Cross-Border & International Tax Solutions

Living, working, or conducting business across international borders exposes you to double-taxation risks and strict foreign asset disclosure requirements. Because the U.S. taxes citizens and green card holders on worldwide income regardless of residency, specialized tax planning is essential to optimize your global tax position while maintaining full compliance with the IRS and the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance (DTF).

1. Key Exclusion & Credit Strategies

We utilize international tax provisions to prevent double taxation on foreign-earned income:

Strategy	Primary IRS Form	Qualification Criteria	Core Tax Benefit
Foreign Earned Income Exclusion (FEIE)	Form 2555	Meets Physical Presence Test (330 full days abroad in 12 months) OR Bona Fide Residence Test.	Excludes earned income from foreign wages or self-employment from U.S. federal taxation.
Foreign Tax Credit (FTC)	Form 1116	Paid or accrued qualifying foreign income taxes to a foreign government.	Provides a direct dollar-for-dollar credit against U.S. tax liability (ideal for high-tax countries).
Foreign Housing Exclusion / Deduction	Form 2555	Qualifies for FEIE and incurs eligible foreign housing expenses (rent, utilities).	Excludes or deducts qualified foreign housing expenses exceeding a base threshold.

2. Foreign Asset Reporting & Compliance Requirements

Failing to disclose foreign accounts triggers severe statutory penalties. We prepare all required international information returns:

• FBAR (FinCEN Form 114): Required if the aggregate value of all foreign financial accounts exceeds $10,000 at any time during the calendar year. Filed separately via the BSA E-Filing System.
• FATCA (Form 8938): Filed directly with Form 1040 when specified foreign financial assets exceed foreign or domestic thresholds (e.g., $200,000+ at year-end for single filers living abroad).
• Foreign Trust Reporting (Forms 3520 / 3520-A): Mandatory reporting for creation, ownership, or receipt of distributions from foreign trusts or foreign gifts exceeding statutory limits.
• Foreign Entity Disclosures (Forms 5471 / 8865): Required for U.S. shareholders holding interests in foreign corporations or foreign partnerships.

3. New York State Residency & “Tax Trap” Audits

New York State aggressively audits individuals who move abroad or work remotely from another country while maintaining ties to the state. We protect clients using established audit defense strategies:

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  Evaluate NYS Domicile & Statutory Residence Status         │
└──────────────────────────────┬───────────────────────────────┘
                               │
       ┌───────────────────────┴───────────────────────┐
       ▼                                               ▼
┌─────────────────────────────┐         ┌─────────────────────────────┐
│ 1. Domicile Test            │         │ 2. Statutory Residence Test │
├─────────────────────────────┤         ├─────────────────────────────┤
│ Evaluation of permanent home│         │ Maintains a Permanent Place │
│ primary ties, family location│         │ of Abode (PPA) in NY AND     │
│ and intent to return.       │         │ spends 184+ days in state.  │
└─────────────────────────────┘         └─────────────────────────────┘

Convenience of the Employer Rule: If you are employed by a NY-based company and work remotely from abroad, NYS may continue to tax 100% of your income unless your remote work arrangement meets strict “necessity” criteria established by the state.

4. Streamlined Foreign Offshore Compliance

If you have fallen behind on U.S. foreign asset reporting or filed non-compliant returns while living abroad, we utilize IRS Amnesty Programs to bring you back into full compliance without draconian penalties:

• Streamlined Foreign Offshore Procedures (SFOP): For taxpayers living outside the U.S. whose failure to report foreign income and file FBARs/8938s was non-willful. Allows submission of 3 years of delinquent tax returns and 6 years of FBARs with 100% penalty relief.
• Streamlined Domestic Offshore Procedures (SDOP): For non-willful taxpayers residing in the U.S. with unreported foreign accounts, subject to a reduced 5% miscellaneous offshore penalty.