US non-residents (for tax purposes) must make a special election in order to file joint tax returns with their US tax resident spouses. Changes to individual income tax forms for 2024 indicate that the IRS may be taking a closer look at the returns [...]
The US Government is seeking to increase transparency around the “true” beneficial owners of U.S. entities or entities doing business in the US. In particular, the US wants to: Cut through all the layers of company ownership to identify the individuals or companies that [...]
For years, the IRS has complained about “tax havens” like Switzerland whose secrecy laws have enabled wealthy US citizens to hide assets offshore and (illegally) shelter their foreign income from US taxation. Since 2009, the US has made great strides in chipping away at [...]
The IRS is currently on a mission to identify individuals who haven’t been filing their US tax returns each year. It is specifically targeting individuals who the IRS suspects are “high-income non-filers.” As a result, many G-4 visa holders have recently ended up on [...]
Last week, the IRS announced that it will increase audits and scrutiny on nonresidents with US rental properties. This move is part of the IRS’s campaign, launched on October 5, 2020, to improve the timeliness and accuracy of returns filed by nonresidents (including G-4 [...]
If you are a G-4 visa holder or other nonresident, selling your home in the US this year has been tough. The housing market hasn’t been the problem. In fact, home sales have been booming in many areas. Instead, the problem has been getting [...]
On March 2, 2020, the IRS passed new guidance making tax filings easier for certain US taxpayers with foreign pensions, retirement accounts, and savings trusts outside the US (see Rev. Proc. 2020-17). Specifically, it created two new “safe harbors.” Taxpayers whose retirement or other [...]
On March 2, 2020, the IRS announced two new “safe harbors” for certain US citizens, green card holders, and other US tax residents who own foreign pensions, retirement accounts, and savings trusts (see Rev. Proc. 2020-17). It also offered relief from certain penalties for [...]
If you own the foreign equivalent of a 401(k) plan or an IRA, then you might reasonably assume that, under US tax law, the IRS would treat your foreign account the same way it treats US 401(k)s and IRAs. You might assume that your [...]
Do you have financial accounts or foreign assets overseas? If so, did you know that there is a big deadline looming under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA)? Foreign institutions are required to obtain IRS Forms W-9/W-8BEN from US clients. Under FATCA, foreign [...]
