Expat Tax Forms

Big gifts come with a little fine print. If you give more than the annual exclusion to any one person in a year (or make another reportable transfer), Form 709 is the paperwork that keeps score. Here’s the surprise: filing the form doesn’t usually mean paying the federal gift tax. Instead, it’s more like keeping […]

You took the leap, set up a business abroad, and now you’re living the dream—until tax season rolls around and you hear about Form 5471. Suddenly, the IRS wants details about your foreign corporation, and missing this form could mean steep penalties. If you’re a U.S. shareholder in a foreign business, there’s a good chance you need to file. […]

Not long ago, going without health insurance didn’t just mean taking a risk—it also meant paying the IRS. Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), taxpayers without full-year coverage faced the “shared responsibility payment,” unless they qualified for an exemption. That’s where Form 8965 came in. Filing the form allowed taxpayers to claim a health coverage […]

If you’re investing internationally, you might not realize that some foreign assets come with extra IRS reporting requirements. Enter Form 8621—the form U.S. taxpayers must file when they own Passive Foreign Investment Companies (PFICs). PFICs can include foreign mutual funds, ETFs, and even certain foreign corporations. The IRS keeps a close watch on these investments, and failing […]

Some IRS forms make your heart sink. This one might make it skip a beat—in a good way. Form 14653 isn’t just paperwork. It’s a strategic reset button for U.S. expats who’ve fallen behind on their taxes. No penalties, no drawn-out negotiations—just a shot at getting compliant under the Streamlined Foreign Offshore Procedures, as long […]

April 15 has a way of sneaking up on all of us. One minute you’re making New Year’s resolutions, and the next you’re staring down the tax deadline, wondering how it got here so fast. If your paperwork is still in limbo—or you’d simply like a little breathing room—the Internal Revenue Service has a safety […]

Here’s the expat tax surprise no one enjoys: moving abroad doesn’t mean breaking up with the IRS. U.S. citizens and resident aliens are taxed on their worldwide income—whether that’s wages in London, capital gains in Hong Kong, qualified dividends in Paris, or even Social Security checks showing up in Costa Rica. Thankfully, there’s a way […]

Walking away from U.S. citizenship—or giving up a green card you’ve held for years—may feel like closing one chapter of your life. But before you pack your bags and toast to a tax-free future, there’s one final piece of paperwork standing between you and freedom: IRS Form 8854. This form decides whether the U.S. considers […]

Form 1118 is notoriously complex.

In fact, the IRS estimates that it takes about 25 hours to complete. Fortunately, as a US expat-specific tax firm, we’re familiar with Form 1118 and here to walk you through it: what it is, who should file it, how to complete it, and more.