Expatriates
The Big Move Means Big Decisions for New Expats
Now is the time of year that many big corporations are discussing HR changes for the fall. If you’re involved in these discussions, you could soon be contemplating a big move overseas.
If you plan to move abroad this year, it will be an exciting and challenging time. There are many factors to consider like what your spouse will do overseas and where your kids will go to school. There are also a plethora of opportunities and experiences to look forward to as an American expatriate. After accepting a new job overseas or a job transfer to a country outside the United States, it’s important to create a long “To Do List” with critical items like finding a place to live, forwarding mail, and finding a physician in your new country. Selecting a trustworthy and dependable CPA firm with experience working with expats is also essential.
Expatriate Tax Returns has many years of tax planning and preparation experience specifically for expats. We put that knowledge to work for you — our clients. It’s critical to inform the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) that you are moving abroad and to call our accounting team to make sure you’re prepared before you make the big move.
A few things to remember before you become an expat: update your contact information with the IRS so they can properly send your refund or any future correspondence. You can update your address with the IRS by completing Form 8822, Change of Address at any time during the year. Failure to notify the IRS of an address change can be costly. For example it can keep you from contesting a lien for unpaid taxes. At Expatriate Tax Returns, we understand that planning for the big move abroad is challenging and there are already so many things to think about. We can help you alleviate the stress by walking you through this journey hand-in-hand. We’ve helped thousands of U.S. expatriates successfully transition to their new country and we’ll help you too.
No matter where you are in the process of your preparation for becoming an expat, call on us for trusted, professional assistance. There are some many wonderful advantages to being an expatriate, but it’s also a time full of important decisions to make. Here’s an easy one: Call ExpatriateTaxReturns.com today at 877-382-9123 or fill out the form on our Website. We’ll be with you every step of the way.
Expat Advice: Don’t Lose Your Passport
It’s That Time of Year Again for Expats
The leaves are changing in America and falling to the ground. No matter where you currently live and work, autumn in America means it’s expat tax time. You might miss the changing colors of fall in the U.S., but you CANNOT miss your October 15 deadline as an American expatriate.
Responsibility for Expat Taxes
President John F. Kennedy said, “Let us accept our own responsibility for the future.” The key word is responsibility. In today’s world, far too few individuals are willing to accept responsibility.
In politics, it seems like members of both political parties find it much easier to just blame the other for the ills in our government. Employees often blame coworkers when something goes wrong. Professional athletes will blame everyone and everything else when the game doesn’t go their way.
When it comes to taxes, responsibility is the principle of both country and community. Tax document preparation is something that we feel very strongly about at Expatriate Tax Returns. Our professionals take their responsibility to our clients very seriously and we understand the trust our clients place in us can never be taken lightly. As expats, your tax returns are your own responsibility, but you have placed the trust in us to prepare them efficiently and effectively.
Our team of tax experts feels that sense of responsibility for your tax returns. We are cognizant that you have a responsibility to the U.S. government to file your expatriate tax returns in a timely manner. When we all place value on being responsible, we are all successful. Your tax returns to the U.S. are filed and paid on time, and we maintain the trust that you have placed in us.
No matter where in this world you currently live and work, the expatriate tax laws must be respected. It can certainly be a hassle to have to file these taxes each year, but we thank you for placing that trust in us and know that we will honor and respect your trust by serving you to the best of our ability at all times. This is the cornerstone of what we stand for at Expatriate Tax Returns — your expatriate tax professionals. Call us today at (877) 382-9123.
Love and Marriage: An Expat Married to a Non-U.S. Citizen
A recent article in the Wall Street Journal titled “Tax Life Can Be Complicated When You’re Married to a Non-U.S. Citizen” looked at the difficulty many American expatriates have when they are married to a spouse who doesn’t have United States citizenship. As if it wasn’t challenging enough to be an American citizen living and working abroad with Expat Taxes, these expats face an additional layer of complexity when they file their taxes.
The first question the article addressed is whether these expats should they file “married jointly” or separately. At Expatriate Tax Returns, we know that many of our clients faced this same confusion. There are advantages and disadvantages to the way you file, so it’s important to know what makes the most sense for you. There are significant tax implications for either situation.
Many expats need to know whether they can put bank accounts in the name of a foreign spouse and whether it is worth it to do this. Many of our clients also ask us about the Foreign Bank Account Report (FBAR), which was introduced by the IRS to battle offshore tax avoidance. The FBAR requires you, as a U.S. citizen abroad, to report financial accounts held abroad. Additionally, you’ll want help determining whether your non-U.S. citizen spouse’s income should be included in your tax return. There also might tax implications based on how you file as it could move you into a higher tax bracket.
A lot of evaluation is required to know how best to handle the situation of an American expatriate filing expat taxes when married to a non-U.S. citizen who is also living and working outside of the United States. The best way to handle this is to allow tax professionals to handle these variables. At ExpatriateTaxReturns.com, no client is treated with a cookie cutter. We look at each client’s needs and situation before evaluating how best to handle their tax preparation and filing. The topic of expat taxes is always complicated, but we have the years of experience to handle it in the most professional, thorough and successful manner. Trust the professionals. Visit our website at www.expatraitetaxreturns.com and fill out the simple form for more information.