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    US Taxes for Worldly Americans: The Traveling Expat's Guide to Living, Working, and Staying Tax Compliant Abroad
    US Taxes for Worldly Americans: The Traveling Expat's Guide to Living, Working, and Staying Tax Compliant Abroad
    US Taxes for Worldly Americans: The Traveling Expat's Guide to Living, Working, and Staying Tax Compliant Abroad
    Ebook197 pages1 hour

    US Taxes for Worldly Americans: The Traveling Expat's Guide to Living, Working, and Staying Tax Compliant Abroad

    By Olivier Wagner

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    About this ebook

    The Amazon Expat Tax Bestseller, Now Updated for 2018. Are you a citizen of the United States who lives abroad? You probably know America is one of only two countries that taxes its citizens on their worldwide income, regardless of where they live or work. If you’re thinking about becoming a digital nomad or expatriating to another country, do you know how to avoid paying unfair taxes on your income while abroad? There may be huge penalties and tax evasion charges if you don’t file correctly.

    By combining the right strategies for citizenship, residency, banking, incorporation, and physical presence in other countries, most Americans abroad can legally lower their U.S. tax owing to $0. In U.S. Taxes for Worldly Americans, Certified Public Accountant, U.S. immigrant, expat, and perpetual traveler Olivier Wagner shows you how to use 100% legal strategies (beyond traditionally maligned “tax havens”) to keep your income and assets safe from the IRS.

    Olivier covers a wealth of international tax information updated for 2018, including:

    · Step-by-step instructions for the Forms and Schedules you will use to file your offshore tax, no matter where you are.
    · How to qualify for special deductions, credits, and exemptions on international taxation.
    · Why opening bank accounts and corporations in foreign countries is easier than you think.
    · How residency or citizenship in another country can legally lower your taxes.
    · How your spouse and children (whether American or of another nationality) affect your tax situation.
    · Practical advice for moving, living, and working with tax-free income in other parts of the world.
    · What to consider before renouncing your American citizenship and saying goodbye to the IRS for good.

    As a non-resident American, there is no single easy answer to lower your taxes. If you don’t understand every possibility, you could end up paying too much. Embrace a worldly lifestyle with confidence as you master the U.S. tax system for Americans living overseas.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherIdentity Publications
    Release dateNov 16, 2018
    ISBN9788829551682
    US Taxes for Worldly Americans: The Traveling Expat's Guide to Living, Working, and Staying Tax Compliant Abroad

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      Book preview

      US Taxes for Worldly Americans - Olivier Wagner

      U.S. Taxes for Worldly Americans

      The Traveling Expat's Guide to Living, Working, and Staying Tax Compliant Abroad

      Olivier Wagner, EA, CPA

      Foreword by Gregory V. Diehl

      Copyright © 2017, 2018 by Olivier Wagner.

      No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, mechanical or electronic, including photocopying or recording, storing in or sharing via any information storage and retrieval system, or transmitting via email, without prior permission in writing from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses allowed by copyright law.

      I am an accountant, but I am not your accountant. If you want advice on your specific situation, please seek the advice of a professional.

      Any perceived slight of any individual or organization is purely unintentional.

      Identity Publications

      www.IdentityPublications.com

      To inquire about getting your own book or course produced, published, or promoted, email contact@identitypublications.com

      U.S. Taxes for Worldly Americans by Olivier Wagner

      CONTENTS

      FOREWORD

      PREFACE

      INTRODUCTION

      EXPATRIATES

      PERPETUAL TRAVELERS

      ACCIDENTAL AMERICANS

      WHAT HAPPENS IF I DON’T FILE?

      INTRODUCTION TO FORM 1040

      HOW THIS BOOK IS STRUCTURED

      Ch 1: MOVING, LIVING & WORKING ABROAD

      THE DYNAMICS OF RELOCATING

      FAMILY DYNAMICS ABROAD

      WORKING ABROAD

      MAINTAINING TIES BACK HOME

      MITIGATING TRAVEL EXPENSES

      EMIGRATING FROM THE U.S.

      FOREIGN BANK ACCOUNTS & INCORPORATION

      Ch 2: GETTING AND STAYING TAX COMPLIANT

      PAPERWORK AND FORMS

      FTC & FEIE STATES

      FORM 3520

      FORM 5471

      FOREIGN-OWNED DISREGARDED ENTITIES & FORM 5472

      PFICs & FORM 8621

      FBAR & FORM 8938

      OTHER IMPORTANT FORMS

      Ch 3: INCOME

      SCHEDULE B

      SCHEDULE C

      SCHEDULE D

      SCHEDULE E

      PARTNERSHIPS & S CORPORATIONS

      FORM 5471

      UNDERSTANDING SUBPART F INCOME

      WHAT QUALIFIES AS SUBPART F INCOME?

      DORMANT CORPORATIONS

      FOREIGN EARNED INCOME EXCLUSIONS (FEIE)

      FORM 2555-EZ

      BONA FIDE RESIDENCE TEST

      PHYSICAL PRESENCE TEST

      NON-CASH INCOME

      Ch 4: DEDUCTIONS

      FORM 2555 & PASSING THE BONA FIDE RESIDENCE TEST

      SEVEN TYPES OF ITEMIZED DEDUCTIONS WITH SCHEDULE A

      OTHER TAXES

      PREPARING SCHEDULE A

      Ch 5: CREDITS

      FORM 1116

      THE ADDITIONAL CHILD TAX CREDIT

      Ch 6: OTHER TAXES

      SOCIAL SECURITY

      SELF-EMPLOYMENT TAX

      SOCIAL SECURITY TOTALIZATION AGREEMENT COUNTRIES

      PASSIVE FOREIGN INVESTMENT COMPANIES (PFIC)

      Ch 7: RENOUNCING U.S. CITIZENSHIP

      COVERED VS. UNCOVERED EXPATRIATES

      UNDERAGE RELINQUISHMENTS

      AVOIDING COVERED EXPATRIATE STATUS BEYOND THE EXIT TAX

      YOUR FINAL TAX RETURN

      WHY YOU SHOULD CONSIDER ACQUIRING A NEW PASSPORT (OR TWO)

      HOW TO GET A SECOND PASSPORT

      THE PRICE OF CITIZENSHIP

      THE PRICE OF RESIDENCY

      CONCLUSION

      ABOUT OLIVIER WAGNER & 1040 ABROAD

      INDEX

      FOREWORD FROM THE PUBLISHER

      When I met Olivier Wagner at a digital nomad conference in Bangkok, we were both already active global citizens. Each of us had the freedom to go where we wanted. We could maintain our income from anywhere in the world, so long as we could get online. We had adjusted to the complexities of this lifestyle and were free to explore any opportunities the world offered.

      I have been traveling the world since the age of 18. While most people transition to nomadic or expatriate living after many years, I have had the somewhat rare experience of spending my entire adult life exploring the world, one country at a time. This path has taken me to more than 50 countries thus far and given me a profound new perspective on both myself and our planet. It has matured my mind and broadened my perspective in ways that I don’t believe anything else could have, so much so that my second experiment in authoring and publishing became a personal development manifesto on how travel fundamentally transformed me.

      Although I expanded professionally during my travels – registering companies, opening bank accounts in various nations, and even picking up a couple of new passports – it would not be until I met Olivier that I would start to get serious about the tax obligation I was given as an American citizen by birth. As an the holder of an American passport, I took advantage of the ease of travel afforded to me, but I rarely considered the seriousness of my home country’s worldwide tax policy.

      As I traveled and worked online, I managed to do so in a mostly anonymous manner, as I was worried about making too big a name for myself. Not the least of my worries was becoming tax compliant. What if I filed something incorrectly? What if I didn’t give the U.S. government enough information? What if I gave them too much? I had remained invisible for so long, so why should I risk coming into the light?

      I’ve now had the (often unpleasant) experience of working alongside some of the biggest names in offshore services as a writer and consultant. I’ve seen much of the seedy underside associated with the industry of internationalization. I’ve even been defrauded for thousands of dollars by these so-called industry experts who promise to be able to help Americans plant flags, but can rarely fulfill the complex foreign processes they promise. The author of this book was the first person to explain to me why it was important to get tax compliant and that avoiding my U.S. tax obligation would only grow riskier and more complicated as time went on. Olivier even showed me that if ever I planned to renounce my U.S. citizenship, I would need to settle my tax score.

      For the first time in my life, I am fully tax compliant. Thanks to Olivier’s help, I no longer have that nagging little worry that if I ever get too successful, everything I’ve built could come under fire by bureaucrats with busy fingers.

      My situation is not unique. Each person who internationalizes their life to any extent learns to branch out from the constraints of their home country, so that they may pursue their own version of an authentic lifestyle. I am so glad that my publishing company was able to help Olivier bring this book together. I realized he wanted to go beyond an overview of how to file taxes from overseas. He wanted to introduce a new way of living to people who might be intimidated by the details. Just as he helped me, his words here will broaden your mindset about how you can live the worldly life you desire.

      If a subject appears foreboding (like the U.S. tax code often does), you will never explore the options it holds. If you don’t know what options you have, it goes without saying that you will never use them. I’ve seen a lot of fear-mongering and emotional bullying from the cult of personalities who maintain blogs and expensive private memberships about this kind of information. These savvy internet marketers scare ordinary people into taking massive action for the sake of their own profit.

      Among the conversation about nomadic life, expatriation, or retirement overseas, there are a lot of voices screaming to: Move everything you own and everyone you love offshore before the government implodes and your dollars are worthless! They’ll pressure you to follow their footsteps and start living the James Bond lifestyle of martinis on white sand beaches, secret bank accounts, and homes on every continent. They are overly posturing and inaccessible for the average person. I am glad that these once scarce resources are being made available to the public through down-to-earth people like Olivier Wagner, his company 1040 Abroad, and the book you hold in your hands.

      Maybe you are just getting started on your journey away from home. Maybe travel and expatriation are still just ideas for you to play with. By sharing real stories and making these examples true to life, Olivier’s book will help you to make progress in the direction of living the global lifestyle you desire.

      Think of this book as a partial guide to the larger topic of expanding your identity beyond the rules of your home nation. It does not cover the whole journey (no single book could), but it brings vital clarity to what many people consider to be the most obfuscating and offensive part of becoming a responsible world citizen. Just as Olivier’s influence has brought a much-needed foundation to my life, I’m sure that his book will do the same for you if you take his advice to heart.

      Gregory V. Diehl

      Author, Travel As Transformation

      Co-founder, Identity Publications

      www.IdentityPublications.com

      PREFACE

      Are you a citizen of the United States who lives abroad? You might be an American who’s moved abroad but hasn’t given up their original citizenship. Maybe you were born in the U.S. but have no real ties to it. Such accidental Americans are more common than you might think and many of them don’t even realize they are obligated to pay U.S. taxes.

      Maybe you’ve recently moved from the United States and aren’t sure how this affects your filing requirements. Have you established residency in another country? Do you still derive income from the US or another country? All of these factors will change your tax situation.

      You could be a self-employed digital nomad who works from several different countries, moving wherever you want at your leisure. Despite such an unconventional way of making a living, you might still owe taxes to the U.S. If you don’t file correctly, you could be missing out on important opportunities to reduce your

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