Client Reviews of Loretta L. Cantafio, CPA

My wife and I emigrated to the California from Canada in June, 2021 after almost a year since we obtained our green cards (because of Covid travel restrictions). As almost all our assets are in our investment accounts, the transition involves complicated tax issues with Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), the US federal and California state treasuries. We fully expected a hefty exit tax to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) on capital gains based on the “deemed disposition” of our investments on exit from Canada. The IRS follows the Canada-US tax treaty, enabling us to update our cost basis per Jun 2020 market prices. California does not follow the tax treaty, meaning that we had to report our investment incomes in our all our accounts including our Canadian RIF accounts, but with costs basis updated to the start date of our California residency. I detail these complications to show that without the patient and timely guidance from Lori and her associates, we would have been lost. Thanks to them, we ended up with a much smaller exit tax to CRA than expected. On the US tax filings, Lori on her own initiative applied the US pandemic relief packages for which we did not even know we were qualified. As a result, we get a net refund on our US taxes (refund from IRS for federal taxes exceeding the California state tax due because of the state requirement for reporting investment incomes in our Canadian RIF accounts). I came across Lori after I was disappointed with our former accountant, who we felt utterly failed us. We are totally happy with the services she and her associates have provided us. I recommend them highly.

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Lori has handled my cross border taxes for the last few years. I have found her to be tremendously thorough, dedicated, and precise. She communicates proactively to make sure filings are accurate and on time. She has provided invaluable planning advice and is an absolute pleasure to work with. I can't recommend Lori highly enough.

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Having been employed by a US company and being from Canada i found myself in a situation that required a solid tax accountant that was well versed in US tax laws. I was introduced to L. Cantafio through a friend and after having met her and presented her with my case she put me at ease and explained to me how to proceed. She is very thorough, and seems to know all the intricacies of the tax system. I have had her take care of my taxes for the past three years and have always been happy with the services provided. She is straight to the point, organized and efficient. I have never had any problems reaching her whether it be through email or phone as she always replies in a timely fashion. Tax time is always a stressful time of year and Lori has been helpful in minimizing this process.

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Working with Lori was extremely difficult. She was hard to reach, reluctant to help me and answer my questions, and her attitude is quite disrespectful. Lori demanded $500 from me for asking a single question and would charge me without my knowledge for simple advice and even quick phone calls. I would not recommend her service, in fact, I would avoid working with Lori in general. Not worth it.

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I got a referral through work and it was so easy to talk to Lori Cantafio over the phone to get an idea of what I have to do. I had a little more complicated paper work than previous years with my new P-Visa. Because of my visa, I have so many different forms from all over the country. However, Lori was very knowledgeable in what to do. She guided me through easy step by steps and knew how to deal with my complicated situation. Then we used ShareFile so that all my documents were safe and in one place. I highly recommend Lori. Not only will you get professional help but she made this process very easy as if asking your friend to do your taxes. Thank you Lori!

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I highly recommend Lori and have recommended her to several friends and colleagues. Lori prepared both my US and Canadian taxes, including the Streamlined approach to catch up with US taxes. This involved some overwhelming (to me) complexity including the sale of a business and trust accounts. I was grateful for her patience and perseverance as Lori helped me to obtain the required documentation from banks and other accountants. Lori is professional and a pleasure to work with, and is very knowledgeable regarding US/CAN tax complications. Lori is also very responsive and helped me feel at ease while working through the filing process. Thank you, Lori!

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I'm very pleased with Lori's work. She is professional, knowledgeable, with good attention to important details, and very pleasant to interact with.

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I consider myself fortunate to have found Lori to undertake my US Tax returns over the past two years. I was a Canadian citizen consulting in the USA as a sole proprietor. Lori guided me expertly in getting set-up and undertook my US returns to the state of Wisconsin and the IRS. Both were accepted without penalties and I was able to easily transfer those credits to my Canadian returns. Lori is credible, trustworthy, and extremely efficient.

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Ms. Cantafio has prepared my taxes and amendents for a number of years now. This has included filing the streamlined version of three years of taxes, 2 years of 'normal' returns, as well as Canadian taxes and amendments. I have appreciated the lengths she has gone to in order to map out the best solution to a complicated tax process. She has always been willing to investigate any concerns I have had, either previous or post filing. She is pleasant and personable and has my highest recommendation.

Competent and professional. Very knowledgeable about cross border taxation issues and auditing.