Due to all of the commentary from U.S. Citizens living abroad, I thought it was a good idea to include a portion of a post written by Tax Lawyer John Richardson:

“The Internal Revenue Code of the United States of America”
– Title 26

The beauty, genius and timeless wisdom found in the Internal Revenue Code include the principle that:

“The Internal Revenue Code in its majestic equality punishes both Homelanders and Americans abroad for having financial assets and accounts outside the United States.”

Part C – What does it mean to be a U.S. citizen abroad?

1. All U.S. citizens abroad live outside the United States.Therefore, they live in “Foreign” countries. They will have bank accounts and retirement accounts that (although local to them) are “Foreign” to the United States. A FATCANatic (true believer in FATCA) would refer to your bank accounts as being “offshore”.
2. Most U.S. citizens abroad are required to BOTH earn a living and invest for retirement.To this end they may have a pension from their place of employment (“foreign”). They may invest in mutual funds in their country of residence (foreign – PFIC). They may invest in retirement planning vehicles that are appropriate in their country of residence (foreign – PFIC). If you own an investment vehicle that is a PFIC, you should avoid either buying or selling without getting specialized counseling.
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