IRS Drops Form 708: 40% Tax, Gifts & Bequests, “Covered Expatriates”

The Internal Revenue Service has released the final version of Form 708, titled “United States Return of Tax for Gifts and Bequests Received from Covered Expatriates,” (revision dated December 2025) along with detailed draft instructions (revision dated December 2025). As of today’s publication, the accompanying instructions remain in draft form available only as a draft … Continue reading IRS Drops Form 708: 40% Tax, Gifts & Bequests, “Covered Expatriates” →

No U.S. Tax Honeymoon When Americans Marry Non-U.S. Citizens

My article copied below, first appeared on Forbes May 11, 2024 – link here. It provides some important tax tips for those in a US/non-US citizen mixed marriage! Follow me on Forbes for easy to understand US international tax coverage. I’d loved to be your “go-to” person when it comes to US tax issues impacting Americans … Continue reading No U.S. Tax Honeymoon When Americans Marry Non-U.S. Citizens →

U.S. Tax-Savvy Gifting By Foreigners To U.S. Persons

My article copied below, first appeared on Forbes May 11, 2024 - link here. Follow me on Forbes for easy to understand US international tax coverage. I'd loved to be your "go-to" person when it comes to US tax issues impacting Americans abroad or foreign persons with any US connection. The US always finds a … Continue reading U.S. Tax-Savvy Gifting By Foreigners To U.S. Persons →

Tis the Season! Giving / Getting Gifts from a Foreign Entity?

Holidays are soon upon us, and many people will be making gifts to family and friends. It is very common to make gifts of cash – typically sending funds from a bank account to the recipient’s account. When gifts are made by foreign persons to US persons, there are many US tax traps for both … Continue reading Tis the Season! Giving / Getting Gifts from a Foreign Entity? →

Tips for the Foreign Nonresident to Avoid Gift Tax when Gifting to Persons in the USA

Last week's blog post covered the US gift tax basics for foreign nonresidents wishing to make gifts to persons in the US. As discussed in that post, foreign nonresidents are generally subject to US gift tax only on tangible assets located, or deemed to be located, within the US at the time of the gift transfer. … Continue reading Tips for the Foreign Nonresident to Avoid Gift Tax when Gifting to Persons in the USA →

Foreign Persons Making Gifts to the US – Cash / Wire Transfers / Checks?

Understanding the US gift tax is important for both US and non-US persons. It comes as a big surprise to many people that US gift tax issues can arise in many unanticipated ways, such as sending money to an adult child attending college; making loans interest-free to family members or giving them loans with below-market interest rates. Even non-US persons can … Continue reading Foreign Persons Making Gifts to the US – Cash / Wire Transfers / Checks? →

Taxpayer Wins! Foreign Gift Not Reported: DOJ Concedes he had “Reasonable Cause”

We have had a taxpayer win in the foreign information reporting arena! I provide a summary of the case of Mr. Krzysztof Wrzesinski below. For readers who wish more, the taxpayer’s complaint is here. Background of the Wrzesinski Case Mr. Wrzesinski (“Taxpayer” or “T”) was a native of Poland who immigrated to the United States … Continue reading Taxpayer Wins! Foreign Gift Not Reported: DOJ Concedes he had “Reasonable Cause” →

The Perfect Storm – US Tax, Community Property & the Mobile International Couple

Last week I blogged about how the US tax system can create serious tax problems for the international couple when one is a US person and the other is not. In order to keep things simple, it is often advised that the couple hold assets separately to avoid nasty US tax complications. However, in some … Continue reading The Perfect Storm – US Tax, Community Property & the Mobile International Couple →

Breathing American Air – Hazardous to your Wealth? (Part II)

Part 1 of this blog post introduced readers to some of the issues surrounding US taxation of foreign persons and discussed the pitfalls of tax ignorance. This 2-part series identifies areas of potential US tax exposure for foreign nationals and examines the questions the foreign person and his advisors should be asking before taking a … Continue reading Breathing American Air – Hazardous to your Wealth? (Part II) →

Breathing American Air – Hazardous to your Wealth? (Part I)

Foreigner asks: “Can I breathe American air without being subject to US tax?” The answer to that question is a big, fat MAYBE. For starters, it depends how long you were in the US breathing that air. While the question might sound funny, there is absolute truth in the answer. It amazes me how many … Continue reading Breathing American Air – Hazardous to your Wealth? (Part I) →