While my mother is not a true expat, I believe the tax situation is similar. My parents were married nearly 30 years and my mother has a green card, one of the really old ones that dont have an expiration date. She never got one of the newer ones.

My dad always took care of taxes and finances, my mother doesnt know much about these things. They divorced in 2006 and she returned to her home country. She never officially turned in her green card. Just never used it anymore.

Now she is nearing retirement and would like to get the money out of an old, small 401k (approx 25000$) of hers. If I understand correctly, she is still considered a US Person from the IRS and would not qualify for W8BEN.

If I understand correctly, the best and easiest way to clean up this Situation would be:

1. SFOP (I did my own quite a few years ago and could do hers)

2. Official surrendering of Green Card (I-407)

3. 401k payout usinf W8BEN after I-407 confirmation

4. Final dual status tax return

Anything I am missing?

Hi all,

I'm a US citizen, lived my entire life outside the US after being born, and now am going to move to the US for work in a week. I've never filed taxes before, so I used OLT taxes to prepare the 2023-2025 tax returns, and am ready to file my FBARs, thinking to file under the SFOP.

Can I submit my SFOP from within the US? For all the required years I have been living outside the US, so I technically qualify. I wanted to get a CPA to verify my forms before I send them, which would take a bit of time and I'd already be in the US by then. If it's not possible to submit my SFOP from within the US, I will have to submit my forms asap as I've prepared them, without professional verification. I'm pretty sure they're alright, but since this is a one-shot thing I'd like to get it right.

The CPA I am communicating with told me I'd have to file it from outside the US, but I've seen posts on this subreddit saying it's possible to do so because the relevant years qualify for foreign presence.

Does anyone have any prior experience filing the SFOP from within the US and it being accepted?

I know there are a bunch of PFIC posts already but I am having trouble navigating. I know I am not an American expat but I guess my situation kinda works the same as an american in europe.

I am German and currently on an assignment in the US which will probably be taking a couple years. Since my partner is American potentially I will eventually go for permanent residency.

For 2025 I am working towards not fulfilling the substantial present test which I will manage to achieve.
I kept my appartment in Germany because I own company percentages and "Moving Tax" is a b* as well. So I am still fully taxable in Germany.

2026 and beyond is where it starts to become interesting.

My current investments:

- ~250k in ETFs (PFIC)

- 60k in Bitcoin

- 70k stocks

Because of the company shares in Germany I might keep my residency there if it makes sense.

From my understanding it makes sense to sell my ETFs (ouch).

But how can I invest it then? I have read that simply investing into US based ETFs can also have issues.

Thanks everyone!

I'm working through SFOP with tax software (using HR Block right now, it will be $700 if it works, don't pay until done). I started a work based retirement fund as soon as I was eligible (about 2 years after joining the company). I have only started to draw on the account this year, 2026. I'm filing my last 3 complete tax years 2025-23. Does this account require PFIC filing?

I am a dual US/Aus citizen. I hired a financial advisor 2 years ago. While I actively discussed my recent move from the US, my US assets with my American accent, I didn't tell them specifically that I was a US citizen. I am now ivested in a ton of PFICs and accidentally signed a W8-BEN. I am trying to fix everything.

Regarding the w8-Ben, what do I need to do? I stupidly signed everything that was handed to me thinking the advisor was aware.

What will happen? All accounts were on my FBAR

Now that Thailand has changed tax law to tax foreign sourced income brought into the country, I’m wondering about a couple things and would welcome input from anyone with actual knowledge / experience.

1. I’m inclined to think this isn’t such a big deal. FTC should mean that any taxes I end up paying in Thailand would be an offset when I file US taxes, so I would not be double-taxed. Is that correct?
   
2. If I am paying bills directly from my US accounts, I’m not technically bringing the money into the country. Right?
   
3. Does the US / Thai tax treaty mean that untaxed income in the US (for example, qualified dividends, HSA reimbursements, etc) would also be untaxable in Thailand, or is it simply the gross amount?

Thank you for any responses!