San Francisco is a very international city. Everyone knows that, even if most people focus on the “tourists” who frequent the city. 
Just get on Muni or on Bart, and you’re likely to see people from all over the world, see different cultures on display, and hear a myriad of languages. It’s an international city, and so – accordingly – we’re an international tax service. How so? Well, first and foremost, we’ve developed a reputation as one of the best CPA firms in the Bay Area for so-called “expat tax preparation.” What’s that? Well, an “expat,” of course, is someone from another country who is living in the United States. Not exactly the same as an immigrant, i.e. someone who’s come here to live permanently. Rather, an “expat” in this sense, is a person who retains the citizenship in his or home country whether that’s Canada or Germany, the UK or France, China or Saudi Arabia, and plans to return there.
Enter the Tax People
Enter the taxman. Or rather, enter the taxMEN. Income earned in the United States, of course, is subject to US income tax via the IRS, and income earned in California is subject to California income tax via California’s Franchise Tax Board, and often income earned in the USA may be taxable in your home country as well. The taxMEN or taxPEOPLE want to get their hands on your income! Here’s where record-keeping becomes very important, and working with a tax service that specializes in expat tax return preparation is a plus. In terms of record-keeping, you need to document what income was generated where, when, and how. This is because in many cases, you can avoid tax – income earned on your rental property in Vancouver, BC, Canada is probably not going to incur a Federal or California income tax, but income earned from your job at a San Francisco Bay Area startup may. Yet income earned from work at a San Francisco start up may be exempt from tax in Canada (or it may not). It all depends. So the first step is accurate record-keeping, with an eye to what income is earned where, when, and how.
A Tax Preparation Firm for Expat Returns
Next, you need to work with a tax preparation service that understands international tax issues (as we do), both large and small. We have partner agencies in the major countries like Canada, so that we can work with them (or your preferred local tax provider), so that you get excellent tax advice about the USA, about your home country (e.g., Canada) and the interrelationship between the two. The bottom line is that if you are looking for an expat tax preparation service in the San Francisco Bay Area, you’ve found one. We can help!
