02/04/2016
Lane Anderson – It’s a common scene from an American household: Kristy Williams is plying her young son, Thomas, with Oreos and marshmallows to finish his studies. The difference is that Thomas is working with a tutor learning Mandarin Chinese, and the Williamses are living in Hangzhou, China, two hours from Shanghai. Kristy and Joel […]
02/04/2016
You’re an American living abroad and one of the things you must do, regardless of your personal circumstance, is to file an annual US tax return. There’s really no other reasonable option. Some, if not many, expatriates do not know they need to file an annual return. Others, for various personal reasons, may simply choose […]
02/04/2016
This short story is an addendum to the blogpost by Greg Dewald on “Why you’re not filing your US income taxes“: Because my income was all earned abroad, (F2555 for the insiders), I did not have to pay US taxes while living overseas. I did, of course, file and pay taxes in the Netherlands, where […]
02/04/2016
Suddenly, some expats are waking up in a cold sweat. They have always had to file tax returns and disclose foreign accounts on a form called the FBAR, although in practice many didn’t. But now Fatca means they have to be more rigorous or face huge fines, in the knowledge that the US authorities could […]
02/04/2016
Your US tax return will begin with a cursory overview by Bright!Tax © Associates to be sure we have all the relevant elements to complete your return. It is then scheduled and forwarded to your assigned Bright!Tax © Tax Specialist – a fully licensed and qualified American CPA who will thoroughly review your return and […]
02/04/2016
We suggest the most relevant approach to this question is to weigh the potential outcomes as a result of your situation – and usually there are two Option One – You choose to continue not filing your US taxes. This is both risky and, by US law, it is a criminal offense. The potential outcome to […]
02/04/2016
It’s as simple as a punchlist, really. If you are able to gather the following documents then you’re well on your way to way to getting your taxes done both easily and accurately. The list is as follows – A copy of last year’s tax return Social Security Numbers for yourself and your spouse if […]
02/04/2016
Self-employment tax is an amount of money that you need to pay the government if you are self-employed, like owning your own business or doing freelance work. You are required to pay this tax if your net profits from self-employment add up to at least $400. It applies to all self-employed US citizens or residents, […]
02/04/2016
By Julia Werdigier LONDON — A tax deal made by Switzerland and the United States this past week effectively puts an end to the status of the small Alpine country as a tax haven for wealthy Americans. The watershed agreement, which came after more than three years of intense discussions between the two countries, is […]
02/04/2016
The United States Treasury Department is now actively working with more than 50 nations to share Americans’ personal financial data that will reveal who is tax compliant, including American expats living overseas. The effort is in support of new FATCA (Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act) laws that require foreign financial entities to report Americans’ account […]