Receiving a letter from the IRS can be a daunting experience, but it's important to remember that not all letters are bad news. In fact, many letters are simply informational or request additional information as the IRS may need verification in order to process your tax return. Here are some common reasons why the IRS [...]
If you are a freelancer, self-employed, or have income from sources that do not withhold taxes or your withholding is insufficient, you may be required to pay estimated tax to the US government. Here's what you need to know about estimated tax: What is estimated tax? It is very common for someone working in the [...]
In the past few years, there has been an upsurge in US citizenship renunciations. In a recent Forbes article[i], between 2005 and 2009, less than 2,500 people renounced their citizenship. Between 2010 and 2020, this number went up to 36,840. The reasons behind such renunciations could be political or personal and irrespective of the reasons [...]
Planning to sell your main home but concerned about the U.S. tax on the capital gain from the sale of your main home? You may want check if you can utilize the sale of home exclusion before selling your main home. What is the sale of home exclusion? If you are a U.S. citizen or [...]
Foreign persons (not US citizens or Green card holders) or nonresident aliens (NRA), risk becoming subject to US tax on their worldwide income if they spend too much time in the United States of America and meet the substantial presence test. However, they may still be able to escape US tax on their worldwide income [...]
For taxpayers living overseas who have not filed U.S. tax returns in the past, the IRS is providing options for resolving their tax and penalty obligations. The U.S. is one of only two countries (the other Eritrea) that taxes its citizens on their worldwide income regardless of their location. We know of taxpayers who have [...]
A tax transcript is a tax record with key information from the federal US tax returns that you filed previously. If you lost your return and need to find out how much taxes you owe or verify payments you made which is more than 18 months ago, you can obtain free Form 1040-series transcript types [...]
There are many aspects of tax return preparation that need to be considered. By having a professional tax preparer on your team, the following issues can be handled providing the most efficient results. Complexity U.S. tax returns for individuals living abroad are more complicated than in the US. Each taxpayer has their own different [...]
What is an ITIN? ITIN (Individual Taxpayer Identification Number) is a tax processing number issued by the Internal Revenue Service. It is specifically for nonresident aliens who fulfil filing requirements but are not eligible to obtain a Social Security Number (SSN) from the Social Security Administration (SSA). An ITIN does not offer work authorization or [...]
FATCA (Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act) is a US law introduced in March 2010. FATCA focuses on additional information reporting by US taxpayers about certain financial accounts and offshore assets. In addition, financial regulators, governments and banks are also affected. In foreign countries around the world, foreign institutions such as banks are required to report [...]