“Purported Gifts” from a Foreign Corporation or Partnership- Exceptions & Application of PFIC Rules

My earlier blog post explained the unpleasant tax effects that occur when a US person receives a "gift" from a foreign corporation or a foreign partnership. Yes, bad things happen. The general tax treatment for gifts will not apply. Usually, a gift is not treated as taxable income to the recipient. However, when the gift … Continue reading “Purported Gifts” from a Foreign Corporation or Partnership- Exceptions & Application of PFIC Rules →

FALSE! Failure to File Form 8854 Means Continued Liability for US Tax on Worldwide Income

For today's post, let me start with the Conclusion! If you expatriate after June 16, 2008 and you fail to file Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Form 8854 (Initial and Annual Expatriation Statement), you DO NOT have continued US income tax liability on your worldwide income. It's that simple. You may have read or heard otherwise … Continue reading FALSE! Failure to File Form 8854 Means Continued Liability for US Tax on Worldwide Income →

D is for “Domicile”, Don’t Disregard!

Several of my recent blog posts set the stage showcasing the serious US tax issues that can arise for a married couple when only one is a US person and they are impacted by application of a foreign country’s community property laws. You can read these blog posts here, here and here. For example, if funding … Continue reading D is for “Domicile”, Don’t Disregard! →

US Tax Filings by Fiduciary of Foreign Trust

I have written various blog posts covering foreign (i.e., non-US) trusts. Many of them concern US tax filing and reporting requirements with regard to such trusts. My initial post provided a general overview of the troublesome US tax issues surrounding foreign trusts, and my blog post here navigates the tricky waters in determining if a … Continue reading US Tax Filings by Fiduciary of Foreign Trust →

Life Gets Complicated When a Foreign Country’s Laws Impact US Tax

Transactions now span the globe with the tap of a key on an I-Phone; families are multi-national, with many living in different parts of the world at different stages in their careers and lives; virtual currency has become official legal tender in at least one country, the United States has de facto imposed enforcement of … Continue reading Life Gets Complicated When a Foreign Country’s Laws Impact US Tax →

Have you Expatriated or Thinking of Expatriating? IRS Now Looking Closely

On July 19th, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) through its Large Business and International (LB&I) Division announced six new “compliance campaigns” for taxpayers. Significantly, one of these campaigns targets “expatriation”, and apparently reaches back to those who “expatriated” on or after June 17, 2008. The campaign will be looking at “expatriates” – US citizens who … Continue reading Have you Expatriated or Thinking of Expatriating? IRS Now Looking Closely →

IRS Website = Unreliable, Legal Weight = Zilch

The stress of tax filing time had been on full throttle in April, and taxpayers abroad were scrambling to meet the tax filing deadline in June ... many taxpayers are on extension until October. Here's a familiar scenario: You need to find an answer to a tax question and turn to your good friend, Mr. … Continue reading IRS Website = Unreliable, Legal Weight = Zilch →

A Dangerous Game: Jail Time for Inherited Foreign Accounts

You may remember my earlier blog post detailing the unenviable case of the wealthy New York Seggerman family which had undisclosed offshore bank accounts inherited from their father. Instead of coming clean and revealing the existence of the accounts to the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS), four of the Seggerman siblings created even more secret … Continue reading A Dangerous Game: Jail Time for Inherited Foreign Accounts →

Getting an ITIN When Overseas: Help!

Today's post looks at the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) options available to taxpayers residing abroad who need an “Individual Taxpayer Identification Number” (ITIN) to fulfill their US tax filing duties. There are 3 basic options (i) mailing the completed Form W-7, “Application for Individual Taxpayer Identification”, and required identification documents to the IRS (ii) … Continue reading Getting an ITIN When Overseas: Help! →

Corporate Veil Dropping: British Crown Dependencies Make Beneficial Ownership Registers Public, US Takes Baby Steps

Why should anyone care about government-mandated beneficial ownership registers for legal entities? Why might a multinational enterprise have concerns with such registers? Current news tells us more and more of them are in the works. After years of dragging their heels, and to the surprise of many in the international community, the British Crown Dependencies … Continue reading Corporate Veil Dropping: British Crown Dependencies Make Beneficial Ownership Registers Public, US Takes Baby Steps →