Who We Help Tax Help for Americans Moving Abroad

Tax Help for Self-Employed Expats

You’re Moving Abroad. We’ll Plan the Tax Side.

Moving abroad does not end your U.S. filing, and what you decide before you go shapes your taxes for years. Your move date affects the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion, and some states tax you until you take root elsewhere. We plan it first.
Family of three laughing on a bed around an open suitcase packed with clothes.

We Settle the Tax Questions Before You Fly.

Your State May Not Let You Go

Some states keep treating you as a resident until you clearly make a home elsewhere.

A license, a voter registration, or a lease left behind is what they point to.

Your Move Date Changes What You Can Claim

The exclusion covers salary and self-employment and requires 330 full days abroad in 12 months.

It does not cover a pension or Social Security, so a retirement move works differently.

You Have a Sale or a Vest to Time

 Selling a home, shares, or a business before you go or after you land changes the tax treatment.

A bonus or RSU vest landing just after you fly can fall on the other side of your move.

Your Spouse and Children Change the Math

The exclusion is per person: each spouse excludes only their own pay, and each must qualify alone.

Claiming it also gives up the additional child tax credit, which can be worth more.

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Guides for Your Move Abroad

Greenback maintains a comprehensive library of guides on the decisions that precede a move overseas: leaving your state, timing your departure, qualifying for the exclusion, and what the first filing looks like. Here are the ones our clients reach for most.

One Full-Year Return, With the Exclusion Prorated

A U.S. citizen is never a nonresident for U.S. tax purposes, so in the year you move, you file one full-year Form 1040 on worldwide income, not a 1040-NR and not a split return. What changes is the exclusion, prorated per day to the time you qualify abroad: a move in mid-August leaves about 140 qualifying days, so roughly $49,900 of the $130,000. Our move-year guide and filing guide cover both.

The Tax Steps to Take Before You Leave

A move abroad is easier to file when the groundwork is done first: your departure documented, your accounts planned, and any big sale timed deliberately. Our moving abroad checklist covers what to handle before you fly, our guide to telling the IRS you have moved covers the address change, and our guides to selling property abroad and foreign capital gains cover the timing of a sale.

How to End State Residency Cleanly

Some states treat you as a resident until you can show you have made a home elsewhere, which is why a license, a registration, or a kept address matters. Our guides to state residency while abroad and state taxation for expats cover what evidence helps, and if you are leaving California, that state gets its own guide.

How the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion Works

The FEIE excludes up to $130,000 of earned income for the 2025 tax year and $132,900 for 2026. It covers salary and self-employment, not dividends, interest, rent, or a pension or Social Security. Once elected, it remains in effect until you revoke it, and revoking it locks you out for 5 years without IRS approval.

Physical Presence or Bona Fide Residence

The physical presence test is a count of 330 full days abroad in any 12 consecutive months. Bona fide residence asks whether you genuinely live there for the entire tax year and allows U.S. trips. Our comparison of the two tests explains which one a planned move usually meets first, and our physical presence guide covers the day count itself.

Exclusion or Credit, and Which Fits Your Country

The exclusion removes income from U.S. tax and tends to suit lower-tax countries. The Foreign Tax Credit subtracts tax you paid abroad and suits higher-tax countries. You cannot claim both on the same income, though many people exclude up to the cap and credit the tax on the remainder. Our comparison of the two and our guide to when the exclusion costs you more set out the choice.

One Full-Year Return, With the Exclusion Prorated

A U.S. citizen is never a nonresident for U.S. tax purposes, so in the year you move, you file one full-year Form 1040 on worldwide income, not a 1040-NR and not a split return. What changes is the exclusion, prorated per day to the time you qualify abroad: a move in mid-August leaves about 140 qualifying days, so roughly $49,900 of the $130,000. Our move-year guide and filing guide cover both.

The Tax Steps to Take Before You Leave

A move abroad is easier to file when the groundwork is done first: your departure documented, your accounts planned, and any big sale timed deliberately. Our moving abroad checklist covers what to handle before you fly, our guide to telling the IRS you have moved covers the address change, and our guides to selling property abroad and foreign capital gains cover the timing of a sale.

How to End State Residency Cleanly

Some states treat you as a resident until you can show you have made a home elsewhere, which is why a license, a registration, or a kept address matters. Our guides to state residency while abroad and state taxation for expats cover what evidence helps, and if you are leaving California, that state gets its own guide.

How the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion Works

The FEIE excludes up to $130,000 of earned income for the 2025 tax year and $132,900 for 2026. It covers salary and self-employment, not dividends, interest, rent, or a pension or Social Security. Once elected, it remains in effect until you revoke it, and revoking it locks you out for 5 years without IRS approval.

Physical Presence or Bona Fide Residence

The physical presence test is a count of 330 full days abroad in any 12 consecutive months. Bona fide residence asks whether you genuinely live there for the entire tax year and allows U.S. trips. Our comparison of the two tests explains which one a planned move usually meets first, and our physical presence guide covers the day count itself.

Exclusion or Credit, and Which Fits Your Country

The exclusion removes income from U.S. tax and tends to suit lower-tax countries. The Foreign Tax Credit subtracts tax you paid abroad and suits higher-tax countries. You cannot claim both on the same income, though many people exclude up to the cap and credit the tax on the remainder. Our comparison of the two and our guide to when the exclusion costs you more set out the choice.

Asian woman using smartphone waiting for flight at airport

What Americans Moving Abroad Say About Working With Us

Rated 4.8/5 by Americans who have made the move.

Trustpilot

“We are two Americans that moved to Denmark in 2022 from New York and have worked with Greenback on our returns. Our accountant has been absolutely exceptional, incredibly knowledgeable, highly responsive and kind. … Also a fair price.”

Jesse Denmark

“I was really stressed about doing our taxes the year we moved to Switzerland. … Our tax advisor learned about our situation, ran the numbers, and recommended the best filing strategy for us. The entire process was quick and painless.”

Michelle T. Switzerland

“I have been using their services since moving outside the U.S. in 2015. Their consistent, exceptional service and the ability to work with the same accountant year after year have built trust and put me at ease.”

Ryion P. Singapore

“Greenback and our accountant have taken all the stress and difficulty out of filing our expat U.S. taxes. The whole process is simple and efficient.”

Brad E. New Zealand
Trustpilot

Services for Americans Moving Abroad

Pre-Departure Tax Consultation

USD $250+

For Americans with a move date still movable, ideally two or three months out. Sit down with a U.S. expat tax expert to map your state exit, time your departure, and sequence any property sale or share vest.

U.S. Return for the Year You Move

USD $565

For the year you leave. Your federal return still covers all twelve months, so we prepare Form 1040 with the exclusion prorated to your qualifying days abroad, and coordinate it with the part-year state return.

Final Part-Year State Return

USD $185

For Americans leaving a state that does not let go easily. We file the part-year return, allocate income to the right side of your move date, and document the exit so the position holds up later.

Annual U.S. Return in Later Years

USD $565

For every year after the move. We prepare Form 1040 with Form 2555 for the exclusion and Form 1116 for the Foreign Tax Credit, and keep the same treatment consistent from one year to the next.

FBAR for Your New Accounts

USD $125+

For the accounts you open once you arrive. We determine which of them the IRS counts and file FinCEN Form 114 when the combined total exceeds $10,000 at any point in the year.

FATCA Reporting for Foreign Assets

USD $120+

For the assets you build up once you land. When your foreign holdings exceed the FATCA threshold, we prepare Form 8938 with your return; it is a separate filing from the FBAR and often due at the same time.

Moving Abroad Tax FAQs

Answers to what Americans ask most in the months before they move overseas.

Yes. U.S. citizens file every year on worldwide income wherever they live, but two reliefs usually cover a salary earned overseas. The Foreign Earned Income Exclusion covers up to $130,000 for the 2025 tax year and $132,900 for 2026, and the Foreign Tax Credit subtracts income tax you paid in your new country.

You qualify for the exclusion by spending 330 full days abroad in a 12-month window, or by becoming a bona fide resident across a full tax year. One trade-off to know before you claim it: the exclusion rules out both the additional child tax credit and the earned income credit.

Yes, Greenback prepares pre-departure plans for Americans with a set move date. In a consultation, we map your state exit, review how your departure date aligns with the 330-day test, decide whether the exclusion or the Foreign Tax Credit applies to your destination, sequence any property sale or share disposal, and outline what your first filing abroad will involve.

Consultations start at $250, and before you fly is when most of this can still be changed.

Yes. Some states keep treating you as a resident and taxing your income until you can show you have settled somewhere else, so the year you leave matters.

We prepare the final part-year return, allocate your income to the correct side of the move date, and document the evidence supporting your exit, such as where you hold a license, register to vote, and maintain a home.

A state return is $185, and getting it right once saves repeating the argument each year.

 Your federal return covers the whole year, because U.S. citizens are taxed on worldwide income wherever they live. There is no split federal return for a citizen.

What we do is prorate the exclusion to the days you qualify abroad, which, for a mid-year move, is a part-year amount rather than the full $130,000, and file the part-year state return that closes out your residency.

The federal return is $565, and the state return is $185.

A pre-departure consultation starts at $250 for 30 minutes, or $175 if you have one narrow question rather than a full plan. A federal return is $565, whether it is your move year with a prorated exclusion or a later year abroad.

A part-year state return is $185, and FBAR is $125 for up to five accounts. If you have already moved and need to catch up, the Streamlined package is $1,750. You see the full cost before any work begins.

A dedicated Greenback accountant, a U.S. CPA or IRS Enrolled Agent who works with Americans abroad every filing season, handles both the planning conversation and the return that follows.

The same person carries your file forward, so the position you set before you fly is the one applied in later years. Your return is never outsourced and never automated.

Most people moving abroad need more than one, and your accountant tells you which, so you do not have to work it out. Tell us what you have: a move date, the state you are leaving, a house or shares you plan to sell, a spouse who works, and the accounts you will open once you arrive.

We will confirm the filings before anything is prepared. Each carries its own published flat fee: consultation $250+, federal return $565, part-year state return $185, FBAR $125+, Streamlined catch-up $1,750. You approve the total first.

Fly Out With Nothing Left Hanging.

Talk to an accountant before you fly. We map your state exit, time your move around the exclusion, and handle the filing for the year you leave.