FBAR: Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts

Filing US taxes from abroad has been a requirement for American expats for around 150 years, however until recently it wasn’t a requirement that the IRS was able to enforce, so many expats didn’t bother. Since the 2010 Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (often referred to as FATCA) however, the IRS now has access to […]

Many expats are surprised and sometimes alarmed to learn that they are still required to file US taxes from abroad, reporting their worldwide income. To prevent double taxation, the IRS has put in place several exemptions that expats can claim when they file, such as the Foreign Tax Credit for expats paying taxes abroad, and […]

All American citizens and green card holders whose annual income exceeds $10,000, or just $400 of self-employment income, are required to file a US tax return every year reporting their worldwide income. Unlike most other countries, the US tax system doesn’t recognize Americans who live abroad as being any different to those who live stateside, […]

Because the US taxes based on citizenship rather than on residence, all Americans are required to file US taxes, reporting their worldwide income, wherever in the world they live.   The good news is that there are some exemptions available for expats that either reduce or in many cases eliminate their US tax liability, such […]

Americans living abroad are required to file a US tax return the same as if they lived in the US, reporting their worldwide income. Fortunately, there are several IRS exemptions such as the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion and the Foreign Tax Credit that they can claim that prevent most expats from paying US tax (although […]

President Trump’s former campaign manager Paul Manafort, along with his associate Richard Gates, were indicted this week, with a long list of criminal charges filed against them. The charges include engaging in conspiracies against the United States and to launder money, making false statements, acting as an unregistered foreign agent, and failing to report foreign bank […]

Americans living abroad still have to file a US tax return declaring their worldwide income, as well as meeting their host country tax rules. The good news is that there are several IRS exemptions, notably the Foreign Tax Credit and the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion, that help expats avoid double taxation, and that can be […]

The US tax system is different to every other developed country’s, in that America taxes based on citizenship rather than on residence. That means that whereas most countries only tax residents (and non-residents who have income arising in the country), the US taxes all US citizens wherever in the world they live. This means that […]

Because the US taxes based on citizenship rather then residence, just like Americans living stateside, expatriates are still required to file a US tax return if they earn over around $10,000, or just $400 of self-employment income. Similarly, they must declare and pay US taxes on their worldwide income, although there are several exclusions that […]

FBAR is an acronym for Foreign Bank Account Report. It’s a filing requirement for Americans with bank or financial accounts overseas that meet certain criteria. Americans have been required to report certain offshore accounts since 1970, when the Bank Secrecy Act was passed to prevent money being kept offshore for the purpose of avoiding US […]