first year in US, Will I need to include income from Foreign country even though I was not living in US?

There are different scenarios on how you will need to file your tax return which is based on your visa type and the time of arrival in the country.

If you are on F1 visa your are Non Resident for the first 5 years and you will need to file your tax return as a Non Resident, where in you are required to include your income from US sources only.

For others if you satisfy the Substantial presence test you can file as Resident. In the first year you can also choose to file as resident. For the Resident return you have to include the global income from all sources in your US tax return. For more details click the links First-Last year Choice / Resident return/Non resident

In short income from abroad is taxable and you can look up here for more details

What is FBAR? What is the deadline for the same?

FBAR, is foreign financial asset disclosure and are required to be reported every year if you have assets greater than $10K. Any income generated from these assets should be reported as income in your tax return. Deadline for the same is aligned with the deadline of Tax return April 15th and it is automatically extended to October 15th. For more information on FBAR click Here.

Will you be able to work on my return if I cannot visit you in person?

Definitely. We can always communicate via email / phone / skype for any information and exchange of documents. We can even skype and share the screen in order to review your final return before the submission. This return then can either be Efiled or mailed depending on the return Type. We can handle your returns remotely irrespective of your location (even if you do not live in the country anymore).

Can I visit you during the office hours for any consultation ?

Yes you can, but strictly by appointments only. No Walk-ins allowed.

Would you Itemize for us ?

Our focus is doing your return correctly that gets you the deductions / refund that you are eligible by IRS Rules/Publication. Our goal is not to maximize the Refund by wrongly claiming deductions that you are not eligible.

You can Itemize or you can take Standard Deduction but not both. If Itemization is more than Standard Deductions you would go for standard Deduction. Otherwise you would go for Itemization.

Following are some of the common components that you can include in Itemization

Medical Expenses that are over 10% of your salary.
Mortgage interest on your home Loan.
Property Tax on your home
Sales Tax (Tabular/Actuals). You would take whichever is bigger.
Charities