You Can Have International Tax Issues Without Living Abroad
You do not have to live abroad to have complex international tax obligations. U.S. residents with foreign bank accounts, investments, pensions, inherited assets, or a stake in a business overseas often have reporting requirements that go well beyond a standard 1040. These filings are penalty driven: many start at $10,000 per form, per year, even when no additional tax is owed. And because foreign banks report account data to the IRS under FATCA, unreported accounts rarely stay invisible for long.
Common filing work includes:
- FBAR for foreign financial accounts
- FATCA / Form 8938 for foreign financial assets
- Form 5471, 8865, or 8858 where foreign entities are involved
- Form 3520 for foreign gifts or inheritances received
- Foreign tax credit analysis
- Foreign pension and account reporting
- State tax review where foreign income is involved
Foreign Accounts, Pensions, and Investments
The most common triggers are also the easiest to miss. Foreign bank and brokerage accounts require an FBAR filing once their combined value passes $10,000 at any point in the year, and larger holdings can require Form 8938 with the return as well. The two overlap but do not replace each other; many taxpayers need both.
Foreign pensions and foreign investment funds carry their own traps. A foreign retirement account may be reportable in the U.S. even if it is tax-favored where it sits, and foreign mutual funds or ETFs are often PFICs , which come with punitive tax treatment and separate reporting on Form 8621.
We determine which thresholds you actually cross, prepare the filings, and coordinate them with your 1040 so nothing is reported in isolation.
Ownership in a Foreign Business
Owning part of a company abroad can trigger some of the most demanding filings in the tax code, even when the position feels ordinary: a share of a family business, a stake in a foreign partnership, or a wholly owned entity used for local operations. Depending on the structure, that can mean Form 5471 for foreign corporations, Form 8865 for foreign partnerships, or Form 8858 for foreign entities that are disregarded for U.S. purposes.
Ownership in a foreign corporation can also create GILTI , a U.S. tax on the company’s earnings even when nothing is paid out to you. We identify which forms your ownership triggers, prepare them with the return, and plan around the elections that can soften the result.
Foreign Gifts and Inheritances
A gift or inheritance from a foreign person is generally not taxable income, but above certain thresholds it must be reported on Form 3520 . The penalty for missing it can reach 25 percent of the amount received, which makes this one of the most expensive forms to overlook. If money is on its way from abroad, the best time to plan the reporting is before it arrives. We handle the filing and keep it coordinated with the rest of your return.
If You Are Behind on Filings
Many clients come to us right after discovering these rules exist: an inheritance arrives, a bank asks for a W-9, or a news story mentions FBAR, and years of missed filings suddenly come into focus. The instinct is often to quietly start filing correctly going forward. That is usually the riskier path, because it leaves the prior years open without the protection of a formal program.
The IRS streamlined filing compliance procedures allow eligible taxpayers to catch up with reduced or no penalties, and other cleanup routes exist where streamlined is not the right fit. Coming forward voluntarily is the strong position. We assess which path fits your facts and handle the filings from start to finish.
Individuals and Families We Work With
We work with U.S. citizens, dual citizens, green card holders, and U.S. residents with foreign financial or family connections: accounts and pensions abroad, ownership in a foreign company, assets inherited from overseas, or prior years that need cleanup. This work is most valuable when the international reporting is coordinated with the rest of the individual return instead of handled as an isolated form, and that is how we approach it.