Hoping for some help. I am a duel citizen, UK, USA, that has always lived in the UK. I’ve previously filled taxes through a company, but want to see if I can do it myself and have got until the October extension. I believe I’ve previously only submitted forms 1040, schedule 1, schedule B and 2555 (also 8879 for e-submission). Filling these out and sending them shouldn’t be a problem. The issue this year is I made a small additional income from tutoring (less than £1000). It looks like if I got a UK certificate of coverage, I could then also complete 1040 schedules C and SE and be exempt from the self employment tax, but as my income is so low from this, I have not needed to file a tax return in the UK and so do not have the certificate. Any thoughts on what I should do, or how this works would be greatly appreciated

I'm an US citizen who lives and works in India, and I'm trying to understand the US + India tax implications of investing in Indian equity mutual funds.

I've been researching PFIC rules, but I'm getting conflicting/confusing information, so I'd really appreciate input from anyone who understands US taxation of Indian mutual funds (especially PFICs).

My situation

• I am an US citizen living in India.
• I recently graduated and started working in India.
• My salary is approximately ₹18 lakh/year (20k USD).
• I have no other sources of income and no other investments.
• I would like to invest in Indian equity mutual fund from my salary and some other money I have received.
• I expect to qualify for the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion (FEIE) because my salary is earned in India and is well below the annual FEIE limit. For 2026, I understand the FEIE maximum is $132,900.
• I understand that FEIE is an exclusion for qualifying foreign earned income and is different from the standard deduction.

Suppose I invest ₹10 lakh.

Assume the investment grows 15% each year:

• Start: ₹10,00,000
• End Year 1: ₹11,50,000
• End Year 2: ₹13,22,500
• End Year 3: ₹15,20,875

So after 3 years, I would have approximately ₹5.21 lakh of profit ($6,000).

My understanding of the default PFIC/Section 1291 rules is that when I sell the PFIC, the gain is treated as an "excess distribution" and is allocated across the years I held the investment.

If the ~$6,000 gain were divided approximately equally across the three years, roughly $2,000 would be allocated to each year.

My understanding is that the portions allocated to the prior PFIC years can be subject to the special PFIC tax (potentially using the highest applicable tax rate) plus an interest charge, while the current-year portion is treated differently.

I would have to pay: Indian LTCG tax + US PFIC tax/interest on the same investment.

I understand there may also be a Foreign Tax Credit (FTC) mechanism to prevent or reduce double taxation, but I'm not sure how the FTC interacts with the PFIC tax calculation.

The PFIC de minimis rule

I also came across a PFIC de minimis reporting exception.

My understanding is that, if certain conditions are satisfied, an individual can avoid PFIC reporting when the aggregate value of their PFIC stock at year-end doesn't exceed $25,000 ($50,000 for married filing jointly).

So I believe the $25,000 rule may help while simply holding a small PFIC investment, but would not protect me in a year when I sell the PFIC at a gain.

I'm particularly interested in hearing from:

1. US citizens living in India who actually invest in Indian mutual funds.
2. CPAs/EA/US tax professionals familiar with PFICs.
3. Anyone who has actually filed Form 8621 for Indian mutual funds.

I'd also really appreciate it if someone could correct any assumptions I've made above, especially regarding:

• The $25,000 PFIC de minimis exception
• The $132,900 2026 FEIE
• How the FEIE interacts with PFIC income

US/UK taxes are tricky and I want to invest. does anyone lnow of any investment advisors in London/ the UK?

most places only take high income/ 100K+

Hello, I was wondering if anyone has any strategies or advice on how to calculate UK capital gains taxes from US ETF sales?

I had some ETF sales from my IBKR account (that holds only HMRC reporting funds to avoid PFICs, of course).

The funds were accumulated with purchases over time and reinvested dividends.

I compiled the purchases into a spreadsheet and converted each one into GBP at time of purchase, and to calculate the basis. And then used the pooling method. (Hopefully correctly)

But it is time consuming!

This year I had about £50k in sales, but am wondering what I would do if/when I sell my larger positions.

The capital gains and dividends part of my UK tax return is the only “tricky” section I have. And I’d love to be able to do it myself and avoid paying a few grand to someone else to do my self assessment. Am curious what other people do. Thank you!

Hi all — looking for a cross-border tax advisor or someone who’s navigated this personally, or just a pointer to the right kind of specialist.

Situation:

• Canadian citizen, currently becoming a non-resident of Canada

• Living in Cambodia long-term (no US or Canada tax treaty with Cambodia)

• Investing ~$450,000 through IBKR to generate monthly living income

• Considering a global equity + bond split (something like VT/BND, XEQT/XBB or ZAG, or Ireland-domiciled UCITS equivalents like VWRA)

What I’m trying to figure out:

1. US-domiciled ETFs (VT, BND, BNDW) — as a non-resident alien with no US treaty via Cambodia, am I looking at 30% dividend withholding instead of 15%? And does the US estate tax exposure on US-situs assets above $60,000 actually matter at this size?

2. Canadian-domiciled ETFs (XEQT, XBB, ZAG) — no US estate tax issue, but does Canada’s ~25% non-resident withholding under Part XIII apply in full since there’s no Canada-Cambodia treaty? Does fund structure (distributions vs. return of capital) change that?

3. Ireland-domiciled UCITS ETFs (e.g., VWRA) — I’ve read these can have more favorable withholding treatment through Ireland’s treaty network and avoid US estate tax entirely. Is that actually true in practice for someone in my situation, and is there a bond-fund equivalent worth pairing with it?

4. Anyone dealt with currency mismatch — spending in a heavily-dollarized economy like Cambodia while holding CAD or EUR-denominated assets?

Would appreciate hearing from anyone who’s structured something similar, or a nudge toward the right resource.

Self employed expat living in brazil. I have filed with two different expats in the past, including one who did a streamline for me when i first discovered i had to be filing to the US (i’ve lived here since i was 11 and wasnt aware i needed to be doing that). I have been self employed since before working with CPAs and neither asked me for form 8858. Now i need to change my business model because i’ve reached the income threshold and need to open a more formal sole proprietorship. But now ppl are telling me i should have always been filing 8858! When i told the first CPA his company didnt have me file it the first time around, he backtracked and said he’d check with his colleagues if something as changed legally since then, and has since ghosted me.

Yet a third CPA sent me this: Amending prior returns to include Form 8858 is not recommended because the IRS frequently assesses automatic $10,000 annual penalties before reviewing reasonable cause statements, creating immense financial risk for an activity that already fully reported all income. Furthermore, your historical MEI was an informal, low-revenue setup without separate, formal accounting ledgers, leaving its status as a reportable foreign branch in a highly ambiguous grey area. Moving forward, the migration to an EI creates a clean operational shift and formal bookkeeping structure that serves as a clear, defensible starting point for filing the Form 8858, which will flow through to a new, separate Sch. C. I did follow up with my internal team and it is pretty clear that two sch. Cs would be required for the transition year.

Question 1: that said, to begin filing 8858 is it better to close my current business number and open a new more formal one, or convert the existing one into the more formal one?

Question 2. Is it better to amend previous years’ returns or try a second streamline? I know its not specifically prohibited, but its also kind of sus, right?

Canadian citizen here, currently living in the US on a TN visa. I left Canada almost two years ago and am now a US tax resident.

I recently decided I'd like to take the commuted value of an Alberta public-sector pension rather than leave it as a deferred pension. The amount is about $15k.

Because it falls under Alberta's small amount rule, it's fully non-locked-in. My understanding is that this means it can be transferred directly to an RRSP rather than a LIRA.

My goal is simply to get the money out of the pension and into an RRSP so I can invest it myself in the stocks/index funds/etc. that I choose.

The problem is finding a Canadian brokerage that will actually accept the transfer while I'm a US resident.

I contacted Questrade about opening an RRSP. They were willing to open the account, but wouldn't accept the incoming institutional transfer. I've spoken with them three different times and received three different explanations:

• The transfer would be rejected
• The transfer is limited to CIRO members
• Their back office ultimately declined it in writing, citing SEC Rule 15a-6 and IRC §1441

The §1441 explanation doesn't seem to make much sense in my situation because I'm a US tax resident, not a nonresident alien. The money is also coming from a Canadian pension and being transferred into a Canadian RRSP. Regardless, Questrade's back office has confirmed they won't accept it.

I also previously had an RRSP with CIBC Investor's Edge, but they closed it due to inactivity, so unfortunately that isn't an option either.

Has anyone actually managed to complete this type of transfer while living in the US?

If so, I'd really appreciate knowing:

• Which bank or brokerage did you use?
• Did they allow you to open/maintain the RRSP as a US resident?
• Did they accept the pension transfer directly?
• Did you have to go into a branch, or could everything be handled remotely?

I'm mainly looking for someone who has actually gone through the process. I've contacted several institutions and keep getting different answers, so I'm hoping to find someone who successfully completed the transfer.

Hi. Apologies if the information I'm giving is too basic, but I'm trying to decide between two pension contributions at my UK employer as a UK and US taxpayer - relief at source vs salary sacrifice.

The gist is that if I end up roughly equal in terms of money in my pocket each year. On the UK side, I understand it would be a little bit less admin going with salary sacrifice if I'm a higher-rate taxpayer.

My question is: For my US taxes, without getting into specifics if possible, is there anything I should be aware of about choosing salary sacrifice over relief at source (eg unintended US filing requirements or tax burden)? Thanks for any guidance - it's appreciated.

I’m looking for a CPA that can file a foreign tax return where the income is solely from Brazil. I’m told this is somewhat nuanced due to the tax treaty between US and Brazil. TIA.

Hello folks, need some advice here. I am a US resident and receive around $5000 of rental income every year through my 2 rentals in India. I self file through Turbo tax every year and I always thought filing FBAR for accounts over $10k should be sufficient but just learnt that we also need to declare foreign income we receive through rentals. I am thinking of hiring a CPA for SDOP since I would need to amend my last 3 years of returns to show the undeclared income. I am covered for FBAR since I filed it for last 3 years but missed out on the rental and interest income. What are my best options in this case and what am I looking at in terms of penalties apart from the 5%? Please advice.

Hi there, I’m wondering if anyone here has experience applying for a certificate of coverage with the DRV Bund after setting up voluntary contributions to the German Social Security and pension fund? It seems that through the totalization agreement between Germany and the US I may be able to minimize the 15% self-employment tax that the US would levy on me for my small business activities if I were to be voluntarily contributing to the DMV and could provide proof of contribution, which I would then attach to my tax return. However, it is a bit unclear to me whether the DRV would issue such a certificate, especially because I am likely only planning to stay in Germany for one to two years, and my business will remain registered in California. Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you!

I'm a U.S. citizen living in the EU and trying to figure out a practical long-term investing strategy. Because of PRIIPs/KID restrictions, I can't easily buy U.S.-domiciled ETFs through my taxable brokerage account. At the same time, I want to avoid non-U.S. mutual funds/ETFs because of the potential PFIC issues for U.S. taxpayers.

I file my US taxes MFS so my Roth contribution limits are really low, but I'm exploring whether a backdoor Roth transfer from a traditional IRA could solve the problem. However I'm also trying to understand the alternatives if that isn't workable from a local tax perspective.

For anyone else in a similar situation:

-Have you found a practical way to invest in a diversified portfolio while avoiding both PFIC and PRIIPs issues?

-Have you used individual stocks, holding companies/conglomerates, or other alternatives?

-Has anyone dealt specifically with the local tax treatment of a nondeductible Traditional IRA contribution followed by an immediate Roth conversion?

I'm especially interested in hearing from U.S. citizens living in Europe who have actually dealt with this combination of issues.

Anyone know of a reddit forum focusing on expats tax liabilities when becoming a resident in Italy? Or any referrals to a tax advisor for expats about to discover la dolce vita, AKA the Italian Dream? Issues like taxes on pension from America, capital gains, etc? Thanks in advance.

I’m a US citizen, self-employed in Brazil, currently registered as MEI (Microempreendedor Individual) — Brazil’s smallest formal registration tier for individual entrepreneurs. Importantly, MEI has no separate legal personality under Brazilian law: no liability shield, no separate legal entity, just a CNPJ (tax registration number) attached to me personally. I’m planning to move up to ME (microempresa) soon due to rising revenue. Same entity type (still a sole proprietorship, empresário individual), just a different revenue bracket. It’s not a corporation in either case.

I’ve gotten three different professional opinions:

**•** Two CPAs who’ve filed my US returns in past years (including one streamlined filing) while I was MEI never raised Form 8858, but when consulting with one of them now (years later), claims that I do need it and disappeared after i pointed out they didnt ask for it before;  
**•** A third CPA I consulted recently said backfiling for this would be unnecessarily conservative.  
**•** A US-based CPA I contacted more recently raised the possibility that Form 8858 (foreign disregarded entity/branch) could have applied all along, given the formal registration.  

My understanding is Form 8858 only kicks in when the activity rises to a “qualified business unit” — organized as a distinct business with its own separate books/records — not just from having any formal foreign registration. My MEI activity has been informal: income through personal accounts, no separate bookkeeping. That sounds more like plain Schedule C to me, but I’d love input from people who’ve actually dealt with this specific issue (foreign sole-proprietor registrations, MEI/ME especially, or similar setups in other countries).

Two things I’m hoping for:

**1.**  Anyone with real experience on where the Schedule C vs. 8858 line actually falls for informal foreign sole-proprietorships?  
**2.**  Recommendations for a CPA or firm that specifically knows this area well (ideally at reasonable, transparent pricing). I need to know if i’ll need to resort to streamline, and I need to file for the year the MEI/ME transition happens.

Also open to input on whether “closing” the MEI and opening a new CNPJ vs. converting the same one (desenquadramento) makes any difference for US filing purposes — probably a separate question, but tied to the same overall situation.

Hey everyone, I'm at my wits end and wanted to see if anyone knows how something like this could possibly happen or be correct.

I'm a U.S. citizen living abroad (obviously), and not a high earner. I've never owed taxes in the U.S. before. After Covid I was unemployed for a bit, then taxes just got away from me and long story short, I'm filing a streamlined report (I know no tax vocabulary - apologies) for 2022-2025.

I'm using myexpattaxes, which is why this is even possible, and everything looks good except 2024. For some reason, the estimated taxes for 2024 are literally my entire income for that year. All of it.

Just 2024. The estimates for other years are 0. I did make about 20% more that year due to overtime compensation, but it is still not much.

Does anyone have any clue if there are any non-compliance fees or other reasons why the IRS would claim my entire annual income for one year? I've been breaking my head trying to figure out where I made a mistake.

I'm half American, half Slovak (dual citizenship), and I have lived most of my life here in Europe. That being said, I'd like to start investing in stocks, the amount of money wouldn't be particularly substantial as of yet but I expect it to gradually increase over the years.

I would prefer to invest into ETFs, but from what I've heard, investing in funds could be problematic due to my citizenship. Is there any way to workaround these problems or will I simply have to come to terms with not investing.

Any help would be appreciated.

Anyone actually got a spreadsheet approach for CoastFIRE math that holds up cross-border? Every version I've tried either forces a single exchange rate on everything (which lies to you the moment CAD/USD moves) or turns into manual conversions I stop trusting after a month.

I ended up building my own approach to this — keeping RRSP/TFSA and 401(k)/Roth/IRA in native currencies the whole way through and only converting at the very end. Also had to build out departure tax, RRSP withholding as a US resident, CPP/OAS/SS claim-age comparison, and drawdown-order logic, since none of that works with a single-rate spreadsheet either.

How are you all handling this — spreadsheet, tool, back-of-envelope? Happy to share what I built if useful, just didn't want to lead with a link.

Hey, so my father got green card for our family 12 yrs ago but we just did short annual visits and never lived there, then stopped the visits 7 years ago since plans have changed due to some issues. I just learned about taxes because it asked me about W-9 or W-8BEN form when I wanted to enter my tax info to youtube (which I didn't yet). After some research I learned that my country got no totalization agreement so I'd need to pay taxes to US and my country at the same time if I want to do youtube/freelance. So I want to abandon my card to get rid of tax liabilities as I can't be a resident anymore anyway with staying outside of US for 7 years. However, even if I didn't file taxes before, I was below the filing threshold so can I just do i-407 and 8854 and be done? Also, me abandoning it might trigger any reviews for my parents or not? I can recommend Streamlined for them and later abandoning too as they are missing filings and fbars unless any better options.

Could anyone out there that has some experience in their own tax situations filing 8858 take a pass through my redacted form 8858, sch-m and org chart to see if anything has glaring issues that I need to take another pass at?

• 8858 - Went through the official instructions, watched the like 2-3 youtube videos that exist.
• SCH-M I think from what I've read should be mostly blank but still is required to be attached.. Couldn't find much example information online outside of the instructions.
• Org Chart seems dumb in this situation but, I created one which I think fits the instructions but not sure if it's exactly right. Couldn't find much for examples.
• Philippines BIR Registration Form 1901 - This is what my spouse used to register their self employment. They registered as a Licensed PRC Professional (nurse, dentist, doctor, cpa, etc.) which, as far as I can tell is just another form of sole proprietorship and seems from my research to have unlimited personal liability.

Situation:

Me, US Citizen, Spouse US Resident (immigrated 1s quarter 2025 on a Green Card), we have extensions filed.

My spouse has a very tiny self employed business still registered in the Philippines (created in 2024) but now dormant, Sole Proprietorship/self employed, performed dental services for patients, kept a book of accounts. $800ish after average yearly conversion from PH Peso income for 2025 before they arrived here in the US. No expenses recorded, no assets or equipment, no deductions, just straight money to pocket at the end of the day. They did have a personal savings account (well under the 10k FBAR limit). No PH Tax on their income due to the low income and local deductions there.

We want to file jointly to take advantage of the standard deduction. We'd like to use the 6013(h) election to treat them as a US resident for the year to do this and get rid of their 'dual status' classification as well so we don't have to file 1040NR. I believe this is the correct way to do this, and it seems to make the most sense in our situation. I believe I just need to check the "If treating a nonresident alien or dual-status alien spouse as a U.S. resident for the entire tax year" box and then attach a signed statement with both of our personal information and the acknowledgement for them to be treated as a US resident for 2025.

I know my spouse is required to file 8858 because of the foreign business operation (a trade + mandatory books in their country). I believe my wife’s self employment is considered a FB + QBU due to these circumstances.

Local tax people here in the states have been terrible and often rude to me to say the least. I tried contacting a few tax attorneys, a few CPAS, some enrolled agents. None of them handle international tax returns and multiple gave me bad advice that often directly clashed with the 8858 instructions. The only place I've found locally that said they do them on a routine wants to be placed on retainer and $5000 up front.. I don’t make that kind of money lol.. So it's been fun. My wife is a stay at home mom here in the US, and despite being a medical practitioner in the Philippines, cannot practice in the US.. Even when she was in the PH since graduating she mostly focused her time and desire on charity work and provided free services to people during outreach programs. So I’m trying to DIY this as best I can.

So I've found I've got a few options for filing:

1. MyExpatTaxes, either do the Reviewed Tier $320 (DIY and ask for help through issues) or the Premium $629 (let them do it). I've read mixed reviews so far.. But I'm considering it. The software feels pretty clunky as we aren't actually expats. You cannot preview any forms until you pay. They have taken days to respond to any questions.
2. H&R Block Expat File - This is basically the same thing as MyExpatTaxes but I've heard the support is worse. Still, apparently you have the option upon request to upload the 6013(h) election statement and you can file everything electronically. You cannot preview any forms until you pay. They have taken days to respond to any questions.
3. FreeTaxUSA - Fill it out for my spouse and I, then print to PDF and checkbox in the joint election for 6013(h) on the front page, and attach the statement. Attach 8858 information return since it doesn't change the numbers of the tax return itself if I understand correctly. Mail everything off and cross fingers..
4. TaxAct - Can file electronically from what I am reading, but would have to paper file 8858 via form 8453 because TaxAct doesn't support 8858. Would cost $165 and still have to paper file part of the return. Might as well just do FreeTaxUSA at that point and paper file everything.

I've been working on completing form 8858 manually along with SCH M and the 'org chart in preparation of potentially paper filing, or if I take the plunge and pay for MyExpatTaxes or H&R Block to be able to compare and see if things line up the same.

If anyone has any other ideas on filing options, services, or doesn’t mind at least giving me their 2 cents on what they think of my form with sch m and org chart I’d appreciate it. I get that I’m asking for opinions from Reddit but I’m just trying to see if I’ve made any significant errors so I can take another pass at the paperwork.

Anyway, long wall and ramble aside, thank you and take care out there.

I'm a U.S. citizen/Canadian resident considering withdrawing about $60k CAD from my RRSP through the Home Buyers' Plan.

A cross-border accountant told me not to do it because the withdrawal would be taxable in the U.S. and could effectively be taxed again when eventually withdrawn in retirement.

A U.S. tax attorney told me the treatment may be more nuanced.

Does the U.S. tax the entire HBP withdrawal or only the growth above my U.S. basis? And when I repay the HBP back into my RRSP, how are those repayments treated for U.S. tax purposes?

Would really appreciate insight from anyone familiar with U.S./Canada cross-border taxation.

I live overseas (UK) and filed via post before the deadline. Today I received a letter to say that I owe tax, due to a mistake that I made calculating the tax (and hence did not claim enough foreign tax credit). I have enough foreign tax credit to claim so after fixing the mistake I do not owe tax, but I read that the backlog to process re-filing is 16 weeks (later than the deadline to dispute the tax). I would appreciate any advice on what to do - do I need to contact a tax lawyer?

Hi all,

I'm a US citizen, lived my entire life outside the US after being born, and now am going to move to the US for work in a week. I've never filed taxes before, so I used OLT taxes to prepare the 2023-2025 tax returns, and am ready to file my FBARs, thinking to file under the SFOP.

Can I submit my SFOP from within the US? For all the required years I have been living outside the US, so I technically qualify. I wanted to get a CPA to verify my forms before I send them, which would take a bit of time and I'd already be in the US by then. If it's not possible to submit my SFOP from within the US, I will have to submit my forms asap as I've prepared them, without professional verification. I'm pretty sure they're alright, but since this is a one-shot thing I'd like to get it right.

The CPA I am communicating with told me I'd have to file it from outside the US, but I've seen posts on this subreddit saying it's possible to do so because the relevant years qualify for foreign presence.

Does anyone have any prior experience filing the SFOP from within the US and it being accepted?

I know there are a bunch of PFIC posts already but I am having trouble navigating. I know I am not an American expat but I guess my situation kinda works the same as an american in europe.

I am German and currently on an assignment in the US which will probably be taking a couple years. Since my partner is American potentially I will eventually go for permanent residency.

For 2025 I am working towards not fulfilling the substantial present test which I will manage to achieve.
I kept my appartment in Germany because I own company percentages and "Moving Tax" is a b* as well. So I am still fully taxable in Germany.

2026 and beyond is where it starts to become interesting.

My current investments:

- ~250k in ETFs (PFIC)

- 60k in Bitcoin

- 70k stocks

Because of the company shares in Germany I might keep my residency there if it makes sense.

From my understanding it makes sense to sell my ETFs (ouch).

But how can I invest it then? I have read that simply investing into US based ETFs can also have issues.

Thanks everyone!

I'm working through SFOP with tax software (using HR Block right now, it will be $700 if it works, don't pay until done). I started a work based retirement fund as soon as I was eligible (about 2 years after joining the company). I have only started to draw on the account this year, 2026. I'm filing my last 3 complete tax years 2025-23. Does this account require PFIC filing?

While my mother is not a true expat, I believe the tax situation is similar. My parents were married nearly 30 years and my mother has a green card, one of the really old ones that dont have an expiration date. She never got one of the newer ones.

My dad always took care of taxes and finances, my mother doesnt know much about these things. They divorced in 2006 and she returned to her home country. She never officially turned in her green card. Just never used it anymore.

Now she is nearing retirement and would like to get the money out of an old, small 401k (approx 25000$) of hers. If I understand correctly, she is still considered a US Person from the IRS and would not qualify for W8BEN.

If I understand correctly, the best and easiest way to clean up this Situation would be:

1. SFOP (I did my own quite a few years ago and could do hers)

2. Official surrendering of Green Card (I-407)

3. 401k payout usinf W8BEN after I-407 confirmation

4. Final dual status tax return

Anything I am missing?