On September 18, the IRS issued Notice 2015-66 which provides that Foreign Financial Institutions (FFIs) in countries with "Model 1" Intergovenmental Agreements (IGAs) will be treated as FATCA compliant, and not subject to FATCA withholding by the IRS, if those jurisdictions notify the IRS before September 30 of this year that they require more time to put their systems in...
Quietly and with no fanfare, a bill was signed into law by the President on July 31 that comes in direct answer to proposals made for several years by FAWCO and its partner organizations, as well as the National Taxpayer Advocate. Beginning in 2016, taxpayers (including overseas filers) will file FinCEN Form 114 at the same time, and subject to...
As almost everyone knows today, most US citizens and green card holders are required to file an annual tax return on their worldwide income, whether or not any tax is owed (see page 7 of the 1040 Instruction booklet for the minimum filing thresholds). No one likes paying taxes but the law is the law (until it is changed!), and...
As a non-partisan organization representing the interests of all overseas Americans, FAWCO supports all efforts to eliminate or alleviate the damaging effects of FATCA. Since the very early days of FATCA, FAWCO has supported the “safe harbor” concept, which would eliminate the accounts held by overseas taxpayers in the country where they are fiscally domiciled from FATCA reporting. FAWCO's concern...
In a letter to their colleagues in the House of Representatives, Americans Abroad Caucus Co-Chairs Carolyn Maloney and Mick Mulvaney are urging the Treasury Secretary and the IRS Commissioner to adopt the recommendation of National Taxpayer Advocate Nina Olson regarding simplifying FATCA reporting requirements for Americans abroad.
On April 13, the Taxpayer Advocate recommended eliminating from FATCA reporting all accounts held...
US expats are often concerned about the dreaded dual-taxation when filing US taxes. But thankfully, the US has put into place several deductions and exclusions to help reduce that possibility. So we have outlined the top 3 ways to save on your US expat taxes!
1. The Foreign Earned Income Exclusion (FEIE)
This is the most common way US expats...