"IRS dealings"

Karlene is a wonderful , competent person to work with She has a happy personality and is very helpful

"Technology-Enabled Tax Experts"

Greatest asset (and honestly how I found and subsequently chose this company to do my taxes) is the level of expertise in dealing with cross-border taxes. Whilst I have fairly basic tax filing requirements and can't speak to complex filing situations, they definitely saved me last year by finding and filing a Canadian tax document I didn't know I was supposed to have!

Another asset is that they've really leaned into using technology to drive much of the process - cue useful (though sometimes annoying!) automated reminders to submit documents by agreed deadlines. Because everything is managed through an easy-to-navigate portal, it's simple to ensure all documents and checklists are completed in preparation for filing.

"This is my third year with…"

This is my third year with Cross-Border. A very responsive and knowledgeable team.

"Pleasure to work with"

Pleasure to work with. Process was clear from start to finish, the team was helpful and quick to respond. Knew exactly what was going on and expected even during complicated years. Huge help with sorting out cross border tax issues.

"Karlene was very professional and on top of my ITIN and taxes"

Karlene was very professional and handled the process extremely well
My ITIN number came through and my taxes were prepared well
When the IRS had a question , once Karlene was notified, she took care of it
Thank You Karlene

"They'll get the job done but..."

Update on April 20, 2024: I had to revise a previous review I wrote of this company. After numerous headaches, phone calls, and back & forth messages from them assessing what they said was a "not complicated" tax situation, I have just received my draft tax returns from them. CBFPC made a determination that is inconsistent with feedback I have received from every other professional US / Canada tax accountant I have worked with since 2020. This determination would cost me several tens of thousands of dollars in extra fees owed to the CRA that other accountants would say I don't need to pay. Karlene insists that she will not change her determination and that I must either pay several tens of thousands of dollars or not file at all through CBFPC. I will likely need to hire an additional accounting firm to get a second opinion and/or fix the poor job done by this firm.


March 3, 2024: They'll get the job done, but they don't make it very simple, as other accountants have done. First, you have to complete a very long tax organizer that uses lots of accounting terminology I doubt most people understand. They ask for extensive paperwork, completion of additional forms that request information they could get from your tax slips, and they admonish you or make you feel terrible if you make a mistake or have a question. Other accountants have let me submit tax slips and then they take it from there. This agency asks for a lot from their clients.

"Easy and smooth tax season experiece with experts"

I love how everything is automated and easy to communicate, ask questions, and upload documents. I really appreciate how quickly my questions are answered. Thank you!

"Incredible team!"

Karlene and team are absolutely wonderful and had the time and patience to address all my questions (no matter how dumb lol) and explain to me the whole process. They took an incredible amount of stress and anxiety off of me by doing an incredible job and keeping me guided and informed the whole way.

"Karlene is unprofessional"

Karlene is unprofessional, uncommunicative, does not meet deadlines and does not take responsibility for her mistakes. She made not one, but three EGREGIOUS mistakes on my tax returns that I (someone who is NOT an accountant) caught while reviewing her work. Her numbers were off by literally hundreds of thousands of dollars, which, had I just trusted her and not caught it, would have cost us a total of anywhere from $65K-$80K CAD in unwarranted taxes. She had entered incorrect numbers for the sales of properties that were overvalued, which resulted in $319,121 USD / $429,567 CAD more in capital gains that I would have had to pay tax on if I hadn't caught it. At a 30-40% tax rate, you do the math of how much money the government would have that I didn't truly owe them!

Look, I understand that people make mistakes, but when I brought up the huge mistakes to her, she belittled me by asking if I had taken into account certain accounting laws, indicating that she knew what she was doing and that I was in the wrong. But I knew the numbers looked incorrect, so I had to read through the entire tax return, line by line, and figure out what the mistakes were. It turns out, I was correct (on all 3 fronts) and she had made 3 unforgivable mistakes. And while she did end up fixing them... she NEVER took accountability for making them and cut me off and hung up on me when I tried to talk to her about it over the phone.

She took a month and a half longer to complete my taxes than when she said she would have it done by. When I had told her that a mortgage and citizenship application was depending on her getting our tax returns done on time, she did not care. In the end, she could not meet her own deadline. When you pay someone several thousand dollars for a professional service, you expect for it to be done correctly, for them to be accountable for their mistakes, and for things to be completed when she says they are going to be completed. She did none of these.

"Karlene and CBFPC on top of US/Canada tax matters"

Karlene runs a tight ship with CBFPC, being responsive in a timely manner and providing grateful guidance where needed. She has excellent knowledge of all tax matters on both sides of the border, including new tax-related developments arising from the extraordinary Covid scenario. Rest assured, you are in good hands with Karlene.