What we handle

US federal and state tax preparation

Annual Form 1040 preparation for US citizens and green-card holders abroad, with the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion (Form 2555) or Foreign Tax Credit (Form 1116) applied depending on which produces the better result. State return coverage where relevant. We'll tell you honestly whether a state return is actually required based on your domicile facts, not default to "file everywhere just in case."

Includes all standard schedules: Schedule B (interest & dividends, including foreign), Schedule D (capital gains), Form 8949 (brokerage detail), Schedule E (rental, royalty, partnership income), Schedule C (self-employment).

FBAR + FATCA reporting

FinCEN Form 114 (the FBAR) for anyone with aggregate foreign financial accounts over $10,000 at any point in the year. Filed annually, separate from the 1040. Form 8938 (FATCA) gets attached to the 1040 if your foreign financial assets exceed the higher FATCA thresholds ($200k/$300k single-foreign-resident, higher for married).

If you missed FBARs in prior years, the Delinquent FBAR Submission Procedure is often the cleanest fix, as long as your returns are up to date.

Streamlined Amnesty (catch-up filing)

If you haven't filed US returns in years, the IRS Streamlined Filing Compliance Procedures are the path back into compliance without the usual penalties. Three federal years, six FBAR years, a non-willful certification (Form 14653), tax owed plus late-payment interest; everything else waived.

We run Streamlined cases regularly. For the full mechanics, see our sister site at streamlinedamnesty.com. It's dedicated to this program specifically.

Tax treaty analysis

The US has income tax treaties with Japan, South Korea, Thailand, China, the Philippines, Indonesia, the UK, and many other countries. It has none with Singapore or Hong Kong. Each treaty has specific provisions on pensions, dividends, business income, social security, and student/researcher fellowships.

The catch: US citizens are subject to the "savings clause" in most treaties, which limits how many benefits actually apply to citizens versus resident non-citizens. Our analysis models which treaty provisions are actually available in your fact pattern, and uses them, where applicable, on your return.

Form 5471 for foreign corporations

If you own 10% or more of a non-US corporation (Japan K.K., Hong Kong limited, Singapore Pte Ltd, etc.), you generally owe Form 5471 each year, with multiple schedules depending on your ownership and the corporation's activity. Failure-to-file penalty is $10,000 per year even if no US tax is due.

For controlled foreign corporations (>50% US-owner), GILTI calculations may apply: US tax on the corporation's earnings even without distribution. Planning moves include Section 962 elections, GILTI high-tax exclusion elections, and re-organization; we run the scenarios before you pick one.

Tax equalization / hypo-tax modeling

For expats on employer assignment with tax-equalization clauses in their contracts, we build hypo-tax models comparing US reference-tax to actual local-plus-US liability. Deliverable is usually a spreadsheet and a memo, useful for both your own understanding and for employer negotiations on tax-equalization true-ups.

Expatriation planning (Form 8854)

If you're considering renouncing US citizenship or giving up a green card, the pre-renunciation planning matters. Five years of clean compliance is required; the Exit Tax applies to "covered expatriates" (net worth over $2M or a certain income-tax-liability threshold); and Form 8854 is filed in the year of renunciation plus sometimes annually thereafter.

We handle the compliance steps and coordinate with immigration counsel when the legal mechanics of renunciation overlap with tax mechanics.

Consulting

Specific decisions that aren't a full tax-return engagement:

• Is my current broker account PFIC-exposed? If so, what are the cleanup options?
• Should I file as Married Filing Jointly with my non-US-citizen spouse, or Married Filing Separately? What does Section 6013(g) election do?
• My company wants to pay my salary through a foreign entity. What does that mean for US tax?
• I'm moving from Japan to Singapore. What changes for US tax purposes?

Hourly consulting on specific questions is available without signing on for a full annual filing.

What we don't do

We're not tax attorneys. We handle compliance and planning, not litigation, controversy representation (audit defense), or criminal tax matters. If your situation has willfulness exposure, ongoing IRS examination, or legal dispute, we'll refer you to specialist counsel rather than engage outside our lane.

Next step

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