As an American living and working abroad you better be fully armed with a knowledge regarding IRA for US expats, its’ opportunities and tax savings you can achieve. For example, do you know that depending on your foreign income you may or may not contribute to your regular or Roth IRA as an American abroad?

A lot of US expats qualify for the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion and they choose it to exclude the first $102,100 (as of the 2017 tax year) of foreign wages or self-employed income from the US federal income taxes. But not so many people know that if you are using the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion, then you signed yourself to its restrictions on your contributions to an IRA. Read further to find out more about it.

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Under prior IRS rules, a rollover on day 61 was incorrect and had to be self-corrected or an expensive time consuming private letter ruling process had to be followed by the taxpayer to obtain relief from the IRS. In either case, the taxpayer was looking at extreme financial and negative emotional consequences.

Rev Proc 2016-47: Self-Certification Of Late Rollover Contribution With IRS Model Letter

Under the new Rev Proc 2016-47, instead of being required to request a private letter ruling to receive a hardship waiver for a late 60-day IRA rollover , individuals will be able to “self-certify” to their financial institution that the rollover they’re making complies with the rollover requirements, even if it doesn’t otherwise meet the 60-day rollover period. Notably, though, if the taxpayer has already requested relief from the IRS for a rollover and been denied, these new self-certification provisions cannot be used to obtain relief.

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WASHINGTON —The Internal Revenue Service reminded taxpayers today that it’s not too late to contribute to an Individual Retirement Arrangement (IRA) and still claim it on a 2017 tax return. Anyone with an IRA may be eligible for a tax credit or deduction on their 2017 tax return if they make contributions by April 17, 2018.

This is the sixth in a series of nine IRS news releases called the Tax Time Guide, designed to help taxpayers navigate common tax issues. This year’s tax-filing deadline is April 17. Read More

On March 13, 2018, the IRS announced that on September 28, 2018, it would end the offshore voluntary disclosure program (OVDP), as it had only attracted 600 applicants in 2017. So now is a good time to take a step back to review the program in the broader context of the research on tax amnesties.

Settlement programs and other voluntary disclosure or correction programs generally offer some form of amnesty. Offering broad tax amnesties on a regular basis, as many states do, can erode voluntary compliance. Read More

WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service today reminded taxpayers who turned age 70½ during 2017 that, in most cases, they must start receiving required minimum distributions (RMDs) from Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) and workplace retirement plans by Sunday, April 1, 2018.

The April 1 deadline applies to all employer-sponsored retirement plans, including profit-sharing plans, 401(k) plans, 403(b) plans and 457(b) plans. The RMD rules also apply to traditional IRAs and IRA-based plans such as SEPs, SARSEPs, and SIMPLE IRAs, however, they do not apply to ROTH IRAs. Read More

The clock is ticking down to the tax filing deadline. The good news is that you still may be able to save on your impending 2017 tax bill by making contributions to certain retirement plans.

For example, if you qualify, you can make a deductible contribution to a traditional IRA right up until the April 17, 2018, filing date and still benefit from the resulting tax savings on your 2017 return. You also have until April 17 to make a contribution to a Roth IRA.

And if you happen to be a small business owner, you can set up and contribute to a Simplified Employee Pension (SEP) plan up until the due date for your company’s tax return, including extensions. Read More

If you have been or are anticipating converting your traditional IRA to a Roth IRA, you should be aware of a tax trap that Congress built into the Act.

Background: There are two types of IRA accounts:

  • Traditional IRA – Is a retirement plan that generally provides a taxpayer with a tax deduction when a contribution is made to the account. Then when distributions are taken from the account they are fully taxable, including earnings.
  • Roth IRA – Is also a retirement plan, but unlike the traditional IRA, a Roth IRA does not provide a tax deduction for the contribution. Thus, once a taxpayer reaches retirement age, all of the distributions are totally tax-free.

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Every year the Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS) helps thousands of people with tax problems. This story is only one of many examples of how TAS helps resolve taxpayer issues. All personal details are removed to protect the privacy of the taxpayer.

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It’s doubtful that anybody in the Financial Services industry is unaware of qualified retirement plans such as 401(k)s and IRAs.  Knowledge of them is required to pass licensing exams and every firm includes them in sales literature. Non-qualified plans (NQDC), however, are less well-known, largely because they are more complex and appeal to a far smaller group of potential buyers.  Although their application is narrower, in the right circumstances NQDC’s can provide clients with tremendous advantages.

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Claire McNamara

Registration

If you intend to set up a new company in Ireland in 2017, please be aware that you must register with the Irish Revenue Authorities within thirty days of incorporation. This can be done by completing the relevant sections of a TR2 Form:

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Barry Fowler

As we get closer to tax season, there’s a benefit that many taxpayers consistently miss out on.

I like to help my clients get every benefit from the government they can. That’s why I’m taking time to help you familiarize yourself with the tax advantages of the Saver’s Credit.

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Barry Fowler

Yes, this year taxpayers have an extra 3 days to get their taxes filed or to file for an extension. And whenever a procrastinator is given more time, they will inevitably stay true to their nature and put off filing until the very last minute.

This behavior is so well known to professional tax preparers and firms that the Wall Street Journal recently published an entire Read More