US Taxes and FBAR Reporting

Not everyone who moves to the Netherlands has corporate support for dealing with US taxes while outside the US. If you are new to living abroad, you may be surprised to learn that the 

Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) form is a requirement. A US person, including a citizen, resident, corporation, partnership, limited liability company, trust and estate, must file an FBAR to report:

1. a financial interest in or signature or other authority over at least one financial account located outside the United States if
2. the aggregate value of those foreign financial accounts exceeded $10,000 at any time during the calendar year reported.

The FBAR is an annual report due April 15 following the calendar year reported. You're allowed an automatic extension to October 15 if you fail to meet the FBAR annual due date of April 15. You don't need to request an extension to file the FBAR. See FinCEN's website for further information. 

As a US citizen or resident living or traveling outside the United States, you are generally required to file income tax returns, estate tax returns, and gift tax returns and pay estimated tax in the same way as those residing in the United States. Your income, filing status, and age generally determine whether you must file a return. Usually, you must file a return if your gross income from worldwide sources is at least the amount shown for your filing status in the Filing Requirements table in Chapter 1 of Publication 54, Tax Guide for US Citizens and Resident Aliens Abroad or see the IRS webpage on filing requirements for citizens and residents abroad for more information.

There are companies that help people complete their tax returns and file from abroad, including Expatfile, MyExpatTaxes and Greenback Tax Services. If you have other recommendations, please send them to webmanager@awca.nl.