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Of the two or three dozen Americans I have met working overseas for an extended period over the last 25-or-so years, I don't think I know of one that hasn't had

by ci5er 8y ago

Of the two or three dozen Americans I have met working overseas for an extended period over the last 25-or-so years, I don't think I know of one that hasn't had it happen at least once... Most end up hiring KPMG (or some such firm -- which is not cheap) to end up doing the filings and follow-up, just so it never (ever) falls through the cracks again... EDIT: There are about 5M Americans working overseas. At an error rate (of this type) of about 5% (anecdotally, I'd put it certainly above 3% and usually (most years) below 10%), that's still hundreds of thousands of Americans each year who get to have their life thrown into a tailspin. It's not so simple as having the DMV mis-spell your middle-name or shipping your driver's license to the wrong address.

duxup 8y ago
Is this just denied a new passport? Or the ability to leave. If it is just a new passport that would drop the numbers considerably..... also it depends on what the owing the IRS actually means. I noted in another comment that I've had my run ins with the IRS before. Provided you respond to them in a timely fashion (they give a lot of time) they consider it is in one phase. If you don't respond, then it is another phase. I'm wondering if we're talking about situations where the situation is in a particular phase. Not just the IRS asking, but if you already chose not to respond....
- ci5er 8y ago
  I don't know much about these phases, because I have tried to respond as soon as requested (although there have been some scares because of lost letters). I do know of a several people (4 to be precise, in the last several months) that have (had) non-expired passports denied permission to leave the country (the US) to return home to work, and one person who was no able to renew an expired passport at the embassy of their host country of 20 years (Japan)[fn]. This is all anecdote, and maybe they were in Phase 1+N of your scheme... [fn] One could argue the wisdom of spending one's entire life/career working in Japan, knowing that they will boot you out as soon as you hit 65 y.o., but that's a different conversation!
perl4ever 8y ago
"Most end up hiring KPMG" sounds to me a bit odd, like someone saying "My car was overdue for an inspection so I hired GM like most people". I don't have experience in this exact situation, but I asked a friend who she recommended for tax advice not long ago, and it wasn't one of the Big 4.
- ci5er 8y ago
  I agree it sounds weird. And if you stay in one country - having a local boutique with US tax experience makes more sense. If you bounce around, it's nice to have someone with presence in all the places you might end up traversing. Also, depending on who you work for, sometimes employees can get a deal dealing with their corporate's accountants.

by ci5er 8y ago

duxup 8y ago

Is this just denied a new passport? Or the ability to leave. If it is just a new passport that would drop the numbers considerably..... also it depends on what the owing the IRS actually means. I noted in another comment that I've had my run ins with the IRS before. Provided you respond to them in a timely fashion (they give a lot of time) they consider it is in one phase. If you don't respond, then it is another phase. I'm wondering if we're talking about situations where the situation is in a particular phase. Not just the IRS asking, but if you already chose not to respond....

ci5er 8y ago
I don't know much about these phases, because I have tried to respond as soon as requested (although there have been some scares because of lost letters). I do know of a several people (4 to be precise, in the last several months) that have (had) non-expired passports denied permission to leave the country (the US) to return home to work, and one person who was no able to renew an expired passport at the embassy of their host country of 20 years (Japan)[fn]. This is all anecdote, and maybe they were in Phase 1+N of your scheme... [fn] One could argue the wisdom of spending one's entire life/career working in Japan, knowing that they will boot you out as soon as you hit 65 y.o., but that's a different conversation!

perl4ever 8y ago

"Most end up hiring KPMG" sounds to me a bit odd, like someone saying "My car was overdue for an inspection so I hired GM like most people". I don't have experience in this exact situation, but I asked a friend who she recommended for tax advice not long ago, and it wasn't one of the Big 4.

ci5er 8y ago
I agree it sounds weird. And if you stay in one country - having a local boutique with US tax experience makes more sense. If you bounce around, it's nice to have someone with presence in all the places you might end up traversing. Also, depending on who you work for, sometimes employees can get a deal dealing with their corporate's accountants.