International Tax

Determine your FBAR and FATCA filing requirements.

Willful vs. non-willful penalty ranges.

Penalty structure, Streamlined procedures, offshore compliance.

Foreign financial asset reporting thresholds and rules.

Eligibility for IRS Streamlined compliance procedures.

Forms 5471, 5472, 3520, 8854, 8938 - complete map.

Foreign offshore (Form 14653, $0 penalty) vs Domestic offshore (Form 14654, 5% Title 26 penalty). 3 years returns + 6 years FBARs. Non-willful certification. March 2025 form revision. Rev. Proc. 2014-55 Canadian retirement carve-out.

Form 3520 mechanics. $100,000 threshold (NRA/foreign estate gifts); $20,116 (2025) / $20,573 (2026) for foreign corp/partnership. 35% gross distribution penalty under §6677. 25% gross gift penalty under §6039F. Aggregation across related foreign donors. Rev. Proc. 2014-55 RRSPs and Rev. Proc. 2020-17 tax-favored trusts. Throwback tax. Streamlined Filing relief. May 2024 proposed regs.

Form 3520-A IRC §6048(b) annual information return filed BY the foreign trust (not the US owner). Due 15th day of 3rd month after trust's tax year-end (March 15 for calendar year). Form 7004 6-month extension requires foreign TRUST's EIN. Includes Foreign Grantor Trust Owner Statement (pages 3-4) for US owner and Beneficiary Statement (page 5) for US beneficiaries. SUBSTITUTE Form 3520-A required when foreign trustee fails - attached to US owner's Form 3520, protects from penalty. §6677 penalty greater of $10,000 OR 5% of trust portion attributable to US owner. §679 5-year look-back for pre-immigration trust contributions. HIRE Act §643(i) uncompensated use and below-market loans. Rev. Proc. 2014-55 RRSP/RRIF and Rev. Proc. 2020-17 tax-favored trust exemptions. T.D. 10037 January 2025 proposed regs.

IRC §7701(b) residency analysis with exclusions.

Form 8840 eligibility - escape SPT residency.

Find applicable US tax treaty provisions.

Filing obligations, FEIE, foreign tax credit, forms.

Foreign earned income exclusion, bona fide residence, physical presence.

Year of immigration or emigration filing rules.

Planning before the green card date.

$132,900 exclusion for 2026. Housing base $21,264 / max $39,870. Bona fide residence vs physical presence (330 days). Stacking rule §911(f). Does NOT exclude SE tax or NCTI. FEIE vs FTC framework.

Section 877A complete mechanics. HEART Act 2008 (P.L. 110-245) effective June 17, 2008. Mark-to-market deemed sale day before expatriation date - all property at FMV. Net gain reduced by $890,000 (2025) / $910,000 (2026) exclusion. Covered expatriate THREE tests: $206,000 (2025) average income tax over 5 years, $2,000,000 net worth, OR failure to certify 5-year tax compliance. Specified tax-deferred accounts (IRAs/401(k)s) treated as fully distributed pre-expatriation. Nongrantor trust 30% withholding. Deferral election §877A(b) with bond and treaty waiver. §2801 successor tax 40% on covered gifts/bequests to US persons - final regs T.D. 10018 (January 14, 2025). Form 8854 initial and annual; Form 708 for §2801.

CFC filing requirement analysis - categories 1-5.

Global intangible low-taxed income, §250 deduction, high-tax exclusion.

CFC income inclusions, look-through rules.

Individual CFC shareholders accessing §960 FTC.

Passive foreign investment companies, QEF election, mark-to-market.

Form 1116, baskets, FTC limitation, high-tax exclusion.

OBBBA 2026: GILTI → NCTI rebrand. §250 deduction 50%→40% (rate 10.5%→12.6%). FTC haircut 20%→10%. QBAI eliminated. Downward attribution restored. Schedule H-1 for CAMT.

§6038 / §6038B / §6046A four categories. $10K base / $60K cap per partnership/year. Cat 3: 10% FMV cap $100K. §721(c) gain deferral method. §6501(c)(8) SOL trap. K-2/K-3 mandatory.

Foreign disregarded entity and foreign branch reporting. §6038(a) authority. 6 filer categories. $10K base / $60K cap per FDE/year. New Schedule G Line 14 for Pillar Two/QDMTT/IIR/UTPR. Notice 2025-44 DPL repeal 2026.

OBBBA renamed GILTI to Net CFC Tested Income effective 2026. §250 deduction 50%→40%. QBAI 10% DTIR REPEALED entirely (broadens base). FTC haircut 20%→10% (90% creditable). 12.6% corporate effective rate. 14% foreign cross-over. New §951B FCUS. §954(c)(6) look-through permanent. BEAT 10.5%.

Section 904 foreign tax credit limitation. SEVEN baskets post-TCJA: Passive, General, NCTI (renamed from GILTI by OBBBA effective 2026), Foreign Branch, §901(j) sanctioned, Treaty-resourced, Lump-sum. OBBBA P.L. 119-21 changes effective 2026: QBAI 10% return ELIMINATED, §250 deduction NCTI 50%→40% / FDDEI 37.5%→33.34%, §960 deemed-paid 80%→90% (haircut 20%→10%), CFC look-through §954(c)(6) PERMANENT, §958(b)(4) downward attribution reinstated with anti-abuse rules, new §951B added, 50% inventory foreign sourcing allowed. NCTI basket has NO carryover. High-tax kick-out rule.

Section 367 complete mechanics. Overrides the normal tax-free treatment of §332/§351/§354/§356/§361 transactions when a US person transfers property to a foreign corporation - treating the foreign corp as "not a corporation" so gain is recognized. §367(a) tangible property and stock: gain recognized on outbound transfer; TCJA P.L. 115-97 §14102 REPEALED the active foreign trade or business exception for transfers after December 31, 2017. Stock transfers can defer gain via a 5-year Gain Recognition Agreement (GRA) under Reg §1.367(a)-8 if transferor is a 5%+ shareholder; annual certification required; triggering events cause retroactive gain plus interest. §367(d) intangibles: outbound transfer treated as sale for contingent payments - annual income inclusions commensurate with income over useful life (super-royalty). TCJA EXPANDED §367(d)(4) intangible definition to include goodwill, going concern value, and workforce in place, closing the prior foreign goodwill exception. Final regs T.D. 10009 (October 9, 2024) address repatriation of intangibles. §367(b) inbound and foreign-to-foreign transactions; E&P inclusion; PTEP coordination. Form 926 reporting under §6038B - penalty 10% of FMV (max $100,000 unless intentional); §6501(c)(8) keeps statute open.

Snowbird residency, RRSP treaty election, departure tax.

Article-by-article overview.

Treaty election, Article XVIII, US reporting.

Partial suspension 2023, Article 4 still operative.

FBAR, 8938, treaty treatment by country.

Withholding on dispositions of US real property interests.

FTC mechanics, 7 baskets, OBBBA NCTI 90% credit, carryback 1/forward 10, FEIE vs FTC decision.

A plain-English guide to Form 8233, the treaty-based withholding exemption for nonresident alien personal services income. How stu

Totalization agreements guide: the US has totalization agreements with 30 countries eliminating dual Social Security taxation for

FEIE, SE tax trap, state domicile issues for remote workers abroad.

US source income rules for nonresident aliens.

5471, 5472, 3520, 8938, FBAR - penalties and deadlines.

15% GloBE, IIR/UTPR/QDMTT, US CAMT vs Pillar Two, UTPR retaliation risk.

§988 ordinary income, bank accounts, §988(e) election.

EU VAT OSS, B2B reverse charge, FDII for foreign revenue.

§845, BEAT on offshore premiums, ECI for foreign reinsurers.