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 […]
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 […]
06/14/2016
FATCA is an acronym for the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, a law passed by Congress in 2010 to help crack down on tax evasion involving people keeping money offshore. The law came into effect on July 1st, 2014. FATCA has two aspects. It requires individuals with assets abroad worth over a certain value to […]
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 […]
02/08/2016
Following recent disclosure that the IRS will soon have the ability to revoke passports of US citizens who owe more than $50,000 of back taxes, fines and interest, we thought it was an opportune moment to take a look at what information the IRS is collecting on Americans living abroad. Historically, the IRS relied on […]