You’re either overpaying the IRS or building up penalties you haven’t seen yet. Living abroad doesn’t pause either one.
Our US expat tax services help US citizens and green card holders overseas file correctly, claim every available relief, and clear missed years without penalties.
You get 130+ years of combined IRS experience, and every file is backed by tax attorneys, CPAs, enrolled agents, and former IRS agents.
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Living Abroad Doesn’t Take You Off the IRS’s Radar
Move anywhere you like, and you still report your worldwide income every year.
A US law called FATCA makes foreign banks report their American account holders, so the IRS often sees your overseas accounts before you mention them.
If you owe US tax debt, the IRS can also levy your US bank accounts, which means taking the money straight out.
Getting expat tax help early means you owe little or nothing once the right relief is claimed.
What Our US Expat Tax Services Cover
Your Expat Tax Return, Prepared and Filed
We prepare Form 1040, the standard US return, with every schedule your situation triggers. Then we claim relief on Form 2555 (the exclusion, which keeps part of your foreign wages out of US tax) or Form 1116 (the foreign tax credit, which offsets tax you already paid abroad).
Exclusion vs. Credit Strategy
You can’t use both on the same income. Pick wrong, and you pay tax you didn’t owe, or waste credits you could carry forward. We run both on your real numbers before anything gets filed.
FBAR for Expats and Foreign Asset Reporting
The FBAR (FinCEN Form 114) reports your foreign bank accounts to the Treasury Department once they total more than $10,000. Larger holdings add Form 8938, a stake in a foreign company adds Form 5471, and foreign mutual funds add Form 8621. We file them all, because penalties apply even when you owe nothing.
IRS Letters and Tax Debt From Overseas
Got an IRS letter, or a levy on a US account? We represent you and work toward a resolution. You never answer the IRS from another time zone.
Tax Planning Before You Move
A new country, a new job, a foreign business, or a home sale each rewrites your tax math. We plan before the tax year closes.
Behind on filings? There is a penalty-free route back.
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Missed Years of Filing? Settle Americans Abroad Back Taxes Without Penalties
If your failure wasn’t deliberate, the IRS built a program for you.
Under the Streamlined Foreign Offshore Procedures, you file the last 3 years of returns and 6 years of FBARs with no failure-to-file or FBAR penalties.
Together, these are the streamlined filing compliance procedures. You qualify when you:
- Pass the non-residency test (proof that you actually live abroad)
- Certify that your conduct was non-willful
- Apply before the IRS contacts you about the missing filings
Once an IRS letter about missing filings lands, this route closes.
If your conduct was willful, a different path applies. We tell you that on the first call, not after you’ve filed.
| Let’s Help You Fix Past Years |
How We Help You, Step by Step
Every file under our US expat tax services moves through five steps.
1. The Straight-Talk Call
You tell us where you live, what you earn, which accounts you hold, and which years are missing. We tell you plainly whether you face a routine filing or a cleanup.
2. The Paper Trail Hunt
We list every foreign account, pension, company stake and property that touches a US form. Nothing stays unreported because you forgot a savings account from years ago.
3. The Exclusion-vs-Credit Showdown
Both options run side by side on your actual figures. The winner gets filed, and we explain why in plain English.
4. The Penalty Firewall
We check every account against the FBAR and Form 8938 thresholds, so FBAR for expats never becomes an afterthought. If years are missing, we test whether the streamlined filing compliance procedures fit your facts.
5. File Once, Then Plan Forward
Your expat tax return goes out accurate and on time. Then we map next year’s deadlines so nothing surprises you.
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What To Expect After You Call
- Your first consultation is free and carries no obligation.
- Deadlines shape the timeline. You get an automatic extension to June 15 and can extend to October 15 with Form 4868, but interest on any balance still runs from April 15.
- IRS letters come to us. You never have to speak to the IRS yourself.
Ready to see where you stand? Your next step is one call.
Why Expats Choose MD Sullivan Tax Group
You need a team that has sat on the IRS’s side of the table and now sits on yours. That is what you get with our US expat tax services, delivered nationwide:
- 130+ years of combined IRS experience across tax attorneys, CPAs, enrolled agents, and former IRS agents.
- A founder, Michael D. Sullivan, who worked as an IRS Revenue Officer and Offer in Compromise Specialist before opening his private practice in 1983.
- Full representation. IRS correspondence goes to our team, not your inbox.
- Real expat tax help includes telling you when a relief doesn’t apply.
Your Life Overseas Is Complicated Enough. Your US Taxes Don’t Have to Be.
Somewhere right now, an American abroad is missing a Form 114 deadline because nobody told them it applied. The penalty doesn’t care that they were busy, overseas or unaware.
You have two options. Keep guessing, and let the exposure grow with every unfiled year. Or hand it to a team with 130+ years of IRS experience that knows how to close a file cleanly.
The cheapest day to fix an overseas tax problem is today. The streamlined route closes the moment the IRS contacts you, and Americans abroad back taxes only grow with every unfiled year.
One free call tells you where you stand.
| Call (762) 800-1040 | Claim Your Free Consultation |
FAQs
Yes. US citizens and green card holders must report their worldwide income every year, no matter where they live. Filing does not always mean owing, though. The foreign earned income exclusion and the foreign tax credit often reduce the US tax bill to zero, but only if you file to claim them.
Up to $132,900 per person for the 2026 tax year, filed in 2027. For 2025 returns, the limit is $130,000. You qualify by being physically outside the US for 330 full days in a 12-month period or by being a bona fide resident of a foreign country, and you claim it on Form 2555.
Americans abroad get an automatic extension to June 15, and can extend to October 15 with Form 4868. Interest on any tax owed still runs from April 15. The FBAR for foreign accounts is due April 15 with an automatic extension to October 15.
If your failure was not deliberate, the Streamlined Foreign Offshore Procedures let you file the last 3 years of returns and 6 years of FBARs with no failure-to-file or FBAR penalties. You must meet the non-residency test and apply before the IRS contacts you about the missing filings.
It depends on the country. In higher-tax countries, the foreign tax credit often wipes out US tax and can leave extra credits to carry forward. In low-tax countries, the exclusion usually works better. You cannot use both on the same income, so the choice should be run with real numbers.
Common ones include the FBAR (FinCEN Form 114) if foreign accounts total more than $10,000, Form 8938 for larger foreign assets, Form 5471 for owning part of a foreign company, and Form 8621 for foreign mutual funds. Missing these can bring penalties even when no tax is owed.
Yes. The IRS can levy US bank accounts, take federal payments, and ask the State Department to deny or revoke your passport if your tax debt is 'seriously delinquent' above a threshold adjusted each year. Moving abroad does not make US tax debt go away.
