US Citizen, UK Resident w/ Limited Company - Looking For Accountant

Hello everyone,

I moved from California to London in April 2014 and started up a Limited Company just for myself, to do editing work. The time has come to pay taxes and prepare my US forms, among them (from what I can deduce):

1040 (obviously)
5471
8858
8938
FBAR
540NR (for California)

And frankly at this point I realized I needed the name of a trustworthy, knowledgeable accountant who is willing to discuss fees with me upfront (like this place - one of the contenders I'm looking at newcomer link: http://www.jaffeandco.com/services--fees.html [nonactive] ).

Can anyone help with a reference?

Thanks!
-Brian

US Tax and Financial Services - http://www.ustaxfs.com/

Though just for full disclosure - I work for this firm   (They sponsored my visa so that's how I ended up in London - woohoo)

But I work with a number of Americans and Brits so there's a great variety of experience with both the US and UK tax filings.  You can PM me if you're interested, I can give you my work email. 

I haven't heard of that firm, though I am just starting to learn of all the other firms that do US taxes in London

Of course you are complying with UK taxes and NI and paying the appropriate amounts to the UK first.

Brian, who did you end up using? I'm also looking for one.

kayinlondon: US Tax and Financial Services - newcomer link: http://www.ustaxfs.com/ [nonactive] doesn't seem to list any pricing. I contacted via the site's web form last week, but did not receive any reply.

I'm also in the same situation and would love to hear any updates.
Thanks!

Hello, first let me disclose my firm Independence Wealth Management do not offer a US tax filing service but we do make a point of finding the right tax firm for our clients, just as we ensure the client has a shortlist of the right brokers and private banks to choose from, as regards dealing and reporting. We provide asset management.
Currently the shortlist is Kristina Searle, Anthea Taeuber, Liz Zitzow, Frank Hirth and Darlene Hart depending upon what the client needs. Kristina has a fixed fee which we think is modest and sounds about right for what you describe. If you'd like an introduction, feel free to contact me.

Here are some excellent guidelines from the American Citizens Abroad Town Hall meeting on how to choose a tax adviser:
https://americansabroad.org/files/1014/1782/6314/david-treitel-london-town-hall.pdf

We also offer both US and UK tax preparation, and have flat, transparent fees to do so.  At Greenback we do not maintain a physical office, rather all of our expat specialized accountants work remotely. This allows us to have very low overhead and we can in turn pass those savings along to our clients.

More details on our fees can be found at: http://www.greenbacktaxservices.com/expatriate-tax-services/

Also, here is a great general video for how an American will be taxed while living in the UK: http://www.greenbacktaxservices.com/blog/us-expat-taxes-living-in-the-uk/

I hope this helps and best of luck

In terms of selecting an adviser, the IRS started to offer earlier this year a very helpful public Directory which lists the only individuals who are qualified to advise on US tax matters; and which can be found here:
http://irs.treasury.gov/rpo/rpo.jsf

It is always sensible to only select an adviser from those who are qualified to advise on US tax matters and whose names are therefore published by the IRS. The IRS list is an excellent tool that is designed to help check if any adviser or proposed adviser has any tax credentials within the United States.

Most UK based individuals will naturally also want to check that any proposed tax adviser is qualified with at least one professional accounting or tax institution in the UK as well as in the United States so that they know that the adviser is also adequately regulated in the UK.

I've just joined the forum as I'm moving back to the UK after nearly 40 years in New York.

I spoke to Kristina Searle, mentioned in this thread, a year or two ago about taxes around the move. She was really helpful but has since moved from London to Cornwall.

Does anyone have current contact info for her?  My move is imminent and I have to get more advice.

Here is an up to date list suggested by the US Embassy in London. You have to be a little cautious with this list, because the US Embassy does not check if anyone on the list is qualified to advise on tax, supervised in the UK for anti-money laundering, insured in the UK or indeed on the IRS directory of qualified tax professionals:
https://uk.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/internal-revenue-service-u-s-taxes/tax-preparation-services/

Thank you for this suggestion. I'm surprised Westleton Drake, Kristina Searle's last firm, is not on the list. I will continue to search for Kristina but if that doesn't work the list could be very useful.

Thank you for this suggestion. I'm surprised Westleton Drake, Kristina Searle's last firm, is not on the list. I will continue to search for Kristina but if that doesn't work the list could be very useful.

A simple Google search got me a phone number and address in Cornwall.

I must have put too much information in my google search last week. I've now found the company and phone number. Many thanks for encouraging me to try again.