#expatriate
Tax guidance, financial planning, and accounting advice for Americans living abroad
Престоят под 183 дни в дадена държава не ви прави нерезидент никъде. Американските номади все още дължат данък върху световния си доход, изключението за чуждестранни доходи през 2026 г. е ограничено до $132 900 и никога не покрива 15,3% данък за самостоятелна заетост, тестът за данъчен дом дисквалифицира вечните пътешественици, а FBAR се задейства при $10 000 общо за всички чуждестранни сметки.
От 31 март 2026 г. Декрет 531 на Ел Салвадор изисква от временно пребиваващите да прекарват само 90 календарни дни годишно в страната вместо около девет месеца. Ето как се сравняват трите основни пътя за пребиваване, какво покриват териториалното облагане и американското изключване на доход, спечелен в чужбина, както и навиците в счетоводството, които поддържат дните на присъствие, източника на доходи и файловете за подновяване готови за одит.
От 1 януари 2026 г. паричните преводи в чужбина, финансирани с пари в брой, подлежат на 1% федерален акциз, събиран от доставчиците и отчитан във Форма 720. Това ръководство обяснява какво поражда данъка, кои банкови преводи са освободени и как малките предприятия трябва да записват данъка, таксите и плащанията към изпълнителите.
Form 8858 reports foreign disregarded entities and foreign branches on a U.S. return, and missing one carries a $10,000 penalty per entity per year that can snowball to $50,000 after IRS notice. This guide covers who must file, Schedules C through M, Section 987 currency calculations, the Schedule K-2/K-3 box 11 connection for Category 6 filers, and the four paths back into compliance.
A practical walkthrough of IRC Section 7701(b) for globally mobile founders — the 31-day floor, the weighted three-year 183-day formula, exempt-individual rules, the closer connection exception (Form 8840), and treaty tie-breakers (Form 8833) — with a worked example showing how 130 U.S. days in 2026 can trigger worldwide taxation.
Section 877A treats covered expatriates as if they sold every asset the day before leaving the United States. For 2026 the net-tax threshold is $211,000, the net-worth test sits at $2 million, and the gain exclusion is $910,000 — here is how Form 8854 decides whether you pay.
A side-by-side guide to Form 1116 (Foreign Tax Credit) and Form 2555 (Foreign Earned Income Exclusion) for expats and cross-border workers in 2026 — the $132,900 FEIE cap, the five-year revocation lock-in, the FTC stacking rule, and a worked example showing when each one actually saves money.
How non-willful US taxpayers use the IRS Streamlined Filing Compliance Procedures to catch up on FBAR, Form 8938, and three years of late returns—zero penalty under SFOP for taxpayers abroad, a one-time 5% miscellaneous offshore penalty under SDOP for domestic filers, plus what the non-willfulness certification must demonstrate.
A Section 962 election lets US individual owners of a controlled foreign corporation be taxed on GILTI/NCTI at corporate rates, cutting the effective US rate from up to 37% to roughly 12.6% in 2026. The OBBBA reduced the Section 250 deduction to 40%, eliminated the QBAI carve-out, and raised the indirect foreign tax credit cap from 80% to 90% — but PTEP rules can still trigger a second layer of US tax when earnings are eventually distributed.
PFICs (foreign mutual funds, UCITS ETFs) trigger Section 1291 tax for US investors — gains allocated across the holding period, taxed at top ordinary rates, plus compounded interest charges. This guide covers Form 8621, the QEF and mark-to-market elections, the $25k/$50k de minimis filing exception, and how to escape the trap.
Form 5471 carries automatic $10,000-per-corporation initial penalties capped at $60,000 per year for U.S. persons who own, control, or serve as officers of foreign corporations. Covers the five filing categories, modular schedules, GILTI's rename to NCTI for tax years beginning after December 31, 2025, and the Streamlined and Delinquent Submission routes back into compliance.
The 2026 Foreign Earned Income Exclusion lets qualifying Americans abroad exclude up to $132,900 of foreign-earned income on Form 2555. This guide details the physical presence and bona fide residence tests, the housing exclusion, FEIE vs. Foreign Tax Credit tradeoffs, and audit-ready documentation for expats and digital nomads.
