All U.S. citizens and Green Card-holders are required to file a U.S. Federal Income Tax Return every year if their income is over the minimum threshold.
You don't have to do much to take advantage of our straightforward and reliable tax preparation services. Here is how it works: we send you a tax questionnaire for quoting purposes. You don't have to worry about how long it has been since you last filed a tax return or how complex you think your situation might be. Believe us when we say we have seen everything. Once we receive the completed questionnaire, we send you a quote and a straightforward summary of what we will need to do and other information we need. You then just have to give us the green light and begin to relax as all of your filings with the IRS are completed and up to date.
Our fees are highly competitive and represent excellent value for money. We offer itemized, hourly billing for consulting (e.g. tax equalization calculations for employment agreements), as well as cost effective fixed rate package plans. Visit our Quote Form for a free quote and/or to arrange a free consultation with one of our tax experts.
Even if a taxpayer doesn't have enough money to pay, returns should be filed to avoid further penalties for failure to file. Contact us and we can assist in finding a solution to the problem.
While many people are familiar with the penalties associated with non-disclosure of foreign bank and financial accounts, it is important to be aware of other types of penalties. Failure to file your U.S. tax on time can result in the loss of some of the tax benefits available to American expats. Also there are additional IRS forms that must be filed specifically, for which penalties start at $10,000 and go up from there.
We will send you a comprehensive Tax Organizer used to collect information to prepare your return, and then follow up to request any additional information needed to complete your return. Your tax preparer will send you a draft of the completed return for your review, and then send instructions on how to sign and submit to the IRS. As a general homework list to get started, your preparer will likely ask you to produce: Your most recently filed tax return (both Federal and State), Form W-2(s) or foreign equivalent of salary statements, Form 1099(s) or foreign equivalent showing other income, Form 1098-E from student loans if any, Information on transactions that may have incurred capital gains/losses, and any other tax documents that may be applicable.
The best thing to do now is to file your income taxes right away and pay all penalties and interests before they increase. The situation is more common than you might think. You should start with an expat tax expert to identify how many years of back taxes you are to file and what documentation you need to complete the reports and returns needed to comply with the U.S. tax authorities. Our tax consultants will be able to review your situation to test eligibility for Streamlined Offshore Filing Procedures. If eligible, you will only need to file taxes for the past three years but must also file Foreign Bank Account Reports (FBAR) for the past six years.
The foreign earned-income exclusion amount for 2025 is $130,000 (adjusted annually for inflation). This allows qualifying U.S. expats to exclude foreign earned income from U.S. taxation.
Americans living abroad benefit from an automatic two-month extension. This means you must file your return by June 15. However, any taxes due are calculated by the standard return date on April 15 and interest is charged on any taxes due but not paid by that date.
We are able to provide consulting services covering a wide range of concerns for non-resident U.S. tax filers, including tax equalization calculations, FATCA compliance, global tax planning strategies, and many other important tax considerations for Americans living and working abroad.
Under the current tax system, taxpayers assess their own situation and determine by themselves if they are eligible for foreign earned income exclusions. If they are, they make the election for exclusion by completing the relevant form (there is no need to submit any proof with the election).
If such situation occurs, you should file an amended return to avoid penalties from the IRS for incorrectly reporting your income. Depending on the situation, you may not end up owing any taxes after the credits and deductions applicable to expatriates have been applied to your return.
FBAR (Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts) refers to FinCEN (Financial Crimes Enforcement Network) Form 114, which is used to report financial accounts held outside the United States. Account types include bank and brokerage accounts, mutual funds, unit trusts, or other types of financial accounts. According to the IRS' website: An FBAR must be filed for each calendar year that the person has a financial interest in, or signature authority over, foreign financial account(s) when the aggregate balance exceeds the $10,000 threshold at any time during the year. FinCEN Form 114/FBAR must be submitted electronically to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, a bureau of the United States Department of the Treasury.
All figures must be translated into and reported in U.S. dollars. The IRS provides annual average exchange rates for reference. Exchange rates for individual dates are also available at Oanda.com
We can only recommend that you just file it as soon as possible. This is what many previously delinquent filers are doing. They may have only recently been made aware of the FBAR filing requirements, did not know they were required to file, or they were unfamiliar with the kinds of accounts they had to file for. The reasons vary, but they are now scrambling to get back on the grid. The process involves filing your delinquent FBARs electronically via the Department of Treasury's FinCEN (Financial Crimes Enforcement Network), along with an explanation why the reports are being filed late.
Yes. Regardless of your residential status, you are required to file annual tax returns in the U.S. However, depending on your situation, you may be eligible for foreign tax credits, partial foreign income exemption, etc. In summary, if you have foreign source income that is taxed in both the foreign country and the US, you may use the foreign tax paid to calculate a credit against the US tax charged on such income. Foreign tax credit calculation is a complicated process. You should seek professional help on this issue.
Yes, absolutely. To get started, simply visit our Quote Form to request this service. Important: If you need an ITIN for an upcoming tax return, it is best to get started as soon as possible — it can take six weeks or more to obtain an ITIN, depending on your location and other factors.
First, if you are a non-resident tax filer and behind on your taxes, we highly recommend that you start the filing process immediately. FATCA and the fact new international information sharing agreements in place have made it much easier and faster for the U.S. Treasury Department to get financial records for individuals and organizations overseas. This means that it is likely the IRS will try to contact you before you reach out to them. Your next decision is how many years for which you need to prepare your tax returns. The number of years to file will depend on the facts and circumstances of your particular situation, and our tax professionals will be happy to review your situation and recommend possible courses of action.
For your employment income in China, you should retain your monthly payslips which should show your income and Chinese tax withholding amounts. If payslips are not available, you may ask your employer to prepare a written confirmation to confirm your annual income and tax withheld/paid.
Totalization agreements are formal agreements between the U.S. and foreign countries to avoid double taxation of income through social security taxes. The agreements only apply to the imposition of social security tax. If you are self-employed, your self-employment income is eligible for foreign earned income exclusions if you can satisfy the required conditions, but you are still subject to U.S. self-employment tax (i.e. social security tax). However, if you are residing in a country that has a totalization agreement with the U.S. and are subject to social security tax in that country on your self-employment income, you can be exempt from U.S. self-employment tax. There are over two dozen countries with signed agreements with the U.S.
While this is not intended to be a comprehensive list of criteria, the following conditions must be met in order to be eligible for the Streamlined Filing Compliance Procedures (for non-US residents): (1) During at least one of the most recent three income tax years for which, the return due dates have passed, you must be present in a foreign country for at least 330 days and you have not have a permanent abode in the U.S. (2) You must have income from foreign financial assets that have not been reported to U.S. income tax and you may have requirements for filing a report of foreign bank and financial accounts that you have not complied with. (3) The non-compliance is not due to a willful conduct.
Not necessarily. If you have not filed and do not have any taxable income (e.g. under the threshold of the Foreign Income Exclusion for all tax years), then neither penalties nor interest will be applied. If you do owe tax, then you may be eligible for the Streamlined Foreign Offshore Procedures, under which you would be able to avoid non filing and/or late filing penalties. You would then only have to file for three years (but you would still owe interest on any unpaid tax).
It is certainly possible to prepare you own tax return and to save money in doing so. But the risks are great, indeed, including having to pay steep penalties for unintentionally providing incorrect information or neglecting to submit certain forms required for expat specific tax returns. There is also the risk of not knowing you need to prepare certain forms that must be filed independently of your federal tax returns, which can carry severe penalties for non-compliance (such as FinCEN Form 114/FBAR). The U.S. tax code is extremely complex.
In addition to potential capital gain exclusions on the sale of a primary residence, the U.S.-PRC Tax Treaty allows China to tax capital gains derived from the sale of real property located in China. For U.S. citizens and residents, however, the treaty's saving clause preserves U.S. taxing rights: you must still report the gain on your U.S. return and can generally claim a foreign tax credit for the Chinese tax paid on the same gain. Tax treaty wording can be quite complicated and often requires a tax professional's input to determine how it applies under each set of individual circumstances.