The more you know, the better your plan

The United States is one of only two countries, and the only major country, that taxes its citizens, no matter where they live. If you haven’t lived in the United States in decades, you must pay tax on your worldwide income as if you never left. Even “accidental” U.S. citizens born overseas with at least one U.S. parent, who never set foot in the United States, must file U.S. tax returns. These laws affect every one of the more than 6 million U.S. citizens living abroad.

In my last blog entry, I described the latest salvo against offshore financial privacy from the IRS: the requirement to file a tell-all form annually with your tax return detailing “foreign financial assets” with an aggregate value exceeding $50,000.

Back in 2010, President Obama signed the infamous Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (“FATCA”). Among other provisions, FATCA provides that if you hold a “specified foreign financial asset” (SFFA), you must attach a disclosure statement to your income tax return for each year in which the aggregate value of all such assets exceeds $50,000, or a larger sum as directed by the IRS.

Approximately seven million U.S. citizens live overseas. And while most of them don’t realize it, they’re subject to the same U.S. tax and reporting obligations as any other U.S. citizen.

I just learned Monday that CPA Vernon Jacobs died last Friday after an unsuccessful battle with esophageal cancer.

In March, 2010 President Obama signed the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) , the largest-ever expansion of offshore disclosure requirements in U.S. history.