05/22/2026
Leaving New York doesn’t automatically mean you’re done with New York income taxes. Even after moving abroad, you can still be treated as a resident — and taxed like one — depending on how your ties to the state are structured. This is because the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance applies its […]
09/27/2026
There’s no single IRS exchange rate for every expat tax situation. Convenient? No. Manageable? Yes. The right rate depends on what you’re reporting: income, a foreign bank account, an asset sale, foreign taxes paid, or a capital gain. U.S. tax forms want everything in dollars, while your actual life may be happening in euros, pesos, […]
05/06/2026
If you missed foreign income, used the wrong exclusion, or left out a form tied to overseas accounts, Form 1040-X is how you fix it. For U.S. expats, these kinds of mistakes are common, especially when you’re dealing with multiple tax systems, delayed foreign documents, or unfamiliar reporting requirements. The good news is that a […]
05/06/2026
If you run an online business, freelance, or sell goods while living abroad, you might receive IRS Form 1099-K. It reports payment transactions processed through platforms like PayPal, Stripe, or online marketplaces, rather than your actual profit or amount you ultimately owe in tax. Because Form 1099-K reflects total transactions rather than net earnings, it […]
07/22/2026
Golden Visas are residency-by-investment programs that allow you to obtain legal residency in a country by making a qualifying financial investment. But the real value depends on the details: the country you choose, the type of investment required, the residency rules, and whether the program actually leads to permanent residence or citizenship. This is where […]
09/18/2026
You may need to file an FBAR if your foreign financial accounts held more than $10,000 combined at any point during the year. That’s across your accounts—not $10,000 in each—and the requirement applies even if you owe no U.S. tax. Here at Bright!Tax, we see how easily this gets overlooked. You’ve filed your tax return, […]
05/06/2026
Schedule SE is the IRS form used to calculate self-employment tax, and U.S. expats may need it even if their income tax bill ends up low or zero. In plain English: if you’re freelancing, consulting, or earning business income while living abroad, Schedule SE is the form that works out what you may owe for […]
05/06/2026
IRS Schedule 1 is a specific tax form where the “extra” bits of your tax return go. If you made freelance income, picked up gig work, or earned money on the side, this is often the form that suddenly appears and makes you wonder when your taxes became a group project. It attaches to Form […]
05/04/2026
Miss the tax filing deadline? Take a breath. What happens next mostly comes down to one thing: whether you owe money or whether you’re due a tax refund. That distinction matters. If the IRS owes you, the situation is usually less painful. But if you owe unpaid federal income tax, leaving it too long can […]
04/29/2026
It’s not always easy to get detailed information about green cards. The US Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) website can be technical and dense, which may leave you even more confused. As a dedicated tax firm for US immigrants and Americans abroad, we’re well familiar with green cards — so we’ve put together a brief, easy-to-understand guide.