07/22/2020
With the election now less than six months away, the shortlist for the 45th President is down to just three – Bernie Sanders, Hilary Clinton, and Donald Trump. Most people agree that it’s an unusual field, to say the least. It’s been said that that the number of Americans living abroad (estimates range from seven […]
09/03/2020
(The following article was first published over at iexpats.com). A judge has thrown out a case from a US senator leading a campaign against the controversial Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). Senator Rand Paul and several other campaigners filed suits against government departments in a bid to derail the law that demands foreign banks […]
09/05/2020
Our Bright!Tax IRS Insights series lifts up the hood to reveal the inner workings of the IRS engine. Today we’ll be looking at the best strategies for responding to an IRS audit letter. As described in our previous IRS Insights article, the IRS can access a vast amount of information about US taxpayers living abroad, […]
08/10/2020
We are delighted to announce the launch of the Bright!Tax Global Scholar Initiative. The initiative will offer supplemental fees support to the next generation of young Americans who are currently studying or who would like to study abroad. The Bright!Tax Global Scholar Initiative will provide scholarships of a minimum of $1000. Awards will be made […]
09/03/2020
Bright!Tax is delighted to announce that Katelynn Minott, CPA, has been promoted to Partner. With clients in over 150 countries worldwide, Bright!Tax is a leading provider of US expat tax preparation services to the nine million Americans living overseas. Before joining Bright!Tax in 2012 as a Senior CPA, Ms Minott graduated from the University […]
09/03/2020
American expats can live incredible lives, and often have incredible stories to tell. New Yorker Caroline Calloway is a mature student studying History of Art at Cambridge, one of the UK’s (and world’s) oldest Universities. Her Instagram posts about her adventures in the bizarre “Harry Potter-esque” world of the university’s antiquated traditions and rituals have gained […]
10/26/2020
US citizens and green card holders who live and work outside the US may be able to exclude part or all of their foreign earned income (both wages and income from self-employment) from US tax using the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion (FEIE). To qualify for the FEIE, a person needs to both work and live […]
01/19/2021
US citizens and green card holders living abroad are required to report their worldwide income to the IRS. They may also have to pay foreign income tax in their country of residence. Paying the full rate of tax on the same income to two different countries is called double taxation. The Foreign Tax Credit is […]
09/03/2020
The Foreign Bank Account Report (known as FBAR) obliges all US citizens and green card holders with foreign bank accounts that contain a total between them of at least US$10,000 at any time throughout the tax year to file a form (114) to the IRS. At the end of last month, President Obama signed into […]
09/03/2020
Currently, an estimated nine million Americans are living abroad. The majority have accounts at foreign banks, and many of them are now receiving letters from their banks asking for their US tax identification numbers. Some are also asking their American clients to certify that they are current with their US tax filings. FATCA, the […]