At Solutions 4 Expats, every client relationship is important to us and we recognize that every client’s situation is unique.

Prior to providing a fee quote, we prefer to meet personally with each client for an in-depth discussion in which the historical and current situation is reviewed. Future plans and any pressing concerns are taken into account so as to avoid unpleasant surprises further down the line.

As part of our personalized, service-oriented approach, we send our clients friendly reminders at crucial junctures such as the start of the tax season and approaching deadlines. We keep track of your preparation status and should it appear that you need assistance with gathering and providing supporting documents in a timely manner, we are here to offer practical support.

Solutions 4 Expats offers clients an all-inclusive fee quote at the start of the service relationship, before work has begun. Clients receive an engagement contract outlining the fees and the work to be done. No surprises.

As part of the all-inclusive fee, clients are welcome to contact us throughout the year with general questions regarding taxes, changes to family planning, residency, citizenship, or financial profile. We provide friendly, efficient support for areas in which we have expertise. For questions outside our expertise, we will gladly refer you to one of the professionals in our broad, international network of experts.

Clients are welcome to email or call with quick questions. In addition, we welcome the scheduling of telephone, Skype conferences or face-to-face meetings for longer discussions.

If you have not filed your US tax return in several years however are required to, making use of a voluntary disclosure program is advised. There are different programs for different situations. Most of the clients that come to us can make use of the most basic voluntary disclosure program, the Streamlined Foreign Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program. This program requires 3 past due US tax returns to be submitted along with 6 years of the Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR).

We are happy to schedule an advice meeting with you to discuss your options and your reporting requirements.

Who must file? A U.S. person who has a financial interest in or signature authority over foreign financial account(s) with a combined highest value of $10,000 during the calendar year. That is the standard response, but the situation can get more complicated than this. For example, do not forget to consider your children’s accounts.  Are you an owner of a foreign corporation? Be sure not to forget those bank and investment accounts since the accounts within the foreign corporation are in fact your accounts.

What does “Financial Interest” mean? - Financial interest means a U.S. person that is the legal holder or owner of record. However this also includes accounts that you have a financial interest in and someone else is the owner of record. 

The most common foreign financial accounts are current, savings or securities accounts held at foreign financial institutions. But any accounts held with a foreign entity or individual serving as a financial institution are reportable. 

The highest value is not always at the beginning or the end of the year. It’s best to use the tools your financial institution provides combined with your awareness of major inflows to your accounts during the year. For example, you may be able to use your periodic bank statements or a transaction download showing beginning and ending balance to determine the highest value. 

The FBAR must be filed electronically. If we are providing you with US tax return services, we also prepare and file the FBAR for you. The deadline for this form has changed last year to April 15^th with an automatic extension to October 15^th.

There are large penalties for failure to report your foreign financial interests.  Therefore, as our client, we do prefer to assist you with this filing. For this reason we will also pester you with questions to satisfy ourselves that we have all accounts and nothing has been forgotten.

If you are not a U.S. citizen and are living outside of the United States, you are considered a “nonresident alien” (NRA).  You are green and have 10 arms, just kidding!

Even as a nonresident alien, you may be required to file a U.S. tax return. Here are some circumstances that would require you to file:

• You are doing short term business or working in the U.S. and are receiving income from these activities.
• You receive income from U.S. assets such as real estate, stocks, bonds, and mutual funds or from the sale of such assets.
• You receive other income from a U.S. source, such as royalties, alimony, pensions and annuities, scholarships or fellowships, personal services performed in the U.S.
• You want to claim a refund on tax that you overpaid or if too much tax was withheld from your U.S. income, for example 30% tax was withheld from US source dividends instead of the 15% US / NL treaty rate.

If you still have a green card from previously living in the U.S. (you have not officially given it up), you are not considered a nonresident alien. Therefore you have the same tax obligations as a U.S. citizen and must file a tax return every year until you have officially relinquished your Green Card.

There are some rather complex US tax laws for US citizens with Foreign Corporations.  If you own 10% or more of a foreign corporation, you will need to file the form 5471 with your individual income tax return. The current, up to tax year 2016, foreign corporation tax rules are in reaction to prior abuse of the tax system. As a result, subpart F rules were enacted requiring certain types of income to still flow through to the US individual income tax return. As a result of the Trump Tax Reform Act of 2017, the reporting and taxation of these entities has become even more complex. Before establishing a foreign corporation it is important to discuss the situation with your US tax advisor.

FATCA, Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, became effective in March 2010 and requires foreign banks to report the account information of US citizens or residents to the Dutch government, which in turn reports to the US government. As a result of this reporting compliance requirement, many non US banks are reluctant to open accounts for US citizens, especially investment accounts.

If you are lucky to open an investment account then it is very important to discuss this with your US tax advisor. Investment in mutual funds located outside the US have special reporting requirements that fall under the Passive Foreign Corporation Rules, or PFIC’s. There are various tax elections that can be made to ensure that the reporting of income and taxation on the US side can be offset by the foreign taxes paid on these accounts. If you are late in making a preferred election you could be restricted from claiming foreign tax credits and the US tax results can be penalizing.

If you do not yet have a US social security number or ITIN (Individual Taxpayer Identification Number), we are happy to assist you with the application process. As a US citizen or Green Card Holder you must have a US social security number in order to file US tax returns. For both the application of a US social security number and an ITIN, the process entails a visit to the US Consulate in Amsterdam, something we cannot do for you. However, we can help you to prepare for your Consulate visit. There are forms to be completed and documents to assemble to ensure that your visit is successful.

Sources: 

https://ie.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/social-security/social-security-numbers-ssn/

https://nl.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/social-security/

Giving up your US citizenship is not an easy choice. We are happy to sit down and discuss this decision with you.

If you decide to renounce your US citizenship, you formally terminate citizenship with the United States. You will need to make an appointment at the U.S. Consulate in Amsterdam so that you can sign (in the presence of an American consular officer) and submit the following forms:

1. Complete Form DS-4081: Statement of Understanding Concerning Consequences and Ramifications of Relinquishment or Renunciation of U.S. citizenship.
2. Complete Form DS-4080: Oath/Affirmation of Renunciation of Nationality United States

At this appointment you will turn in your current U.S. Passport and show proof of another nationality. You will also have to pay the “Administrative Processing of Formal Renunciation of U. S Citizenship” fee (since September 2014 it is $2,350).

In addition to the process at the US Consulate, your final US tax return will need to be filed. Other than the standard US Income tax return and your last FBAR, also the Form 8854 Expatriation Statement is required. 

We are happy to assist you with your final tax return filings to make sure that your tax account with the IRS is closed.

Please note that if you are a US Green Card Holder and have had your Green Card for 8 years or more, you are considered a Long Term Resident. The procedures for relinquishing your Green Card are not as costly, however the same tax filings must be done to close your account at the IRS.

• Grant Thornton  Please see their website for further details. 
• Total Compliance & Outsource BV  Please see their website for further details.