US Expat Taxes — 4 in-depth guides
Do US Citizens Living Abroad Pay Taxes? The Real Answer
US citizens abroad file for life — and most owe little or nothing once the relief is claimed. Who is caught, what gets filed, when expats genuinely owe, and the way back if you never filed.
What Is a Dual Status Alien Spouse
What is a dual status alien spouse — the mechanism, the paperwork sequence, and the errors we correct most often, with every variant of the question answered in one guide.
Do Americans Pay More Taxes Than Canadians
Do americans pay more taxes than canadians — the mechanism, the paperwork sequence, and the errors we correct most often, with every variant of the question answered in one guide.
When Do Expats Have to File Taxes
When do expats have to file taxes: how it actually works, what the relief requires, and the mistakes that cost the most — answered properly rather than guessed.
Files that look like this one
Catching Up From Inside the United States
The domestic route suits a filer who was resident in the US through the missed years, and it differs from the offshore one in what it asks for and what it costs. Choosing between them before anything is filed is the whole engagement.
Read how this one runsOne Employee in a State Nobody Had Registered In
A single person working from home can create payroll registration, withholding and sometimes an income tax filing for the company in that state. The review measures activity against each state's own threshold.
Read how this one runsA Canadian Employer With Staff in the United States
Employing someone in the US creates federal and state obligations that begin with registration, not with the first return. Which states are engaged is decided by where the work happens rather than where the company is.
Read how this one runsA Clean History Used to Remove a First Penalty
An administrative waiver can remove a first failure where the filing and payment record supports it, and it is spent once used. Whether to claim it now or keep it for a heavier year is a judgement made with the whole file in view.
Read how this one runsA Disclosure Where the Facts Were Not Innocent
Where non-compliance was not inadvertent, the certification-based routes are unavailable and a different practice applies, with its own protections and its own price. Establishing which side of that line the facts fall on is done before contact is made.
Read how this one runsA Company Abroad Owned by a US Person
A business incorporated where the owner lives is a foreign corporation to the IRS, with a reporting package of its own and schedules that need local accounts restated. Classification comes first, because it decides what is reportable and when profits are taxed.
Read how this one runsNever Filed a US Return — and Only Just Found Out
Born in the United States, left as an infant, and told by a bank that the returns were owed all along. The work is sequencing: establish which years are actually open, choose the catch-up route on the facts rather than filing quietly, and claim the exclusions and credits that were never taken.
Read how this one runsAn NRI Selling Indian Property With Tax Withheld on the Price
Withholding on a sale by a non-resident is applied to the sale value rather than to the gain, so it routinely exceeds the tax due. A lower-deduction certificate obtained before completion avoids locking the difference up until a return is assessed.
Read how this one runsAll case studies — every published engagement in one place.
Core International & Cross-Border Tax Services
International Tax Planning & Advisory
Strategy and compliance for income, assets and families spread across borders.
U.S. & Cross-Border Tax Returns
Expat & Emigration Tax
Non-Resident Canadian Tax
Transfer Pricing & BEPS
Tax Treaties & Withholding
Cross-Border Estates & Trusts
Global Investments & Reporting
Cross-Border Corporate Tax
India Tax for NRIs & Returning Residents
Canadian Tax with a Foreign Element
UAE Tax for Expats & Their Home Country
Industries & Client Types We Serve Worldwide
Global E-commerce & Marketplaces
- Foreign VAT / GST / sales tax registrations
- Marketplace withholding reviews
- Inventory nexus & PE analysis
- Multi-currency books reconciled
Technology & SaaS
- Cross-border revenue sourcing & withholding
- IP structuring with real substance
- Equity for cross-border teams
- U.S. expansion: entity & PE setup
Professional Services Firms
- Reg 105 / 102 waivers
- Permanent establishment risk
- Partner mobility planning
- Cross-border withholding recovery
Cross-Border Real Estate
- Section 216 rental returns
- FIRPTA withholding recovery
- Section 116 clearance
- Treaty credit optimization
Importers, Exporters & Manufacturers
- Transfer pricing documentation (s.247)
- Customs value vs transfer price
- Foreign affiliate reporting (T1134)
- Country-by-country reporting
Athletes, Artists & Entertainers
- Reg 105 & U.S. CWA agreements
- Multi-state & country calendars
- Touring income allocation
- Royalty & image-rights withholding
Remote Workers & Digital Nomads
- Residency analysis before moving
- Employer payroll exposure
- Totalization & social security
- Foreign tax credits
Investment Funds & Holding Companies
Holding structures live or die on treaty access, beneficial ownership and substance — the MLI's principal-purpose test now sits over every arrangement.
A holding structure is only as good as its reporting. Foreign affiliates, accrued passive income and distributions each carry their own return, and the penalties on those attach to the form rather than to any tax being owed — so a structure that saves tax can still cost money if the information returns are late.
- Treaty access & PPT reviews
- FAPI & surplus computations
- Withholding-efficient routing
- Governance & substance
