Form 2848 for Expats: Authorising Your US Tax Adviser From the UK or UAE
Form 2848 lets a US tax professional deal with the IRS for you while you live in London or Dubai. Who can be named, how …
Dual-Status Tax Return: Filing for the Year You Move to the US
Moving to the US from the UK or UAE part-way through the year usually means a dual-status return. Which form is the retu…
Streamlined Amended Returns: When to File Form 1040-X Instead of Form 1040
Already filed US returns but missed foreign income or forms? Under the IRS streamlined procedures, previously filed year…
Expat Tax Filing Threshold: Do You Need to File a US Return From Abroad?
Americans abroad must file if worldwide gross income exceeds $15,750 (single, 2025), even when the foreign earned income…
GILTI High-Tax Exclusion for UK Companies: The 18.9% Test Under NCTI
US owners of a UK Ltd can exclude high-taxed profits from GILTI, now NCTI, if UK tax exceeds 18.9% measured under US rul…
US-UK Treaty Capital Gains: Article 13 Explained for Americans and Britons
Article 13 of the 2001 US-UK tax treaty decides which country taxes gains on property, shares and business assets. How t…
NIIT Foreign Tax Credit: Why UK Tax Cannot Offset the 3.8% Tax After Christensen
Foreign tax credits reduce only Chapter 1 income tax, not the 3.8% Net Investment Income Tax. What the August 2026 Chris…
FBAR Exchange Rate: Which Treasury Rate to Use and How to Convert
The FBAR uses the Treasury Reporting Rate of Exchange for the last day of the year. How to convert sterling and dirham b…
UK Defined Benefit Pension US Tax: Final Salary Pensions on Form 1040
How US citizens report UK final salary and career average pensions, why the treaty saving clause applies, how basis is r…
UK Payments on Account for US Citizens: Dates, Rules and the Foreign Tax Credit
How HMRC payments on account work, why the first January bill is so large, how to reduce them with SA303, and how the ti…
US Expat Tax Preparation Cost: What Really Drives the Fee
Why quotes for US expat tax returns vary so widely, which forms add the most work, how fixed, per-form and hourly pricin…
The Substantial Presence Test for UK Citizens Moving to the US
How the IRS 31-day and 183-weighted-day formula works for Britons spending time in the US, which days are excluded, and …
How to Pay US Taxes From Abroad Without a US Bank Account
The IRS payment system assumes a US bank account. The four ways to pay from the UK or UAE, what each costs, why payment …
Form 5471 Late Filing Penalty: The $10,000 Charge and How to Avoid It
A missing Form 5471 costs $10,000 per company per year under section 6038(b), rising to $60,000 after an IRS notice, and…
Streamlined Non-Residency Requirement: The 330-Day Test Explained
One test separates the penalty-free Streamlined Foreign Offshore Procedures from the 5% domestic version: 330 full days …
Foreign Tax Redetermination: What to Do When HMRC Refunds Tax You Credited
An HMRC repayment for a year you already claimed as a foreign tax credit is a foreign tax redetermination under section …
US-UK Tax Treaty for Teachers: The Two-Year Exemption in Article 20A
Article 20A of the UK-US treaty exempts visiting professors, teachers and researchers from host-country income tax for u…
EIS Tax Relief for US Citizens: Why the IRS Ignores It
EIS and SEIS give generous UK Income Tax and Capital Gains Tax reliefs that the IRS does not recognise. How the exempt g…
How to Amend an FBAR: Correcting Mistakes on FinCEN Form 114
An FBAR filed on time with an error is corrected by filing a complete new FinCEN Form 114 marked Amend. The steps, the B…
UK Pension PFIC Rules: When Form 8621 Is Not Required
UK funds are PFICs, but inside a registered pension the US-UK treaty defers the tax and Treasury Regulations section 1.1…
Treaty Tie-Breaker Rule: Who Wins When the US and UK Both Claim You
When the US and UK both treat you as resident, Article 4 of the treaty picks one. The five tests in order, why US citize…
How to Verify a US Tax Preparer in the UK: 5 Checks
The title tax adviser is not protected in the US or the UK, so checking credentials is the client's job. Five free check…
UK Redundancy Pay and US Tax: The £30,000 Exemption Gap
The UK exempts the first £30,000 of redundancy pay; the IRS taxes all of it as wages. How each part of a termination pac…
Director's Loan Account and US Tax: The Section 956 Trap
Borrowing from your own UK company is routine for British directors and safe if repaid within nine months. For an Americ…