02/11/2021
The 2021 tax season opens on February 12, allowing Americans both in the States and abroad to start filing their year 2020 tax returns with the IRS. In this article we look at what Americans living abroad need to know ahead of filing their US taxes in 2021. Why do Americans abroad need to file […]
02/09/2021
Whether it’s Americans who have moved up to Canada, or perhaps US/Canadian dual citizens living in Canada who have received inheritances from US relatives, many Canadian residents have US IRA investment accounts. Individual Retirement Accounts (IRA) are US-based investment and retirement accounts similar to Canadian RRSPs. In this article, we will discuss what options Canadian tax residents have when considering […]
02/08/2021
With 2021 tax season starting this week, Bright!Tax has created a tax calendar for American expats filing US taxes from abroad this year. All Americans are required to file US taxes, including those living abroad, if their global income exceeds IRS minimums. IRS minimums start at $5 for Americans married filing separately to a foreign […]
02/04/2021
The 2021 Expats Virtual Financial Summit, which took place last week, has been declared an extraordinary success, according to a survey of the over 700 American expats who attended the four day online event. The summit consisted of nine talks that took place between January 26 to 29, each on a different topic relating to […]
02/01/2021
The IRS Relief Procedures for Certain Former Citizens was introduced in September 2019 to allow certain Americans to renounce their US citizenship without facing back taxes and penalties. The particular group the program was aimed at is known as ‘Accidental Americans’, meaning people who have the right to US citizenship through birth but who have […]
01/28/2021
Many of the nine million Americans who live abroad around the world are surprised to discover that they have to file US taxes to report their global income. By the time they realize this though, many are already behind with their US tax filing, often by several years. The reason that Americans abroad have to […]
01/21/2021
The IRS has announced that the date it will start accepting tax returns this year will be February 12. Tax season normally starts the second half of January, and February 12 will be the latest date that a tax season has started yet. The IRS said in a statement on January 15 that the late start […]
01/14/2021
The IRS Standard Deduction allows Americans to deduct a fixed amount of their income from US tax when they file their federal return. The Standard Deduction lets Americans avoid the hassle of itemizing their actual deductions when they file. The amount of the Standard Deduction was very low before the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs […]
01/11/2021
Bright!Tax Partner and Managing CPA Katelynn Minott will be speaking at the 2021 Expats Virtual Financial Summit. The 2021 Expats Virtual Financial Summit, which takes place over several days at the end of January, brings together some of the world’s leading experts on different aspects of finances for Americans living abroad. Katelynn is among the […]
01/07/2021
On 31st December 2020, the IRS quietly dropped a Bitcoin bombshell as it released a statement saying that it intended to add virtual currency accounts as a reportable account under FBAR rules. The statement read: “FinCEN intends to propose to amend the regulations implementing the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) regarding reports of foreign financial accounts […]