Expat Tax Complications - Must US Expats Pay US Taxes & How to Fix Common Errors (Golding & Golding)

Expat Tax Complications

For U.S. expats that live in a foreign country, unless they have formally expatriated and renounced their US citizenship or terminated their lawful long-term permanent residency, they are required to file U.S. tax returns just as if they resided in the United States (subject to making a treaty election if applicable). Likewise, many expats who live in foreign countries will have foreign banking financial accounts and other foreign assets and thus are required to file various international information reporting forms each year to disclose this information to the IRS. Sometimes, expats fall out of compliance or are simply unaware that they are required to file tax returns to report their income. Nevertheless, oftentimes fixing these tax complications is not that big a deal and for tax practitioners who make it seem like it's the end of the world, be aware that this is simply a form of fear-mongering designed to scare you instead of informing you. Let's look at some of the common expat tax complications and what to do if you are out of compliance.