11/13/2025
A Golden Visa is like stepping into the priority lane at immigration—not because of your frequent flyer miles, but because you’ve made a qualifying investment. Countries use these programs to attract foreign capital, and in return, investors get long-term residency, visa-free travel perks, and sometimes even a path to citizenship. For non-EU citizens, especially Americans […]
11/06/2025
Winning the lottery feels like the universe just handed you a golden ticket—until the IRS shows up with scissors to take its cut. Whether you cash out in a lump sum payment or spread your jackpot over annual payments, taxes on lottery winnings are unavoidable. Between federal rates (up to 37%) and state rules that […]
11/04/2025
Big gifts come with a little fine print. If you give more than the annual exclusion to any one person in a year (or make another reportable transfer), Form 709 is the paperwork that keeps score. Here’s the surprise: filing the form doesn’t usually mean paying the federal gift tax. Instead, it’s more like keeping […]
10/30/2025
April 15 has a way of sneaking up on all of us. One minute you’re making New Year’s resolutions, and the next you’re staring down the tax deadline, wondering how it got here so fast. If your paperwork is still in limbo—or you’d simply like a little breathing room—the Internal Revenue Service has a safety […]
12/12/2025
Earning in Euros while filing in dollars can feel like being charged twice for the same entrée. The U.S.-Germany income tax treaty steps in as the grown-up at the table: it decides which country taxes which slice of your income, tells the other one to ease off (via a credit or an exemption), and often […]
10/28/2025
Form 1118 is notoriously complex.
In fact, the IRS estimates that it takes about 25 hours to complete. Fortunately, as a US expat-specific tax firm, we’re familiar with Form 1118 and here to walk you through it: what it is, who should file it, how to complete it, and more.
10/23/2025
Here’s the expat tax surprise no one enjoys: moving abroad doesn’t mean breaking up with the IRS. U.S. citizens and resident aliens are taxed on their worldwide income—whether that’s wages in London, capital gains in Hong Kong, qualified dividends in Paris, or even Social Security checks showing up in Costa Rica. Thankfully, there’s a way […]
12/12/2025
The contract says one number, your bank account whispers another. Welcome to Germany, where paychecks are a little like cake: layered, tidy, and occasionally surprising. Income tax here is national and progressive, collected through your local Finanzamt. That means your “bracket” is only the rate on your last slice of taxable income, not the whole […]
10/21/2025
Running a business overseas? Congratulations—you now have not only more stamps in your passport, but also more paperwork in your tax return. Enter Form 8858, the IRS’s way of keeping tabs on your foreign disregarded entities (FDEs) and branches. This form isn’t about paying extra tax—it’s about disclosure. The IRS wants a snapshot of your […]
10/16/2025
Living abroad can reset almost everything—your time zone, your grocery list, even your definition of “good coffee.” What it doesn’t reset? Your obligation to file a U.S. tax return. For expats, the real prize is tax relief through the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion (FEIE) or Foreign Housing Exclusion. But to qualify, you need to show […]