A Civil Form 3520 Noncompliance Penalty Can be Substantial Civil Form 3520 Noncompliance Penalties  It is very common for U.S. taxpayers across the globe who are U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, or foreign nationals who need the substantial presence test to receive a gift or inheritance from a foreign person — or distributions out of a foreign trust, and/or may even have ownership or partial ownership of the assets of a foreign trust. In any one of these types of situations — as well as some additional less common situations — taxpayers may have to file a Form 3520, Annual Ret ..read more

Should I Become a U.S. Citizen? Should I Become a U.S. Citizen For many U.S. taxpayers who are either residents or permanent residents of the United States, at some point in time, they will have to determine whether or not they want to become U.S. Citizens or not. Becoming a US citizen is a big deal, because it involves both immigration and taxation implications. Most notably, once a person becomes a US citizen, they may lose the opportunity to apply for certain treaty elections and at a future date may become subject to the exit tax. For some taxpayers, becoming a US citizen is worth it be ..read more

Overview of PFIC: New Passive Investment Company Tax Guide PFIC Tax Overview While there are many complicated aspects to international tax and reporting, the IRS requirements for having to report Passive Foreign Investment Companies (PFIC) are some of the most daunting and complex. Technically, the PFIC is an acronym for Passive Foreign Investment Company, and U.S. taxpayers worldwide (including U.S. Expats) who meet the reporting requirements, may have to report their PFICs on various international information reporting forms each year such as the FBAR and Form 8621. There are only a handf ..read more

Why Does Dual US Citizenship Affect Expat Taxes, A Tax Guide Dual U.S. Citizenship Impacts Taxes It is not uncommon for U.S. Taxpayers to have dual citizenship in a foreign country. In a common scenario, a foreign taxpayer who is a citizen of another country comes to the United States on a work visa, transfers to lawful permanent resident status, and then becomes a US citizen. Unfortunately, there are many IRS tax traps to consider when someone is a dual citizen. It is also important to note that there are two aspects of dual citizenship. There is the immigration issue of becoming a United S ..read more

For U.S. Expats Late Filing Tax Returns and FBAR Can Expats Amend Prior Tax Returns or File Late Taxes Safely? Most countries (aside from the United States) only require taxpayers who are residents of their country to file annual tax returns to report their worldwide income. This is referred to as Residency-Based Taxation. Unfortunately, the United States is one of only a few countries that follows a Citizenship-Based Taxation model, which means the United States taxes U.S. Citizens, Lawful Permanent Residents, and other residents who qualify as US persons for tax purposes on their worldwide ..read more

For Wealthy Americans (HNW) Seeking Offshore Tax Planning High-Net-Worth Americans Who Seek Offshore Tax Planning It can be very alluring for wealthy Americans who are high-net-worth or ultra-high-net-worth to fall victim to internet shysters who make it seem that wealthy Americans can just move overseas and avoid much of the taxes that they currently pay to Uncle Sam each year. Unfortunately, there are heaps of false information online peddled by non-licensed ‘professionals’ making grand statements about offshore planning techniques which: do not work, probably never worked, and ..read more

5 Reasons Why Expatriates Get Audited by the IRS Why Do Expatriates Get Audited by the IRS? The process of expatriation is the process in which a U.S. person who is either a U.S. Citizen or Long-Term Lawful Permanent Resident of the United States formally renounces their US citizenship or relinquishes their permanent residency status. From a U.S. tax perspective, the Taxpayer who expatriates is no longer considered a U.S. person for tax purposes. As a result, they are no longer taxed on their worldwide income as a U.S. person but rather are only taxed on their U.S-sourced income. Thus, if an ..read more

What Happens When an Expat Files Their U.S. Taxes Late? Can Expats Amend Prior Tax Returns or File Late Taxes Safely? Most countries (aside from the United States) only require taxpayers who are residents of their country to file annual tax returns to report their worldwide income. This is referred to as Residency-Based Taxation. Unfortunately, the United States is one of only a few countries that follows a Citizenship-Based Taxation model, which means the United States taxes U.S. Citizens, Lawful Permanent Residents, and other residents who qualify as U.S. persons for tax purposes on their ..read more

A Guide for Expats to Offshore Tax Amnesty Filing Programs Expat Tax Compliance Guide to Filing Streamlined While there are many different types of international tax amnesty programs for U.S. taxpayers who are out of compliance with foreign account, asset, investment, and income reporting — the streamlined offshore procedures are the most common program available. Technically, the streamlined offshore procedures are referred to as the Streamlined Filing Compliance Procedures and there are two versions of the program: Streamlined Domestic Offshore Procedures and Streamlined Foreign Offshore P ..read more

An Expat Tax Compliance Guide to Filing Streamlined Offshore Expat Tax Compliance Guide to Filing Streamlined While there are many different types of international tax amnesty programs for U.S. taxpayers who are out of compliance with foreign account, asset, investment, and income reporting — the streamlined offshore procedures are the most common program available. Technically, the streamlined offshore procedures are referred to as the Streamlined Filing Compliance Procedures and there are two versions of the program: Streamlined Domestic Offshore Procedures and Streamlined Foreign Offshore ..read more