US Tax

Taxes for U.S Expatriates, Arab Americans

U.S. expatriates, such as you, face unique tax challenges that US stateside residents do not face. One of the most significant challenges is the understanding and the application of U.S. and foreign tax laws, foreign account and foreign asset reporting. You may face such hurdles as sale or rental of your home, moving expenses, state residency issues, foreign earned income and housing exclusions, foreign tax credits, foreign tax planning, tax equalization, social security totalization and much more. Your taxable income may increase substantially due to a foreign assignment, related expenses paid or reimbursed by your employer and additional taxes by U.S. and/or the foreign country. Also there are plenty of potential pitfalls that can financially cost you.

It’s very crucial to understand the US tax laws that affects US Expatriates. Due to the ever-changing U.S. and foreign tax laws, we highly recommend that you seek professional advice when completing your income tax returns. A U.S. expatriate is a citizen or resident of the U.S. who lives outside the U.S. for more than one year. As a U.S. citizen or resident, you are always required to file a U.S. tax return and report your worldwide income to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

However, your U.S. income tax returns will be substantially more complex during your foreign assignment. Most U.S. expatriates will need to file additional forms and schedules with their Form 1040, common forms for expatriates include: o Form 2555 – To claim earned income (FEIE) and housing exclusions. o Form 1116 – To claim a foreign tax credit. o Schedule E – To report rental income or loss from the rental of your home. o Form 8938 – To report your specified foreign financial assets.

The location where you file your federal tax return will change while you are on foreign assignment and will vary depending on whether an accompanying payment is required. Your tax advisor can assist with e-filing or paper filing as appropriate for your scenario.

Foreign Bank Account Reporting Requirement (FBAR)

Any U.S. person having an interest in a foreign bank account or other foreign financial account during the year may be required to report that interest on Form TD F90-22.1.

This form is used to report any foreign financial accounts (this include bank accounts, brokerage accounts, mutual funds, unit trust, and other typed of financial accounts) with which you have a financial interest or have signature authority. If the aggregate balance of these accounts does not exceed $10,000 at any time during the year no report needs to be filed. If the aggregate balance does exceed $10,000 at any time during the year, this form must be completed and filed by June 30 of the following year. This is merely a reporting requirement and will not result in any type of tax liability. However, the penalties that can be imposed for failing to file this particular form can be very severe (including potential jail time), so compliance with this requirement is imperative.

FATCA Overview

What is the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA)?

FATCA is a US law which requires all financial institutions (FIs) outside of the US (also known as Foreign Financial Institutions, or FFIs) to regularly submit information on financial accounts held by US persons to the US Internal Revenue Service (US IRS). The US’ intent of FATCA is to deter and detect US tax evasion through the use of foreign financial accounts. Failure to comply with the reporting obligations under FATCA will result in the US Government imposing a 30% withholding tax on certain gross payments made from the US to non-compliant FFIs. More information on FATCA can be found on the IRS FATCA webpage.

Who is affected by FATCA?

The reporting obligations under FATCA primarily affect FFIs, which can include banks, insurance companies, investment managers and custodians. Under US FATCA Regulations, a FFI refers to any non-US entity that: Accepts deposits in the ordinary course of a banking or similar business;

1. As a substantial portion of its business, holds financial assets for the account of others.
2. Conducts as a business (or is managed by an entity that conducts as a business) one or more of the following activities or operations for or on behalf of a customer: (i) trading in money market instruments (cheques, bills, certificates of deposit, derivatives, etc); foreign currency; foreign exchange, interest rate and index instruments; transferable securities; or commodity futures; (ii) individual or collective portfolio management; or (iii) otherwise investing, administering, or managing funds, money or financial assets on behalf of other persons or
3. Is an insurance company (or the holding company of an insurance company) that issues, or is obligated to make payments with respect to, a Cash Value Insurance Contract or an Annuity Contract. Who is considered as a US Person? For the purpose of FATCA, a US Person means:
1. A citizen or lawful permanent resident (including US green card holder) of the US; or
2. A partnership or corporation organised in the US or under the laws of the US or any State thereof, or a trust if: (i) a court within the US would have authority under the applicable law to render orders or judgments concerning substantially all issues regarding the administration of the trust; and (ii) one or more US persons have the 2 authority to control all substantial decisions of the trust, or an estate of a decedent that is a citizen or resident of the US. The definitions above are to be interpreted in accordance with the provisions of the US Internal Revenue Code.
“Becoming IRS, FATCA & FBAR Compliant”
This article is written to highlight the importance of understanding and complying with the U.S Laws and the latest requirements that concern IRS, FATCA & FBAR.

We, US Champion Tax, are based in the MENA region to help and support all U.S citizenship holders (U.S passport holders) or U.S Green Card holders as well that live in the MENA region, that have not been tax compliant to date, to become tax compliant in order not to face any hefty penalties, possible prison sentencing and/or dire consequences due to the latest U.S government strict tax abidance directions. US taxpayers with specified foreign financial assets that exceed certain thresholds must report those assets to the IRS. This reporting will be made on Form 8938 and attached to their federal income tax return.

“U.S persons with foreign bank accounts exceeding 10,000 USD must file an FBAR by each June 30. FBAR failures can mean fines up to 500,000 USD and prison up to ten years. Even a non-willful civil FBAR can mean a 10,000 USD fine. Willful FBAR violations can draw the greater of 100,000 USD or 50% of the account for each violation – and each year is separate (www.forbes.com).”

Definitions:

IRS: Internal Revenue Service
FATCA: Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act
FBAR: Foreign Bank Account Report (Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts)

Who should pay taxes as per the U.S Tax Law?

* All U.S citizens (passport or green card holders) * All U.S citizens that have local or offshore assets * All U.S citizens (passport or green card holders)

All U.S citizenship holders or U.S Green Card holders are hereby informed that the U.S government has issued strict instructions to countries around the world to report on all U.S persons. Also, all financial institutions around the world have also been requested to report on all U.S citizenship and green card account holders in order not to face sanctions. FATCA is making banking transparent worldwide. All countries around the world have agreed to the law (over 77,000 financial institutions have signed on and more than 80 nations have complied including China and Russia). Even tax havens have joined up.

US Champion Tax is a consultancy company that is not only well versed with the MENA region jurisdictions, rules and regulation but also specializes in the complexities of the U.S tax law. We offer all the necessary assistance to those that would like to become tax law abiding U.S citizens. It is to be noted that FATCA has issued transitional and reporting deadlines for becoming tax compliant. Local newspapers have been publishing several articles in the recent months to create awareness concerning the necessity to become a U.S tax abiding citizen.

There is also the possibility of losing the U.S passport or U.S green card failure to comply with the IRS, FATCA and FBAR requirements other than the possibility of facing legal consequences as well. This is why US Champion Tax is here for. We are here to make all U.S nationals living in the MENA region sleep comfortably at night. We are here to guide and to assist all U.S nationals.

Contact US Champion Tax for more details: info@uschampiontax.com

FATCA and CRS compliance in the Middle East

Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FACTA) and the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) practices in the Middle East

Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) is a U.S. legislation which aims to combat tax evasion by U.S. persons. The intent behind the law is for Foreign Financial Institutions (FFIs), i.e. non-U.S. financial institutions to identify and report any U.S. persons that hold assets abroad to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). As of today, a large majority of FFIs in the Middle East region are adhering to the FATCA requirements (either by entering into a FATCA agreement directly with the IRS or by complying with the local Intergovermental Agreement) due to the potential commercial, reputational and financial risks (e.g. withholding and regulatory penalties) of non-compliance.

Following on from FATCA, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has formed an initiative for global tax transparency known as the Common Reporting Standard (CRS). The CRS is a broad reporting regime that draws extensively on the intergovernmental approach to the implementation of FATCA. Similar to FATCA, the CRS requires all financial institutions resident in a participating jurisdiction to identify and report any reportable accounts (typically persons tax resident in a CRS participating jurisdiction). As of May 2018, over 100 jurisdictions have signed or committed to sign the CRS; including Bahrain, Kuwait, Lebanon, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

In this brochure, we define FACTA and CRS and provide an overview of the compliance steps that should be undertaken, required preparations needed for the first CRS reporting season in the region, in addition to Deloitte’s approach to compliance.