Tax

SECURE Act: American expats, experts struggle to grasp impact of latest end-of-year Trump bill

In the final days of 2017, President Trump signed into law a major overhaul of the U.S. tax code, the so-called Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, that contained major, life-changing elements for many American expat small business owners in particular.

January 1, 2020
Tax
By Helen Burggraf

Judge's decision 'clobbered Treasury/IRS' Monte Silver tells Steve Mnuchin, other Treasury officials

Two days after a U.S. District Court judge in Washington, D.C. ruled that he could go ahead with a legal challenge of a key component of President Trump's December 2017 tax reform legislation, Tel Aviv-headquartered U.S. tax attorney Monte Silver told U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and other Treasury officials in an…

December 28, 2019
Tax
By Helen Burggraf

U.S. District Court denies IRS effort to get it to dismiss legal Transition Tax challenge – on Xmas Eve

A U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. said on Tuesday that it "reject[ed]" claims by the Internal Revenue Service that Tel Aviv-headquartered U.S. tax attorney Monte Silver and his fellow plaintiffs "lacked standing" to challenge a key component of President Trump's December 2017 tax reform legislation, as it applies to controlled…

December 24, 2019
Tax
By Helen Burggraf

Potentially significant error in 2018 IRS tax guide for 'certain married taxpayers filing separately' in Expatland

An IRS tax guide published in January of this year and intended for "U.S. citizens and resident aliens who work abroad or who have income earned in foreign countries" contained a major error that has only now come to light, and which "may have caused certain married taxpayers filing separately…

December 16, 2019
Tax
By Helen Burggraf

ACA podcast No. 2: Gov't Accountability Office FATCA report, and targeting of 'tax avoidance enablers'

"Material omissions" from a major U.S. Government Accountability Office report on FATCA earlier this year, along with warnings about an apparently growing trend by tax authorities to target tax advisers as well as their clients when prosecuting alleged tax evasion cases, are among the topics addressed in the American Citizens Abroad's…

December 12, 2019
Tax
By Helen Burggraf

U.S. Treasury, IRS issues final regs on Base Erosion and Anti-Abuse Tax, Foreign Tax Credits

The Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury Department published their final regulations covering two major international tax provisions, the Base Erosion and Anti-abuse Tax (BEAT) and Foreign Tax Credit, both of which had been addressed in President Trump's Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

December 6, 2019
Tax
By staff writer

IRS Assoc Chief Counsel's office reported investigating alleged erroneous Form 3520-A penalties

A months-long campaign aimed at calling attention to allegedly erroneous and disproportionate penalty notices that the U.S. Internal Revenue Service had been issuing, spearheaded by a Minnesota-based certified public accountant who bravely came forward to detail how five of his overseas clients had been hit with such notices, appears to have…

December 5, 2019
Tax
By Helen Burggraf

Richardson, to Canadian radio talk show hostess Danielle Smith: U.S. FATCA info requirements ‘incredibly intrusive’

In an appearance on a well-known Canadian radio talk show on Friday, Toronto lawyer John Richardson explained how U.S. regulations that require Canadian (and other non-U.S.) banks and financial institutions to report to the Internal Revenue Service on their American account holders work, and described them as "incredibly intrusive".

November 18, 2019
Tax
By staff writer

Canada sent 900,000 financial records to IRS for 2018 tax year: CBC News

Canada's Revenue Agency sent some 900,000 financial records to the U.S. tax authorities for the 2018 tax year, in connection with the country's agreement to enforce America's FATCA reporting requirements, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation has reported.

November 12, 2019
Tax
By staff writer

Andersen analysis: IRS virtual currency guidance clarifies tax treatment of 'hard forks' and 'airdrops'

Will a 'hard fork' result in gross income, and a reporting obligation for the U.S. taxpayer owner of the virtual currency subject to that 'fork'? As reported, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service recently released some long-anticipated guidance on this and other questions, addressing how those subject to U.S. taxation should report their…

October 30, 2019
Tax
By Joe Gill

IRS to non-U.S. banks: 'You don't need to close accounts of Americans whose TINs you don't have after all'

Under pressure from European banks in particular, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service has issued clarification with respect to a FATCA requirement that "foreign financial institutions" be obliged to provide the so-called Tax Information Numbers of their American clients from January, 2020 onward, which tax experts say means that banks now…

October 25, 2019
Tax
By Helen Burggraf

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Uncle Sam finally issues guidance on cryptocurrency reporting

The U.S. Internal Revenue Service has issued long-anticipated guidance on how Americans should report their cryptocurrency assets and transactions, and included details of a new "checkbox" that taxpayers must consider when filling out their 1040s.

October 16, 2019
Tax
By staff writer

Switzerland suspends automatic exchange of info with Bulgaria in wake of data leak

Switzerland's Federal Council has announced that it has "decided to immediately suspend the automatic exchange of financial account information (AEOI) with Bulgaria" due to what it called "a problem with the country's data security" – a reference to the revelation earlier this year that the personal data of some 5 million…

October 7, 2019
Tax
By staff writer

'Gwen and Kazia' launch appeal to July FATCA ruling in Canadian court

Two dual Canadian/U.S. citizen plaintiffs in a long-running legal effort to block Canada’s implementation of the U.S.’s Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act have launched an appeal in Canadian Federal Court in Ottawa, after their most recent attempt to challenge the law was dismissed in July.

October 1, 2019
Tax
By Helen Burggraf

Nine additional speakers added to DAUK Tax Day line-up

Nine additional speakers – including American Citizens Abroad's legal counsel Charles Bruce, Dunhill Financial's Brian Dunhill, and Waverton Investment Management director Andrew Vaughan-Payne – have been added to the line-up for the Democrats Abroad U.K.'s first-ever "Tax Day" next month.

September 26, 2019
Tax
By staff writer

Tax

SECURE Act: American expats, experts struggle to grasp impact of latest end-of-year Trump bill

Judge's decision 'clobbered Treasury/IRS' Monte Silver tells Steve Mnuchin, other Treasury officials

U.S. District Court denies IRS effort to get it to dismiss legal Transition Tax challenge – on Xmas Eve

Potentially significant error in 2018 IRS tax guide for 'certain married taxpayers filing separately' in Expatland

ACA podcast No. 2: Gov't Accountability Office FATCA report, and targeting of 'tax avoidance enablers'

U.S. Treasury, IRS issues final regs on Base Erosion and Anti-Abuse Tax, Foreign Tax Credits

IRS Assoc Chief Counsel's office reported investigating alleged erroneous Form 3520-A penalties

Richardson, to Canadian radio talk show hostess Danielle Smith: U.S. FATCA info requirements ‘incredibly intrusive’

Canada sent 900,000 financial records to IRS for 2018 tax year: CBC News

Andersen analysis: IRS virtual currency guidance clarifies tax treatment of 'hard forks' and 'airdrops'

IRS to non-U.S. banks: 'You don't need to close accounts of Americans whose TINs you don't have after all'

More...

Uncle Sam finally issues guidance on cryptocurrency reporting

Switzerland suspends automatic exchange of info with Bulgaria in wake of data leak

'Gwen and Kazia' launch appeal to July FATCA ruling in Canadian court

Nine additional speakers added to DAUK Tax Day line-up

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American Expat Essentials

Acronyms

'Accidental Americans' group launches 'major' letter-writing campaign targeting Congressional Dems

Congressman Holding to discuss ‘Tax Fairness for Americans Abroad’ bill in London in April

Call for expats to be included in U.S. coronavirus relief efforts, as citizenship-based tax regime faces test

UK MP vows to continue speaking out on behalf of ‘accidental Americans’ living in Britain

Charles Schwab telling clients in UK, Europe their accounts must move or be transferred by year’s end

Seven things that surprise Americans about U.K. mortgages, house-buying

Accidental Americans latest: French banks warn of potential need to close 40,000 accounts

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to close all but seven of its overseas offices

U.S. government report acknowledges problems with FATCA reporting

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