02/11/2021
The 2021 tax season opens on February 12, allowing Americans both in the States and abroad to start filing their year 2020 tax returns with the IRS. In this article we look at what Americans living abroad need to know ahead of filing their US taxes in 2021. Why do Americans abroad need to file […]
02/08/2021
With 2021 tax season starting this week, Bright!Tax has created a tax calendar for American expats filing US taxes from abroad this year. All Americans are required to file US taxes, including those living abroad, if their global income exceeds IRS minimums. IRS minimums start at $5 for Americans married filing separately to a foreign […]
02/04/2021
The 2021 Expats Virtual Financial Summit, which took place last week, has been declared an extraordinary success, according to a survey of the over 700 American expats who attended the four day online event. The summit consisted of nine talks that took place between January 26 to 29, each on a different topic relating to […]
02/01/2021
The IRS Relief Procedures for Certain Former Citizens was introduced in September 2019 to allow certain Americans to renounce their US citizenship without facing back taxes and penalties. The particular group the program was aimed at is known as ‘Accidental Americans’, meaning people who have the right to US citizenship through birth but who have […]
01/21/2021
The IRS has announced that the date it will start accepting tax returns this year will be February 12. Tax season normally starts the second half of January, and February 12 will be the latest date that a tax season has started yet. The IRS said in a statement on January 15 that the late start […]
12/31/2020
In this article, we’ll look at what is meant by a US Person for US tax purposes. Many US tax rules are applied to all ‘US Persons’, so it’s an important concept to grasp, however the definition is wider than many people assume. US persons can be divided into several categories, covering different types of […]
12/10/2020
Over nine million Americans live overseas, and those whose global income exceeds IRS minimum thresholds have to file a US tax return. This filing requirement applied even if they also have to file foreign taxes or if the US has signed a tax treaty with their country of residence. This is because the US taxes […]
11/23/2020
It’s an unusual year in multiple ways, and this is also true when it comes to 2020 year-end tax planning. Both the Coronavirus pandemic and the presidential election will affect year-end tax planning for some expats this year. While the pandemic has affected the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion rules, tax changes next year due to […]
11/12/2020
American citizens (and Green Card holders) who live abroad are required to file US taxes annually, reporting their worldwide income. This requirement to file from abroad is because the US taxes based on citizenship, rather than on residence like the majority of other countries. Expats also often have other filing requirements that Americans living in […]
11/05/2020
Americans living abroad are required to file a US tax return every year, reporting all of their global income. No other developed nation requires expats to file in this way. American expats often have to file a foreign return too, and understand how the two different tax systems converge. Furthermore, expats are subject to additional […]