01/04/2018
Donald Trump ran for president on a promise to reduce tax rates and simplify the tax code. Now that the final tax reform bill has been signed into law, we can assess whether he has achieved his aims, as well as the impact of the changes for Americans living abroad. Very generally speaking, many expats […]
01/01/2018
Happy new year from the Team at Bright!Tax! 2017 was the year we were recognized as being the best US expat tax services provider, winning 4 Global EMMA awards, including Tax Provider of the Year in the Americas and Asia Pacific Regions, runner-up in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa and runner up in the […]
12/07/2017
It’s a feel-good story that’s dominated the world’s headlines recently, how an American actress is set to become a British Princess. But how will becoming a British Royal impact Meghan Markle’s relationship with the IRS? And, will her Royal husband be roped into the US tax system too? As the US taxes based on citizenship, […]
11/20/2017
On November 2nd, the House of Representatives unveiled the first draft of the Trump Tax Reform Bill. Here we look at how it will affect expats. Citizen based taxation and FATCA There is no mention in the draft Tax Reform Bill of any change to citizen based taxation for individuals, or of repealing FATCA. It […]
11/13/2017
Year-end tax planning this year is slightly different this year due to the proposed changes to the tax system. Despite this uncertainty, however, there are still plenty of things that expats can do before the holidays to make their lives easier in 2018, and possibly save them money too. Assemble your 2017 records The first […]
10/26/2017
The IRS has announced the annual inflation adjustments for over 50 tax provisions for the 2018 tax year. In this article we’ll look at how some of those provisions will affect expats. It’s worth bearing in mind though that some of the new adjustments announced may never happen, assuming that the Trump Tax Reform Plan is […]
10/18/2017
(The following is an abbreviated version of an original article by Stanton R. Farmer at Thun Financial Advisors). As part of their financial planning, mixed nationality couples must decide the extent to which they share or separate their financial lives, including their accumulated wealth and liabilities (particularly their tax obligations) U.S. citizenship-based taxation has many […]
10/12/2017
Tax season is upon us, and if you’re a US expat living abroad, you might be feeling the pressure to file your US tax return on time. But what if you need more time to gather your financial documents or navigate the complexities of international tax laws? The good news is, as a US expat, […]
10/05/2017
On 27th September 2017, the White House and Republican Congressional leaders released details of Trump’s proposed tax reform plan. So what do the new details mean for expats? Based on what we know so far, the proposed reform herald both good and bad news for Americans living abroad. The good news There’s plenty of good […]
10/02/2017
Living abroad is the adventure of a lifetime, however American expats are still required to file a US tax return reporting their worldwide income, as well as complying with the tax rules in their country of residence. Furthermore, there are extra US tax filing requirements that only apply to expats, such as filing an FBAR, […]