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Because the American economy struggled, you decided to take the opportunity of a lifetime—to live and work abroad. You have worked on the USA for the last 10 years and this new place is really hectic and you are full of lots of culture shock. You also have to get everything settled—your housing, your transportation, currency exchange, language, etc. Now that you’re an expat, the last thing on your mind is U.S. income taxes. Fast forward a few years later, and you realize that you haven’t paid any income taxes to the United States in a few years. Where should you even start? This situation is more common than you might think. To start, you could go around the Internet on forums and read articles to figure out what you need to do, or you could talk to an expat tax consultant. Then you should figure out how many years of back taxes you owe. Then you need to find out what forms you need to fill out and what documentation you need in order to set the record straight. You also have to prove that you have been an expatriate for all the tax years that you owe for. Unfortunately, you may owe penalties and interest that has accrued over the years of unpayment. One common form that expatriates have to fill out is the Foreign Bank Account Reporting form (FBAR), but generally speaking you will not owe any penalties for not filling that out if you voluntarily come forward and reconcile it for the past years that you missed. US expat taxes can be overwhelming and frustrating but if you take it step by step, and talk to a professional, you can get all square in no time. Ryan Johnson writes about expat taxes at the Expat Tax Blog.
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United states expat tax, taxation, expatriate, expat taxes,
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