How many hours and days or even years have I spent stressing over taxes1

And the tricky part is – let’s say you’re not even making an income while living abroad but want the stimulus checks. You would be termed a ‘’Non-Filer’’ but the IRS closed their Non-filer registration portal last year, so in order to receive a stimulus check this year you need to file a 2020 tax return! 

Wait there’s more. It’s also suggested you have a US bank account to receive the stimulus payment. If you live abroad, receiving paper checks by mail can be tricky. Foreign addresses and different alphabets may not work on the IRS system. Having an online US bank account like Transferwise will be your best bet.

US taxes as an expat

4.  You get more time than everyone else to file
April 15th generally lives in our collective culture as a day of dread – the deadline for US taxes. But there’s a BUT! 

American expats are lucky. We actually get an automatic extension to June 15th. You can even fill out a form for a free tax extension till October 15th. The keyword here is “file.” If you owe tax (which you very well might not), you usually have to pay that tax by April 15th, but the IRS moved it to May 17th this year because of the pandemic. 

Secondly, they have extended the FBAR deadline – to October 15. It’s a six-month extension for expats.

And if you really need more time to file US expat taxes, you can request an even greater extension for the December 15 deadline. This is the very last day to file taxes as an American abroad. But doing so is a little more complicated. You need to go old school and send a letter to the IRS. Included in this letter must be the tax return you need an extension for, plus a reason why the IRS should grant you the extension. You’ll need to also track this letter and have an IRS employee sign off on it to ensure it’s arrived. Otherwise, you won’t receive a confirmation the extension has been granted.

Another confession – I’m the queen of requesting extensions. But not for any longer! I’m getting all caught up with MyExpatTaxes. The weight of the world on my shoulders is lighter.

US taxes as an expat

5. You can make up the years you haven’t filed
If you forgot to file US taxes or are panicking – realizing you have tax returns to make up – no worries. As long as the IRS didn’t contact you yet, expats can make up years of filing, penalty-free through the Streamlined Procedure. It’s a tax amnesty program set up by the IRS to help American citizens make up lost years of filing. 

To be eligible for the Streamlined Procedure, you have to:

Not have been living in the US for the last three years
Lived outside the US for 330 days
Haven’t filed a tax return in the last three years, or any amended/delinquent returns.
Haven’t filed the FBAR in 6 years
You can claim those missed tax returns without getting on the IRS’ naughty list and be eligible for stimulus checks.

US taxes as an expat

6. It’s not as scary as you might think
If you’re anything like me, you procrastinate hard on the big hairy tasks. The things you might not like the answers to are at the bottom of the list. While I’ve certainly grown up a lot in the 11 years since starting this blog, I still find it hard to tackle the messy or scary things. It’s human nature to put those things off.

I swear to god one of the biggest lessons I’ve learned as an adult is outsourcing things when I can and can’t afford it to experts. Have you ever tried to call the IRS? Let me tell you; it’s the pits.

How many hours and days or even years have I spent stressing over taxes and trying to figure them out? It is not a good use of my precious time, especially when I’m running two businesses and trying to implement good work/life boundaries at home. 

But I’m here to tell you, once you start to wrap your head around filing US taxes as an expat, it’s not that bad, especially when having support from the professional tax experts at MyExpatTaxes, which is worth its weight in gold. To get started with them, you sign up and follow a series of questions, confirm the results, calculations and  submit. You can go through the DIY software for free first and then pay their $180 base plan when convinced. If you need more professional help, you can upgrade to higher levels of support. 

From this easy DIY software to help you file yourself to someone holding your hand the whole way through becoming tax compliant (one day!), MyExpatTaxes offers a range of help with your taxes. 

Don’t forget to use my code YA10 f

Not have been living in the US for the last three years
Lived outside the US for 330 days
Haven’t filed a tax return in the last three years, or any amended/delinquent returns.
Haven’t filed the FBAR in 6 years
You can claim those missed tax returns without getting on the IRS’ naughty list and be eligible for stimulus checks.

US taxes as an expat

6. It’s not as scary as you might think
If you’re anything like me, you procrastinate hard on the big hairy tasks. The things you might not like the answers to are at the bottom of the list. While I’ve certainly grown up a lot in the 11 years since starting this blog, I still find it hard to tackle the messy or scary things. It’s human nature to put those things off.

I swear to god one of the biggest lessons I’ve learned as an adult is outsourcing things when I can and can’t afford it to experts. Have you ever tried to call the IRS? Let me tell you; it’s the pits.

How many hours and days or even years have I spent stressing over taxes and trying to figure them out? It is not a good use of my precious time, especially when I’m running two businesses and trying to implement good work/life boundaries at home. 

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