Expats Use IRS Form 673 to Reduce Taxes Withheld From Your Wages

Why let the IRS hold your money all year and not get it back until you file your tax return. If you are an expatriate and claim the foreign earned income exclusion (filing form 2555 or 2555 EZ), housing exclusion  you can file Form 673 with your US employer and reduce your tax withholding during the year to the actual amount you may owe at the end of the year or to nothing if you expect to owe the IRS no taxes at all.

You can download this form at https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f673.pd.  If you need help determining the tax you will owe (if any) as an expatriate living abroad, we can help with that determination. Contact us at ddnelson@gmail.com   

Expats that Owe the IRS a Lot of Taxes, Can Make a Deal and Reduce or Eliminate the Balance Due

If you owe the IRS a lot of past taxes, you can do an offer in compromise and reduce or eliminate the balance due. To proceed, you must have filed all of your tax returns and be current on this years required tax payments (if any).  The process can be complex and many firms advertise on TV to help you make a deal with the IRS, and do not deliver but do take your money. The IRS on the webpage set forth below has a question and answer procedure where you can determine if you qualify and how much you can reduce the taxes due.  IRS WEBSITE WITH OFFER IN COMPROMISE CALCULATOR

Remember if you owe the IRS more than $50,000 in back taxes they can have your passport taken away when you enter the US from abroad. You can only get it back after you resolve the problem with the IRS.

If you need help or professional assistance, email us at ddnelson@gmail.com.

Instructive Videos and Links for Expat and International US Taxpayers

Three new videos are now available on the IRS YouTube page, and several more of interest to taxpayers abroad will be released in coming weeks. Now available are:

• International Taxpayers--Filing Requirements. Learn about the requirements for filing an individual income tax return including income limits while living abroad.
• International Taxpayers--Foreign Earned Income Exclusion. Find out who is eligible, what income qualifies and how to claim the exclusion.
• International Taxpayers--Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN). This video helps non-U.S. citizens determine if they need an IRS-issued tax reporting number, known as an ITIN, and how to apply for one.

Upcoming videos will deal with the foreign tax credit, filing status for a U.S. taxpayer married to a foreign spouse and an introduction to the IRS web site for international taxpayers.

The IRS has also added two new international tax topics to Tax Trails, the agency’s interactive online tool that helps taxpayers get answers to their general tax questions.

The new topics are:

• Am I Required to File a U.S. Individual Income Tax Return (for U.S. Citizens/Resident Aliens Living Abroad and Nonresident Aliens)?
• Filing Status of a U.S. Citizen or Resident Alien Married to a Nonresident Alien.

The International Taxpayers page on IRS.gov is packed with information designed to help taxpayers living abroad, resident aliens, nonresident aliens, residents of U.S. territories and foreign students. Among other things, the web site features a directory of overseas tax preparers.

This is all very complex and often confusing. If you need professional help email us at ddnelson@gmail.com for professional CPA and tax attorney assistance.  We have been doing US International taxes and US expatriate and Nonresident taxes for over 30 years.  Visit our website at www.TaxMeLess.com 

RED FLAGS THAT WILL CAUSE AN IRS AUDIT OF EXPAT OR INTERNATIONAL US TAX RETURNS

Many things may cause your US tax return to be audited. As an expat, in addition to the items list in the article below some items that will cause an audit are:

a. Ownership of a foreign mutual fund and failure to file the special forms required for foreign passive investment companies.
b. Ownership of foreign partnerships and foreign corporations in which you own the majority interest.
c Large. Inheritances or gifts received from nonresident donors when you fail to file form 3520 to report those gifts or inheritances.
d. Unusually large income from outside the US with unusually large deductions offsetting most of that income so little tax is paid.  This might not cause an audit if your paid substantial foreign income taxes abroad and you are claiming a foreign tax credit to offsett your US tax on that income.
e. Other audit triggers from the Huffington Post.


Remember they can audit your return up to three years after it is filed and up to six years if you omitt 25% of your income.  If you want to avoid IRS audits or need representation when the IRS does audit your expat or international tax return email us at : ddnelson@gmail.com

US Expatriates and US Green Card Holders ...New Foreign Tax Credit Guidance from IRS

New Foreign tax credit instructions issued by IRS for US Expatriates and  US permanent residents READ MORE HERE