06/10/2019
The number of Americans living abroad, including expats and Digital Nomads, now totals over nine million. Many of them still receive mail in the US from time to time (or regularly) though, and a Virtual Mailbox Service provides a way for expats to see their US postal mail more or less instantly. The way Virtual […]
06/06/2019
What do astronauts and American expats have in common? American expats and astronauts both need the ability, courage and conviction to not just venture out into the unknown, but to succeed and thrive there. Unfortunately, they also share an inability to escape the requirement to file US taxes. The US taxes based on citizenship, meaning […]
06/03/2019
All Americans, including expats, are required to file US taxes, reporting their worldwide income. Expats may also have to report their foreign business interests, assets, and bank and investment accounts, including most foreign pension accounts. To avoid double taxation, rather than relying on the international tax treaties the US has signed, expats must claim one […]
05/30/2019
The new 2018 IRS Tax Book has confirmed that the IRS continued the trend of auditing a much higher proportion of international tax returns then domestic ones in 2018. While a total of 0.6% of all individual federal income tax returns were audited during the year, the figure for international returns is nearly six times the […]
05/27/2019
The US-France income tax treaty was signed in 1994, with protocols added in 2004 and 2009. The treaty defines in which situations people will pay tax to which country, including people who are residents of both, as well as defining in which situations international structures such as investment vehicles, corporations, and trusts will be taxed […]
05/23/2019
Under the 2015 Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes (PATH) Act, the IRS is required to certify to the State Department any taxpayer who owes at least $52,000 (the figure is adjusted for inflation annually) in back taxes. The State Department then blocks any application from that person to receive or renew a new US passport. US filing […]
05/20/2019
Many Americans living abroad are unaware of or confused about their US tax filing obligations. The US tax system is unusual, as it taxes based on citizenship. Almost every other country either taxes based on residence (meaning only people living in that country have to file taxes there), or taxes based on income arising in […]
05/13/2019
Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor was born to parents Prince Harry of England and Princess Meghan Markle this week. The baby prince is currently seventh in line to the British throne. But is he British or American (or both), and if he’s American, will he have to pay US taxes? Citizenship based taxation The US has an […]
05/06/2019
All Americans have to file a US tax return, reporting their worldwide income, including expats. This is because the US taxes based on citizenship, rather than based on residence like most other countries. This means that many Americans living abroad face the prospect of double taxation, paying income taxes both in the country where they […]
05/02/2019
American expats are required to file a US tax return reporting their worldwide income, just as if they lived in the US. Filing from abroad is typically more complex however, due to additional filing requirements such as claiming the exemptions and credits that help expats avoid double taxation, as well as reporting foreign accounts and […]