01/31/2019
Americans who live abroad are required to continue filing a federal tax return each year, reporting their worldwide income, even if they’re also filing a tax return in the country where they’re living. When expats file their federal return they can claim one or more exemptions that the IRS has made available by filing the […]
11/01/2018
American expats have been required to file a federal tax return from abroad since the Civil War, when the concept was introduced to raise revenue for the war effort from landowners who were fleeing to Canada. While the concept was never revoked, it was largely ignored in the twentieth century, as expats started to spread […]
09/03/2018
All Americans have to file an annual federal tax return, even if they live abroad. This is because the US taxes based on citizenship, rather than on residence, so if you’re a US citizen (or green card holder), you have to file US taxes reporting your worldwide income regardless of where in the world you […]
07/16/2018
While living overseas is most often an incredible experience, American expats have to file US taxes from abroad, reporting their worldwide income, often as well as having to file taxes in the country where they reside. This is because, unlike most other countries, the US operates a citizenship based taxation system, meaning that all US […]
06/14/2018
US expats have been required to file US taxes since the nineteenth century, however it’s only since the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (better known as FATCA) was passed in 2010 that the IRS has had the means to enforce this requirement. FATCA requires US expats with over $200,000 in financial assets held overseas to […]
05/17/2018
America has an unusual tax system, as it’s based on citizenship rather than residence. This means that all US citizens (and green card holders) are required to file US taxes, whether they live in the US or abroad. Nine million Americans are currently living abroad, however many of them aren’t aware of the requirement for […]
02/22/2018
Bitcoin has been dominating headlines over the last few months, as it’s value has risen and fallen, and many questions still linger over its viability as a currency and its value as an asset going forward. For many expats though, Bitcoin has been simply a useful way of getting paid across borders, while others have […]
01/25/2018
The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) was signed into law in 2010 with the aim of cracking down on tax evasion to increase tax revenue following the financial crisis. FATCA contained two important measures that affect expats, a reporting requirement for expats who have financial assets abroad, and a reporting requirement for foreign banks […]
06/19/2017
When expats from most countries leave their homeland to live abroad, unless they still have income from back home, they no longer have to file a tax return in their home country (though they may well have to file one in their host country, if they meet tax residency criteria there). Not so for Americans, […]
04/03/2017
All Americans, including expats, have to file a US tax return and report their worldwide income. All Americans are also liable to pay US taxes, even on foreign-earned income, however there are some exclusions and exemptions available that remove most US expats from ending up having to pay anything. Expats still have to file though […]