Common Mistakes
Common, expensive misunderstandings in US expat tax — and what the rules actually say.
- The Accounts You Forgot Still Count: Aggregation, Dormant Accounts, and Your Non-US Spouse
The $10,000 FBAR trigger adds up across every foreign account — dormant ones, tiny ones, and joint accounts with a non-US spouse. What people miss.
- "I Owe Nothing, So I Don't Need to File" — the Most Expensive Sentence in Expat Tax
You can owe $0 in US tax and still face five-figure penalties. Why Americans abroad must file even with no tax due — and how to fix it if you haven't.
- Checking "No" on the Foreign-Accounts Question — How One Checkbox Becomes Evidence Against You
Buried in Schedule B is a yes/no question about foreign accounts. Answer it wrong and the IRS can use that checkbox as evidence of willfulness. Here's how.
- Why Your Bank's "Tax-Free" Label Means Nothing to the IRS
Your bank's "tax-free" account label is a domestic promise. US tax law doesn't read it. How Canadian registered accounts are actually treated.
- Assuming the Treaty Works on Autopilot — What the US-Canada Tax Treaty Does and Doesn't Do for You
The US-Canada tax treaty doesn't apply itself. Most of its protections must be claimed on a return — and some things you assume it covers, it never touches.
- The US-Only Tax Preparer Problem: When Good Help Isn't the Right Help
A skilled domestic tax preparer can still miss a cross-border life. The questions a US-only preparer never asks — and why those misses compound.
- Waiting Until the IRS Writes First: The Strategy That Forecloses Every Good Option
Every cheap path back into compliance shares one condition: you moved before the IRS did. Why waiting is a decision, and what the first letter forecloses.
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