Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) refers to essential details about individuals who ultimately own or control a legal entity. This information typically includes names, addresses, and ownership percentages. Being aware of this information can aid authorities in combating financial crimes by identifying the actual individuals behind the entities at issue. Effective January 1, 2024, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has mandated that most legal entities, both domestic and foreign, must report their BOI. Businesses existing before this date must file BOI reports by January 1 ..read more

We live in a globalized world, and people often work in one country while retaining the citizenship of another. U.S. expats often work abroad, earning income overseas. Their foreign-earned income may be exempt from their U.S. taxes, at least to an extent. You may exempt some of your foreign income by claiming the foreign earned income exclusion. This rule allows U.S. citizens living and working abroad to exempt some of their earnings from being taxed in the U.S. up to a certain extent. What is important to understand is exactly how the IRS defines foreign income. Many people might be working o ..read more

The IRS keeps a watchful eye on Americans who are involved in foreign financial matters, such as foreign trusts and corporations. If that sounds like you, you might have a few reporting requirements. If you are the owner of a foreign trust or are involved in a foreign corporation, you may have to file various tax forms with the IRS. Concerning foreign trusts, relevant tax forms include IRS Forms 3520, 3520-A, 8938, and Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) Form 114. When it comes to foreign corporations, relevant tax forms include IRS Forms 5471, 1120-F, and FinCEN Form 114. Americans ..read more

All Americans, including those who live overseas, have to file annual tax returns with the IRS. If you were unaware of this and owe back taxes, how can you pay them? If you owe taxes to the IRS and you live overseas, you can pay them just as you would if you lived stateside. File your annual return immediately, even if it is late. If you wait even longer to file your tax return and pay the necessary taxes, you will likely receive financial penalties from the IRS. Furthermore, as interest and penalties accrue, certain tax perks for expats, such as the foreign earned income exclusion and the for ..read more

Having dual U.S. citizenship, meaning you have citizenship with the U.S. and a foreign country, can impact your taxes, depending on where you live. If you live abroad, you will have to claim certain credits and exclusions to avoid double taxation. Having dual citizenship with the U.S. and another country can impact your taxes. You will still have to report your annual income to the United States and possibly the other country you have citizenship with, depending on its taxation system. If you have citizenship with another country and live there, you might be able to qualify for certain tax per ..read more

Owing taxes to the IRS while living abroad can put you at risk of losing your U.S. passport. If owe taxes to the U.S. but live abroad, you might not be able to return to the U.S. until you settle your debt with the IRS. In fact, your U.S. passport might be revoked, preventing you from being able to travel anywhere. If you are at risk of losing your passport because of unpaid taxes, file the necessary returns with the IRS and pay what you owe. If you’ve already lost your passport, you can apply for a limited-validity passport for direct travel back to the United States. The IRS provides payment ..read more

Planning and preparing your annual tax return is already stressful enough. But what happens when you move overseas? How can you plan your taxes as an American expatriate? Tax planning is a process that involves reviewing your tax filing requirements and looking into how you can best lower your tax liability while remaining within the confines of the law. For expats, this process can be even more complex, especially when considering the intricate international information returns expats must file as well as the tax credits they are eligible for. Our tax accountants can confirm your residency in ..read more

While you might be spending the next few years in another country – or even the rest of your life – it is still important to plan for retirement.  Many people use IRAs because they are a unique, well-structured way to save money and leverage tax-free growth.  But if your Roth IRA is a U.S. account and you are moving abroad, is there anything you need to do?  Does this affect your account in any way? Usually, Americans living abroad will still pay U.S. taxes and can still hold U.S. accounts, including their IRA.  This usually means you will not need to move your IRA with you ..read more

If you live abroad and were unaware of your American tax liability until now, the streamlined offshore tax filing compliance procedures provided by the IRS might allow you to avoid penalties. The IRS has an amnesty program that allows expatriates who have failed to file their taxes to report their income to the IRS without incurring additional penalties. Only taxpayers who did not file their taxes because of negligence or a mistake can use streamlined offshore tax filing compliance procedures. To use these procedures, you will have to file a delinquent return. You must also submit IRS Form 146 ..read more

If you have foreign financial accounts overseas, or engage in other financial activity abroad, you might have to file several international information returns (IIRs) with the IRS. Such reporting requirements apply to all taxpayers, even expatriates. International information returns must be filed by certain taxpayers to inform the IRS about their financial activities overseas, whether personal or business related. Penalties for not filing these international information returns typically equate to thousands of dollars. Depending on your reporting liability, you might even face jail time for f ..read more