Calling US Citizens: How to Vote While Abroad

The countdown has begun – US elections are rapidly approaching!  Tuesday, 6 November is merely 7 weeks away.  So it’s time to get your absentee ballot from your Registrar of Voters if you will be away from home on Election Day. 

If you are registered in a “home” city, state, just contact your Registrar of Voters via phone, email, mail.  Ask for Absentee Ballot.  [If you don’t have contact info for your local Registrar of Voters, go to google.com, in the search box enter “TownName, StateName, Registrar of Voters” – website listings come up - click on the official government one.]

Live overseas with no US home base anymore?  No problem!  US citizens can vote in federal elections wherever they live.  Visit the Federal Voter Assistance Program, complete the voter registration form online and mail it back to them with postage. It’s a much quicker and simpler process.  Good Voting Resource: General Voting Resource from the Federal Government.

Either your Registrar of Voters will send you your local absentee ballot, or you can use FVAP not only to register to vote but also to request an absentee ballot for the state where you are registered to vote.  Use the step-by-step online “wizard.”  Or print out the form and handwrite your answers, then mail your ballot.

The process keeps getting faster and easier, so there’s no excuse for not voting.  Besides, if you don’t vote, you have no right to complain if “your guy” loses and “that other Worthless-POS” wins.  Don’t let WPOSs win!  Vote.

May your road rise to meet you!

Ann

It's Tax Time for American Expats & PTs

June 15^th is the IRS income tax filing deadline for Americans!  While the term PT usually stands for Perpetual Traveler or Prior Taxpayer, US citizens, legal permanent residents and other “US persons” (defined by IRS) are Permanent Taxpayers wherever they go.

If you are a U.S. citizen or resident alien residing overseas, or are in the military on duty outside the US on the regular due date of your return, you are allowed an automatic 2-month extension to file your return and pay any amount due without requesting an extension. For a calendar year return, the automatic 2-month extension is to June 15.

If you are unable to file your return by the automatic 2-month extension date, you can request an additional extension to October 15 by filing Form 4868 before the automatic 2-month extension date.  However, any tax due payments made after June 15 will be subject to both interest charges and failure to pay penalties.

If you are a U.S. citizen or resident alien (Green Card Holder) and you live in a foreign country, mail your U.S. tax return to:

Department of the Treasury

Internal Revenue Service Center

Austin, TX 73301-0215

Estimated tax payments should be mailed with form 1040-ES to:

Internal Revenue Service

P.O. Box 1300

Charlotte, NC 28201-1300

Taxpayers with an AGI (Adjusted Gross Income) of $57,000 or less can electronically file their tax return for free using freefile.  Taxpayers with an AGI greater than $57,000 can either use free fillable forms or efile via commercial software programs.  A limited number of companies provide software that can accommodate foreign addresses.  

Don't forget you may be subject to the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion!  There is one benefit for Americans living & working abroad.  See TravelTellers' next post.  More to come on US taxes and financial reporting for American expats. and PTs

Here are some links to IRS publications & tax forms:

Publication 54, Tax Guide for U.S. Citizens and Residents Abroad (PDF)

Publication 519, U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens (PDF)

Publication 4588, Basic Tax Guide for Green Card Holders: Understanding Your U.S. Tax Obligations (PDF)

Publication 4732, Federal Tax Information for U.S. Taxpayers Living Abroad (PDF)

For detailed info from the IRS see:

 http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/international/article/0,,id=97324,00.html

More Americans Are Expatriating

More Americans than ever are giving up their US citizenship.  In the last quarter of 2009, 502 Americans officially renounced their US citizenship.

The US State Department estimates about 5-1/2 million Americans live overseas.  So that's a miniscule percentage of Americans abroad who actually renounced citizenship.  Given the delays in obtaining appointments to renounce, and the numbers awaiting citizenship elsewhere (a prerequisite to renunciation), those numbers are set to increase even more dramatically.

How to renounce US citizenship?  In a nutshell, first obtain citizenship & passport elsewhere, and establish foreign residence in that country of new citizenship or a third country.  Make an appointment at the nearest US consulate to your new home.  Fill out forms.  Take the oath of renunciation.  Wait for your certification of renunciation.  This last is the most crucial because until you get that, you are still a taxpayer in the eyes of the IRS!

As long as the US remains the only major country in the world to tax citizens and "US persons" on worldwide income even when they live (and pay taxes!) in another country, the only way out from under onerous IRS tax regulations is expatriation.  And the US will remain uncompetitive on world markets as long as US persons and businesses are taxed to death.