US Expats : File by October 15

October 15 is the deadline for US expats who completed and mailed in Form 4868 to file their expat tax returns. Greenback Expat Tax Services encourages all expats who have not yet filed or have forgotten to do so to contact them. Expat CPAs are prepared to file their expat tax returns by the deadline or facilitate the process to request an additional extension. Greenback is also ready to help expats leverage IRS opportunities, including a new program which streamlines the review and filing process.

Read the full press release, originally published on PR Web, below:

Greenback Expat Tax Services, an American expat tax preparation company, is reminding US expatriates to meet the October 15 deadline to file their expat tax returns. The pending deadline applies only to those Americans, living abroad, who completed and mailed in Form 4868 to receive an extension to file their expat tax returns.

“There’s still plenty of time for our expat CPAs to assist someone with filing his expat tax returns,” said Greenback Expat Tax Services President David McKeegan. “Plus, if we assess that an individual will need more time to secure the proper supporting documentation, we can help him file for one additional extension that, when granted, extends to December 15,” he continued.

Despite not living on US soil for an extended planned or undetermined amount of time, the Internal Revenue Service still requires American expats to file US taxes. Many expats who did not know, forgot, or neglected to file on time, fear heavy penalties, dual taxation, and other potential IRS enforcement actions.

“While there are some exceptions, the overwhelming majority of expats have nothing to fear,” assures Mr. McKeegan. “The IRS created several opportunities for American expatriates to avoid dual taxation, and for qualifying low risk individuals, penalties or other repercussions. “In fact,” he continued, “we find that most of our customers actually benefit from significant expat deductions and credits, including the foreign earned income exclusion.”

Other special options include the Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program (OVDP), which offers reduced penalties for Americans delinquent in filing their US income tax returns and reporting foreign bank accounts. There is also a new IRS program specially designed for US expats who owe $1,500 or less in taxes per year. Under the terms of the new program, expatriates, including Americans with dual citizenship living abroad, who owe $1,500 or less in back taxes for each of the past 3 years qualify for a streamlined filing process. This means that late filers with minimum taxes owed to the IRS can catch up by filing tax returns for the past three years and Report on Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBARs) for the past six years.
“If an expat comes to us now with several years of delinquent tax returns, chances are they will qualify for this new program,” stated Mr. McKeegan.

For expats who need additional time to file their expat tax return, the IRS offers a final two-month extension for qualifying expatriates living abroad. Typical qualifying criteria include needing more time to receive the proper documentation. Letters requesting the December 15 extension must be mailed to the IRS by October 15. “We invite any US expat to give us a call for assistance,” said Mr. McKeegan. “We can quickly assess whether he’ll need more time to file; how to properly file for the additional December 15 extension request; or, as is the case most often, file his expat tax return within a few days.”