While the expat experience can be an exciting an exhilarating adventure, there is no greater frustration and disappointment than having the IRS ruin your experience by auditing your tax return while away, calculating additional taxes due, penalizing and charging you interest during the process, and even perhaps suggesting jail time for your mistakes.
That's why it is so important to avoid these 13 common expat tax traps.
1. Foreign earned income exclusion. Many expats believe that because their foreign earned income is below the exclusion limit they do not need to file a return. The exclusion can only be taken by filing a return and completing Form 2555. If this is not done timely, the expat will NOT be able to use the exclusion.
2. Foreign bank accounts. An Expat opens a foreign bank account and does not file treasury form TD.90-22.1. Any US citizen with a financial interest in or who can sign on a foreign bank account with a value of more than ,000 must file this form.
3. Foreign tax credit. Expats may also be entitled to a foreign tax credit by filing Form 1116. However, a foreign tax credit may not be taken on foreign earned income excluded from tax. If not all earnings are excluded from foreign tax, a calculation can be made to take a credit on your US tax return for taxes paid on non excluded foreign income.
4. Inexperienced local tax professional. The expat lets his local tax professional continue to prepare his tax return. Many expats work statewide with their local tax professional for many, many years before going abroad. These relationships usually have a long history of trust and competency. Once you've found someone you trust to understand your unique financial situation, it is difficult to switch. However, properly completing an expat return is simply uncharted territory for most local tax professionals. You do both yourself and them a disservice by forcing them to make this stretch into such a complicated arena. As you operate at a new tax and financial level, you are simply going to need a greater scope of service than is typically provided by a local firm.
5. Dependency on the IRS The expat relies exclusively on the IRS for help. While the IRS provides Publication 54 to explain Form 2555 and Form 2555EZ, it does not provide all the tax situations an expat is likely to experience and neither does it instruct on the proper application of the tax code for unusual situations that the expat typically finds themselves.
6. Do it yourself. The expat prepares his own return. Most expats are extremely intelligent. Because they are so smart, some believe that they can figure out their own tax return. It is important to realize that the tax laws are always changing. Without being constantly connected to the professional aspect of the tax world, it is just too easy to put your trust in outdated information.
7. State tax obligations. There are a few states that do not comply with the U.S. foreign income tax exclusion. The expat should make sure he/she does not owe state income tax on his foreign earned income. Failure to understand your state's perspective of the foreign income tax exclusion can substantially affect your tax picture.
8. Inability to locate tax documents. Expats do not keep important tax documents in a central location organized in a way to be used to fight the IRS if they are audited. What do you do with your critical documents while you are away? Expats need to have a secure, online document storage capacity that can be accessed from anywhere in the world. Your information should be organized by year and contain key source documentation, your completed return and any correspondence with the IRS. In addition, you should have a series of permanent files that document your service abroad and other elements of their financial world.
9. Dependency exemptions. Expats do not always take all the exemptions to which they are entitled. Expats may have dependents that do not have social security numbers and incorrectly believe that without a social security number, they cannot take a dependency exemption.
10. Hidden overseas accounts. Hiding money overseas to escape paying tax on the earnings is not a valid tax option -- it is fraud! Remember, fraud has no statute of limitations. Penalties and interest can build to twice as much as the original tax. If the IRS wants to make a point, there can be jail time.
11. Foreign housing exclusion. Remember, you cannot take both the foreign housing exclusion and the foreign tax credit. So which one should you take? The eligible housing cost amount is the individual's total housing expenses for the year (limited to 30 percent of the maximum foreign earned income exclusion amount), less the base housing amount (16% of the maximum foreign earned income exclusion amount).
The excluded amount cannot exceed either the individual's foreign earned income for the tax year or their actual housing expenses. The deducted amount also cannot exceed the individual's actual housing expenses, nor can it exceed the individual's foreign earned income for the tax year reduced by both the individual's excluded foreign earned income and the excluded housing amount. Whereas, the foreign tax credit generally can be taken dollar for dollar of foreign taxes paid.
12. Form 1040NR. US Citizens do not file Form 1040NR. This form is for nonresident aliens. Nonresident aliens are aliens who do not meet either the IRS's green card test (i.e. a lawful permanent resident) or the substantial presence test. These tests are discussed further in IRS Publication 519.
13. No big financial picture. The expat believes that he needs help only with his tax return. Perhaps the biggest mistake that expats make is going it alone. It's important to have a guide when you are in uncharted territory. There is so more to managing your financial world than just preparing an accurate and correct tax return. You also need to manage your expat experience. Make sure you avoid these common tax mistakes all expats are tempted to make when they try to navigate their expat experience without a professional to properly guide them.
Copyright (c) 2009 Nick Hodges
Showing posts with label Avoid. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Avoid. Show all posts
Sunday, August 19, 2012
Friday, August 3, 2012
Avoid The Biggest Mistakes When Selling Gold To A CT Gold Buyer
What to Ask When Selling Gold
If you're new to the idea of selling gold scrap jewelry for cash, you may be wondering how to start. This experience can feel quite daunting at first. How do you select the best used gold buyers? How do you know CT gold buyers are giving you a good price for your gold? Most people have no idea what their broken jewelry is worth or how much gold it contains. Here are the top ten questions you must ask any used gold buyer in CT before dealing with them:
1. How long have you been in business?
Whether you are selling your gold locally or sending it away, look for a company that has been in business for at least five years, as this is likely to indicate a reputable business. Many local businesses have been in business for decades, while few internet-based gold buyers have been around for more than a year or two.
2. How do you determine the price you'll pay?
A reputable used gold buyer in CT should be willing to explain the process to you and will make sure that you understand their pricing. Watch out for gold refiners such as those who advertise on TV who quote you a price without any information to justify it, as you may have been offered an unreasonably low price for the gold you're trying to sell.
3. What about gemstones and precious metals?
If the gold has any other components, especially precious metals or gemstones, be sure to ask if they've been included in the price. Local CT gold buyers will often pay for quality gemstones included in broken jewelry. On the other hand, many internet and TV-based gold buyers will not pay extra, or will even deduct their weight from the gold weight when determining how much to pay you for the gold. In this case, you'd want to remove the stones before selling your gold.
4. Do you pay extra for designer gold jewelry?
Most mail-in used gold buyers will not consider the design or maker of the piece when computing its value. Pawn shops and local jewelers, on the other hand, may decide to pay you based on the design of the jewelry, as they can resell it in their store rather than sending it away to be melted down into solid gold. The same goes for old gold coins - the value may lie in the coins themselves, not in their gold content. Ideally, you want to work with a CT gold buyer who can recognize such pieces, point them out to you, and be willing to pay you a premium for them.
5. How soon do I get paid?
Most local dealers, such as jewelers and pawn shops, will pay you the day you come in. Services advertising on the internet or TV must receive your gold in the mail, weight and process it, and then send you a check. This process can easily take several weeks or more.
6. Are you the refiner or a middleman?
This question can help you understand how much of a profit the used gold buyer in CT must make on the transaction. Middlemen sell to the gold refiners, and must offer you a slightly lower price in order to make a profit when selling the gold. On the other hand, these are the used gold buyers that are easiest to find, as they tend to include pawn shops, jewelry stores, and other local buyers of scrap gold in CT.
7. What is your physical address?
This is easy to determine for gold buyers with a local store, but surprisingly difficult for many internet-based companies, which may only publish the P.O. box where you send the package of gold. In the last few years, many gold buyers have sprung up from seemingly nowhere. Don't send your valuable gold jewelry off to someone who isn't willing to provide a physical address. If they disappear, you'll have no way to track them down. Instead, opt to sell through a local company that has been around for years.
8. What is your shipping insurance policy?
This question only applies to services that require you to mail your gold to them, but it is absolutely crucial. If something does happen in the mail, you're out of luck unless you have purchased shipping insurance. While you can decide to purchase this service on your own, some CT gold buying services will cover your package up to a stated amount, which may be anywhere from nothing to several thousand dollars. You may also want to ask about their internal policies to make sure that your gold does not get lost, stolen, or mixed with other packages before you are paid what it's worth.
9. How is the offer presented?
When selling gold to a local used CT gold buyer, you will typically receive an upfront offer after the employee has weighed your gold and calculated its value. For mail-away services, you may receive a check in the mail, after which time you have a period of usually about 10 to 12 days to refuse the offer. You're better off dealing with a company that promises to send their offer promptly, rather than waiting for weeks before you'll know how much they will pay for your used gold.
10. How much do they pay for gold per gram?
Any gold seller should be willing to tell you what they are paying for gram of 10K, 14K, 18K, and 24K gold according to today's market price. The amount of money your gold is worth depends on the gold purity (known as karat), weight in grams, and the daily spot gold price, which is determined on the open market. Just as the stock market goes up and down every day, so does the price of gold. Expect a used gold buyer to pay about 80-90% of the top value of your gold. Check the daily price online or in your newspaper before selling your gold so that you know if they're using a price that is too low.
If you're new to the idea of selling gold scrap jewelry for cash, you may be wondering how to start. This experience can feel quite daunting at first. How do you select the best used gold buyers? How do you know CT gold buyers are giving you a good price for your gold? Most people have no idea what their broken jewelry is worth or how much gold it contains. Here are the top ten questions you must ask any used gold buyer in CT before dealing with them:
1. How long have you been in business?
Whether you are selling your gold locally or sending it away, look for a company that has been in business for at least five years, as this is likely to indicate a reputable business. Many local businesses have been in business for decades, while few internet-based gold buyers have been around for more than a year or two.
2. How do you determine the price you'll pay?
A reputable used gold buyer in CT should be willing to explain the process to you and will make sure that you understand their pricing. Watch out for gold refiners such as those who advertise on TV who quote you a price without any information to justify it, as you may have been offered an unreasonably low price for the gold you're trying to sell.
3. What about gemstones and precious metals?
If the gold has any other components, especially precious metals or gemstones, be sure to ask if they've been included in the price. Local CT gold buyers will often pay for quality gemstones included in broken jewelry. On the other hand, many internet and TV-based gold buyers will not pay extra, or will even deduct their weight from the gold weight when determining how much to pay you for the gold. In this case, you'd want to remove the stones before selling your gold.
4. Do you pay extra for designer gold jewelry?
Most mail-in used gold buyers will not consider the design or maker of the piece when computing its value. Pawn shops and local jewelers, on the other hand, may decide to pay you based on the design of the jewelry, as they can resell it in their store rather than sending it away to be melted down into solid gold. The same goes for old gold coins - the value may lie in the coins themselves, not in their gold content. Ideally, you want to work with a CT gold buyer who can recognize such pieces, point them out to you, and be willing to pay you a premium for them.
5. How soon do I get paid?
Most local dealers, such as jewelers and pawn shops, will pay you the day you come in. Services advertising on the internet or TV must receive your gold in the mail, weight and process it, and then send you a check. This process can easily take several weeks or more.
6. Are you the refiner or a middleman?
This question can help you understand how much of a profit the used gold buyer in CT must make on the transaction. Middlemen sell to the gold refiners, and must offer you a slightly lower price in order to make a profit when selling the gold. On the other hand, these are the used gold buyers that are easiest to find, as they tend to include pawn shops, jewelry stores, and other local buyers of scrap gold in CT.
7. What is your physical address?
This is easy to determine for gold buyers with a local store, but surprisingly difficult for many internet-based companies, which may only publish the P.O. box where you send the package of gold. In the last few years, many gold buyers have sprung up from seemingly nowhere. Don't send your valuable gold jewelry off to someone who isn't willing to provide a physical address. If they disappear, you'll have no way to track them down. Instead, opt to sell through a local company that has been around for years.
8. What is your shipping insurance policy?
This question only applies to services that require you to mail your gold to them, but it is absolutely crucial. If something does happen in the mail, you're out of luck unless you have purchased shipping insurance. While you can decide to purchase this service on your own, some CT gold buying services will cover your package up to a stated amount, which may be anywhere from nothing to several thousand dollars. You may also want to ask about their internal policies to make sure that your gold does not get lost, stolen, or mixed with other packages before you are paid what it's worth.
9. How is the offer presented?
When selling gold to a local used CT gold buyer, you will typically receive an upfront offer after the employee has weighed your gold and calculated its value. For mail-away services, you may receive a check in the mail, after which time you have a period of usually about 10 to 12 days to refuse the offer. You're better off dealing with a company that promises to send their offer promptly, rather than waiting for weeks before you'll know how much they will pay for your used gold.
10. How much do they pay for gold per gram?
Any gold seller should be willing to tell you what they are paying for gram of 10K, 14K, 18K, and 24K gold according to today's market price. The amount of money your gold is worth depends on the gold purity (known as karat), weight in grams, and the daily spot gold price, which is determined on the open market. Just as the stock market goes up and down every day, so does the price of gold. Expect a used gold buyer to pay about 80-90% of the top value of your gold. Check the daily price online or in your newspaper before selling your gold so that you know if they're using a price that is too low.
Friday, July 13, 2012
Ways to Avoid a Bad Corporate Bankruptcy Attorney
You are bankrupt. This is a financial state that no one wants to be in or confront as an individual or a corporate organization. Therefore, when such a financial situation arises, during the legal process of handling bankruptcy in a court of law ensure you avoid a bad corporate bankruptcy attorney for the job to be well done and shield yourself from a bad image. Below are tips to help in the search for a corporate bankruptcy attorney.
Making an early search is definitely the first step towards ensuring you avoid a bad bankruptcy attorney. Bankruptcy is a bad omen that people tend to sweep under the carpet by procrastination mind games. Bankruptcy, however, is a situation that worsens with time and becomes riskier. Thus last minute rushes do not guarantee any good results in terms of searching for a good corporate bankruptcy attorney. Moreover, even if you succeed to get one, he may not be able to have enough time to familiarize with your case and furnish it the right way.
A corporate attorney cannot be picked out of the phone book, but you need to do some background research on the available service providers in the market. This way you will find an attorney who will handle your case in the right way. In fact, create time and spend a day at a corporate bankruptcy court just to make observations of the court proceedings and analyse how attorneys handle the cases, which will give you ideas in picking your corporate bankruptcy attorney.
When it comes to consulting other people in choosing a corporate bankruptcy attorney, one needs to be very careful. Consultation from the wrong sources can be detrimental. For example, ask only a friend who has had a bankruptcy experience in the past, but not just any friend. A personal attorney can be a great starting point, but also remember bankruptcy is a specialty and in case your attorney offers to handle the case, make sure he understands bankruptcy details. If the personal attorney's credentials do not meet the bankruptcy case needs, seek help from legal professionals rather than through friends to get a good corporate attorney.
Just like in any other profession, you must check whether the corporate bankruptcy attorney is registered by the relevant local board of law or bankruptcy attorneys for that matter. From this, you will be able to weed out the quack attorneys or imposters and those who are substandard.
In addition, visit the corporate attorney's office and look around, to gauge how organized he is because this is a clue of how well the corporate bankruptcy attorney will organize and handle your case. This is because bankruptcy cases involve a lot of paperwork which runs into volumes making good organization very important.
Cost is another important component. It is obvious that you are in a bankruptcy process because you are at the brink of running dry financially. However, just as the saying goes 'cheap is expensive', taking a cheap route in a bankruptcy situation (that is a cheap corporate bankruptcy attorney) could be the most expensive mistakes you would make resulting to a negative outcome for your case.
You will also need an attorney who knows his way around the system and will give his best throughout. This attorney may cost a little higher than others, but is a better guarantee in the long run.
Do not forget to do good background research from local firms, which will aid you in comparing what the selected corporate bankruptcy attorney proposed and the current local trend and standards.
The Bankruptcy Attorney Los Angeles will definitely help those people if they have filed for bankruptcy so that, the common people do not get over burdened with the debt which will be impossible for them to pay back. Click here for Los Angeles Bankruptcy Lawyer
If you are looking for the best person to advise you on business liquidity issues and insolvency, the best person to do so is a business bankruptcy attorney. Visit for more details.
Making an early search is definitely the first step towards ensuring you avoid a bad bankruptcy attorney. Bankruptcy is a bad omen that people tend to sweep under the carpet by procrastination mind games. Bankruptcy, however, is a situation that worsens with time and becomes riskier. Thus last minute rushes do not guarantee any good results in terms of searching for a good corporate bankruptcy attorney. Moreover, even if you succeed to get one, he may not be able to have enough time to familiarize with your case and furnish it the right way.
A corporate attorney cannot be picked out of the phone book, but you need to do some background research on the available service providers in the market. This way you will find an attorney who will handle your case in the right way. In fact, create time and spend a day at a corporate bankruptcy court just to make observations of the court proceedings and analyse how attorneys handle the cases, which will give you ideas in picking your corporate bankruptcy attorney.
When it comes to consulting other people in choosing a corporate bankruptcy attorney, one needs to be very careful. Consultation from the wrong sources can be detrimental. For example, ask only a friend who has had a bankruptcy experience in the past, but not just any friend. A personal attorney can be a great starting point, but also remember bankruptcy is a specialty and in case your attorney offers to handle the case, make sure he understands bankruptcy details. If the personal attorney's credentials do not meet the bankruptcy case needs, seek help from legal professionals rather than through friends to get a good corporate attorney.
Just like in any other profession, you must check whether the corporate bankruptcy attorney is registered by the relevant local board of law or bankruptcy attorneys for that matter. From this, you will be able to weed out the quack attorneys or imposters and those who are substandard.
In addition, visit the corporate attorney's office and look around, to gauge how organized he is because this is a clue of how well the corporate bankruptcy attorney will organize and handle your case. This is because bankruptcy cases involve a lot of paperwork which runs into volumes making good organization very important.
Cost is another important component. It is obvious that you are in a bankruptcy process because you are at the brink of running dry financially. However, just as the saying goes 'cheap is expensive', taking a cheap route in a bankruptcy situation (that is a cheap corporate bankruptcy attorney) could be the most expensive mistakes you would make resulting to a negative outcome for your case.
You will also need an attorney who knows his way around the system and will give his best throughout. This attorney may cost a little higher than others, but is a better guarantee in the long run.
Do not forget to do good background research from local firms, which will aid you in comparing what the selected corporate bankruptcy attorney proposed and the current local trend and standards.
The Bankruptcy Attorney Los Angeles will definitely help those people if they have filed for bankruptcy so that, the common people do not get over burdened with the debt which will be impossible for them to pay back. Click here for Los Angeles Bankruptcy Lawyer
If you are looking for the best person to advise you on business liquidity issues and insolvency, the best person to do so is a business bankruptcy attorney. Visit for more details.
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Avoid Bankruptcy - Simple Steps To Follow
When a person or a business finds themselves in a situation where they are unable to repay their debts, they are in a state of bankruptcy. The bankruptcy process begins when the debtor approaches the court system by filing a petition. Bankruptcy sometimes allows a person to start fresh. At other times it allows the debtor to offer some recompense to those who are owed depending on what assets or resources are available. Either way, it is just about the worst scar that can be made on the financial history of anyone. When debts start to become unmanageable, immediate action needs to be taken to avoid bankruptcy.
Sell Assets
Immediately, when you start to fall behind on payments or when creditors start to call, you must take action. Sell everything you can put your hands on: Books. CDs. Computer. Electronics. Home Entertainment Devices. Jewelry. Anything to raise cash to put towards bills. Nowadays, the internet offers many ways to sell stuff. If you cannot sell things directly, sell them online. Amazon, Craigslist, and eBay are starting points.
Increase Income
What skills do you have beyond your job? Sometimes hobbies or carpentry or plumbing skills offer excellent opportunities to supplement your income. If it is available, work overtime. Take a part-time job. The internet also has e-businesses that work as talent and employment agencies for free-lancers. You can be a virtual assistant, build links, write content, do coding or programming. Elance and oDesk are examples. Some sites allow you to write and post an article of general interest and they will pay you a small amount for each visitor the article gets. It can add up.
Seek Help
Do not be afraid to be upfront and candid. Let your creditors know what you are faced with. The creditors are folks just like you and they may have been through such a period themselves. What is important is that you let them know your willingness, your resoluteness to pay and how you intend to do it. If possible, ask them to lower interest rates or monthly fees. You might be surprised at their willingness to help.
Borrow Money
Borrowing money from family or friends is often not a good idea. Consider their lives and their problems. But, if there is a likelihood, take a good look as to what you should ask for and how you would intend to repay it. Write out the plan and show it to the prospective friend or family member. Show how you would repay them and stick with it. If some of your folks can help you with some cash, you may want to use some of the money to approach a lawyer.
Settle Debts
Debt settlement is something you will want to avoid under normal circumstances. But anyone on the brink of bankruptcy is not exactly normal. If you must choose between bankruptcy and settlement, choose settlement. Never rely on debt settlement companies. They are not very effective and they often cost more time and money than they're worth. Don't settle on current debts. Focus on those that have been charged off or sent to collection. As with any settlement, pay when you have agreed to pay.
Take Action
Taking these steps of self-analysis and immediate action may very well help you avoid bankruptcy. Just do not sit around hoping everything will work out. Things will only get worse. Take action immediately.
Sell Assets
Immediately, when you start to fall behind on payments or when creditors start to call, you must take action. Sell everything you can put your hands on: Books. CDs. Computer. Electronics. Home Entertainment Devices. Jewelry. Anything to raise cash to put towards bills. Nowadays, the internet offers many ways to sell stuff. If you cannot sell things directly, sell them online. Amazon, Craigslist, and eBay are starting points.
Increase Income
What skills do you have beyond your job? Sometimes hobbies or carpentry or plumbing skills offer excellent opportunities to supplement your income. If it is available, work overtime. Take a part-time job. The internet also has e-businesses that work as talent and employment agencies for free-lancers. You can be a virtual assistant, build links, write content, do coding or programming. Elance and oDesk are examples. Some sites allow you to write and post an article of general interest and they will pay you a small amount for each visitor the article gets. It can add up.
Seek Help
Do not be afraid to be upfront and candid. Let your creditors know what you are faced with. The creditors are folks just like you and they may have been through such a period themselves. What is important is that you let them know your willingness, your resoluteness to pay and how you intend to do it. If possible, ask them to lower interest rates or monthly fees. You might be surprised at their willingness to help.
Borrow Money
Borrowing money from family or friends is often not a good idea. Consider their lives and their problems. But, if there is a likelihood, take a good look as to what you should ask for and how you would intend to repay it. Write out the plan and show it to the prospective friend or family member. Show how you would repay them and stick with it. If some of your folks can help you with some cash, you may want to use some of the money to approach a lawyer.
Settle Debts
Debt settlement is something you will want to avoid under normal circumstances. But anyone on the brink of bankruptcy is not exactly normal. If you must choose between bankruptcy and settlement, choose settlement. Never rely on debt settlement companies. They are not very effective and they often cost more time and money than they're worth. Don't settle on current debts. Focus on those that have been charged off or sent to collection. As with any settlement, pay when you have agreed to pay.
Take Action
Taking these steps of self-analysis and immediate action may very well help you avoid bankruptcy. Just do not sit around hoping everything will work out. Things will only get worse. Take action immediately.
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