09/03/2020
Last week the UK announced former mayor of London Boris Johnson as the country’s new Prime Minister. Few people know though that new UKPM Mr Johnson was until 2016 an American citizen, and that he renounced his US citizenship to avoid having to file US taxes. Mr Johnson was a US citizen by virtue of having […]
09/24/2024
Most US expats are familiar with ordinary income taxes, which range from 10% to 37% depending on overall taxable income. Through expat-specific tax breaks, Americans abroad can often greatly reduce or eliminate their US tax liability. While this is generally a good thing, it can make high-income expats more susceptible to the Alternative Minimum Tax […]
09/02/2020
The underlying principle of the US tax system is that US citizens and Green Card holders are required to file and report their total worldwide income, whether they live in the US or abroad, and wherever in the world their income is earned or sourced. This means that many expats have to file two tax […]
03/31/2025
Just found out about PFICs and feeling a little panicked? You’re not alone. Many U.S. expats with foreign investments don’t realize they own a Passive Foreign Investment Company until they’re knee-deep in tax forms—or worse, facing unexpected tax bills. The IRS classifies many foreign mutual funds, ETFs, and investment funds as PFICs, and unfortunately, they come with some of the most […]
09/07/2020
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 the […]
08/10/2020
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 […]
04/30/2025
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 […]
09/03/2020
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 […]
09/03/2020
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 […]
02/25/2025
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 […]