08/13/2020
This post was last updated March 6, 2023. It’s frustrating for expats, but all US persons (both citizens and permanent residents) are required to file a federal tax return as long as they meet the income reporting threshold. Depending on their circumstances, expats may also owe taxes to the country in which they reside. However, […]
04/30/2020
US expats are required to file a US tax return, reporting their worldwide income, wherever in the world they live. The Foreign Earned Income Exclusion is an IRS provision that expats can claim that helps them reduce their US tax bill, often to zero, when they file from abroad. This year though, due to the […]
03/23/2020
American tax rules require all US citizens and green card holders, including expats, to file US taxes on their global income. It’s unusual for expats to have to file: most countries just require residents to file, or just tax income arising in the country. As a result, American expats often have to file two tax […]
12/09/2019
Because the US taxes based on citizenship, American expats have to file US taxes from abroad, reporting all of their global income. Many Americans also have to file foreign taxes too, depending on the rules in the country (or countries where they live). Americans also often have to report their foreign registered bank and investment […]
03/18/2019
All Americans (including green card holders) are required to file US taxes, reporting their worldwide income, including expats. Many expats mistakenly assume that they don’t have to file US taxes if they don’t have US sourced income, or due to a tax treaty, however all Americans who earn over $12,000 or just $400 of self-employment […]
02/07/2019
Many Americans living abroad have heard that their income up to a certain threshold is exempt from US taxation. The truth is a little more complicated however. Due to America having a citizenship based taxation system, all Americans, including expats, are required to file a federal tax return each year, reporting their worldwide income. When […]
12/10/2018
Because all American citizens and green card holders are required to file a US tax return, reporting their worldwide income, the IRS provides a number of exemptions that can be claimed that help expats minimize (and most often eliminate entirely) their US tax liability. These exemptions must be claimed when expats file their federal […]
09/17/2018
Because the US taxes based on citizenship rather than on residence, all American citizens and green card holders, including expats, have to file US taxes, wherever in the world they live. To mitigate the risk of double taxation (expats having to pay taxes abroad as well as to the US) that the requirement raises, […]
09/11/2018
When Americans move abroad, they are usually more focused on the adventure ahead than on getting to grips with US tax rules for expats. In fact, many assume that their foreign income is tax exempt. It’s counter-intuitive, in a way, that US expats are required to file US taxes from abroad, declaring their worldwide income. […]
08/13/2018
Many expats are surprised or even shocked when they discover that they have to file US taxes from abroad. They may be paying foreign taxes where they live already, and anyway no other country (except Eritrea) requires expats to continue filing if they move abroad. While the US has tax treaties with over 100 other […]