Tax Obligation to my birth country.

[The Virginian]

Can any one provide a URL to gleen information regarding what my tax obligations are to USA. Consider investment income generated outside the USA. thanks Phil

[Chris]

This is truly a minefield. You need to find and consult the right tax attorney.

[GringoCArlos]

I have used Jane Bruno for many years, and recommended her here on many occasions. She is a tax attorney and a CPA, and she used to work for the IRS. She and her husband have also lived outside the US for a time, and so she understands what it is like.

Her website is: Taxes for Americans Abroad/Home, and she also offers online consulting. Jane has written a fairly comprehensive book/guide on US Expat taxes, which she updates, that ANY US citizen who lives outside the US should have, in order to understand the rules of the "game" so that they plan accordingly. Her book includes information about investments/companies /offshore income of US citizens and the IRS requirements for each.

Every year, I just Fed-Ex my information to her, she does my returns and returns them to me via Fed-Ex, ready to sign and send in to the IRS. She really knows her stuff, and has been very helpful to me.

[mountainannie]

but whatever you do - don't just neglect to file.... uncle sam likes to hear from you.. officially, I believe that you are exempt from the first 80k that you earn overseas, although I do not know about what is invested overseas. You do get a write off for any taxes that are paid overseas as well,,,,, "a tax dodge accountant is a businessman's best friend" so sung by the ozzie group, Redgum.

[The Virginian]

Thanks everyone for your help/advice. I'm still researching and probably will for some time. Our investment income is very very small here and I would like to keep it and not offer it up for taxes. This is what we live off of.

[DrChrisHE]

Originally Posted by mountainannie

but whatever you do - don't just neglect to file.... uncle sam likes to hear from you.. officially, I believe that you are exempt from the first 80k that you earn overseas, although I do not know about what is invested overseas. You do get a write off for any taxes that are paid overseas as well,,,,, "a tax dodge accountant is a businessman's best friend" so sung by the ozzie group, Redgum.

If I recall correctly for single filers it (Foreign income exclusion) is now up to $86K. If you are filing a schedule C, things get complicated VERY rapidly with regard to exempting housing costs, etc. so I agree with the advice to get a knowledgeable tax attorney who has lived abroad.

The other thing you might take note of is the fact that you may not file electronically with a foreign address. For us, this is a real pain as we've used the electronic system since they instituted it.

On an up note, if you are living here as well, you can get an automatic foreign filing extension but you need to file a specific form.