Client not in the US - Consultation

The new client is referred by a friend. She lives oversea and has questions about her tax situation. She asked if we could talk on the phone.

I have email correspondence with her and found out the area she needed help in. I think I can help her on this issue with preparing a tax return.

a. Should I charge for phone conversation (she is living overseas and she may ask me questions about her specific situation)?
b. If yes, how would you set it up? Asking for retainer before the call.
c. Do you tell her your charge for in increment of 15 minutes, half hours or hourly rate?

Thanks.

By all means charge. Otherwise, she will take your free advice and either file it herself or have someone else do it. Send her an invoice for a retainer and say you will apply the balance to the preparation of the return.

Is this person a US Citizen or Permanent Resident?

I had one situation with a US Citizen who moved overseas (to his wife's home country) and it got very messy after the first year. I mostly corresponded by e-mail or Skype but when you are so far away there are communication challenges and the home country's tax laws may have an impact on your work.

I did not charge for the phone or Skype conversations separately, But I did increase my regular fees to account for the increased work. Hindsight i should have charged like a lawyer!

I did end that engagement because they started getting income from the foreign country and invested in a business requiring local tax filings that I was not ready to handle for the price they were willing to pay.

My suggestion to you is to have a strong engagement letter with what you are prepared to do and how you will charge for your time.