Weathering the Storm of FATCA

The government is trillions of dollars in debt and raising taxes is never a very popular option for politicians… but going after taxes that should have been paid, but weren’t? That rarely loses Congress a vote, and so today’s expats are the new white whale of the IRS. Specifically, the U.S. Foreign Account Tax Compliance…

Foreign Income Exclusion

Let’s Talk About the Foreign Income Exclusion!   We are often asked questions regarding the foreign income exclusion and what type of income can be excluded.  As the name of the benefit applies, “earned income” is excluded…but the IRS definition may be very different from what you may assume. First, in order to qualify for…

Voluntary Disclosure Program

THE ‘STEAMLINED’ PROGRAM BASICS   In October 2012, the foreign friendlier IRS made filing “old” returns a whole lot easier by initiating “the streamlined” voluntary disclosure program.  If you are one of the many expats who owe no tax (or very little, like under $1,500 per year) and had no clue that there was a…