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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
01/23/2017
Under the 2010 Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, also known as FATCA, Americans (including expats) with a certain value of foreign assets have to report them to the IRS each year by filing form 8938 along with their US income tax return. Who has to file? All Americans who are liable to file a US […]
09/13/2016
What is FATCA? FATCA, or the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, is a law introduced in 2010 to help prevent offshore tax evasion that requires foreign financial institutions to report their American account holders to the IRS, including contact details and account balances, and Americans with assets abroad that meet certain requirements to report them […]
08/02/2016
FATCA, the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, was a law passed in 2010 as part of a federal post-2008 financial crisis drive to crack down on tax cheats hiding their money abroad. An unintended consequence though has been the government both snooping on and increasing the tax burden on the estimated 9 million ordinary Americans […]
05/24/2016
With the election now less than six months away, the shortlist for the 45th President is down to just three – Bernie Sanders, Hilary Clinton, and Donald Trump. Most people agree that it’s an unusual field, to say the least. It’s been said that that the number of Americans living abroad (estimates range from seven […]
05/03/2016
(The following article was first published over at iexpats.com). A judge has thrown out a case from a US senator leading a campaign against the controversial Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). Senator Rand Paul and several other campaigners filed suits against government departments in a bid to derail the law that demands foreign banks […]
03/08/2016
American Citizens Abroad (ACA), which lobbies on behalf of US expats, has teamed up with the State Department Federal Credit Union (SDFCU) to offer banking services to US expats. Since the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) began compelling foreign banks to report their American account holders or face significant penalties if they trade in […]