Who We Help Tax Help for Americans Sent Abroad for Work

Tax Help for Self-Employed Expats

You Moved Abroad for Work. We Handle the Filing.

For Americans whose employer moved them abroad but left the U.S. taxes to them. A short assignment, housing allowances, and vesting equity all change what you owe, and we work out whether the exclusion or the credit applies for you.
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We Know Which Tax Breaks Your Assignment Qualifies For.

Your Company Moved You, Not Your Taxes

The relocation and housing help came with the package. The U.S. tax filing did not.

There is no company tax provider to hand this to, so the return is yours to sort out.

Your Posting May Be Too Short for the Tax Break

The FEIE requires 330 full days abroad in 12 months, and a six-month posting does not meet that requirement.

A fixed-term posting usually fails the second test too, so you are not sure what is left.

Your Housing Allowance Counts as Income

Housing, cost-of-living, and relocation benefits land on your W-2, each taxed its own way.

RSUs that vested while you were abroad must be split, and the split changes your bill.

You Haven't Filed Since You Moved Abroad

Between the move, the job, and no one handling it for you, your U.S. returns slipped.

If your accounts crossed $10,000 at any point, an FBAR is due for those years, too.

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Tax Guides for Working Abroad

Greenback keeps a full library of guides on the questions that come with an employer move you are handling yourself: whether you qualify, whether the exclusion or the credit applies, housing benefits, withholding, and reporting. Here are the ones our clients reach for most.

Which Test a Short Assignment Can Meet

The Foreign Earned Income Exclusion requires either 330 full days abroad in a 12-month period or bona fide residence across an entire tax year, and the IRS treats a fixed-term posting as ordinarily failing the second. Our guide to the Bona Fide Residence Test and our FEIE guide set out both tests and what each one asks of you, and our Form 2555 guide walks the form you claim it on.

How Foreign Income Is Sourced and Credited

When an international assignment is too short to exclude income, the Foreign Tax Credit still subtracts host-country income tax from your U.S. bill. Our guide to foreign vs. U.S. source income explains how salary and vesting equity are split by workday; our Q&A on equity compensation and the FEIE covers RSUs; our state tax on stock options guide covers RSUs; and our Form 8833 guide covers treaty positions.

When Employer-Paid Housing Can Be Excluded

Housing costs above a base amount can be excluded, capped at $39,000 in most locations and higher in costly cities, but only if you first qualify under one of the two residence tests. Our guide to the Foreign Housing Exclusion explains what counts as a qualifying expense, our housing exclusion calculator works through the formula, and our Q&A on employer-paid housing covers allowances.

How to Stop U.S. Overwithholding on a Foreign Salary

If you expect to qualify for the exclusion, U.S. withholding on your salary can be reduced while you are abroad instead of waiting for a refund. Our guide to Form 673 shows how to claim the exemption with your employer; our Q&A on stopping employer withholding covers the FICA and state caveats; and our guide to expat payroll taxation covers how overseas wages are reported.

How a Totalization Agreement Prevents Double Social Tax

Working overseas for a U.S. employer can put you in two social security systems at once. Where the host country has a totalization agreement, and 31 countries do, it decides which one you pay into, and a Certificate of Coverage documents it. Our guide to totalization agreements explains who is covered and how assignment length affects it, and our Q&A on countries with no agreement covers the rest.

Which Accounts Trigger FBAR and FATCA Filing

A local salary account, a housing deposit, and employer savings plans can push your combined balances past $10,000, the point where an FBAR is due, with FATCA applying at higher thresholds. Our FBAR guide and our comparison of FBAR and Form 8938 explain which accounts count, and our Form 8938 guide sets out the FATCA thresholds.

Which Test a Short Assignment Can Meet

The Foreign Earned Income Exclusion requires either 330 full days abroad in a 12-month period or bona fide residence across an entire tax year, and the IRS treats a fixed-term posting as ordinarily failing the second. Our guide to the Bona Fide Residence Test and our FEIE guide set out both tests and what each one asks of you, and our Form 2555 guide walks the form you claim it on.

How Foreign Income Is Sourced and Credited

When an international assignment is too short to exclude income, the Foreign Tax Credit still subtracts host-country income tax from your U.S. bill. Our guide to foreign vs. U.S. source income explains how salary and vesting equity are split by workday; our Q&A on equity compensation and the FEIE covers RSUs; our state tax on stock options guide covers RSUs; and our Form 8833 guide covers treaty positions.

When Employer-Paid Housing Can Be Excluded

Housing costs above a base amount can be excluded, capped at $39,000 in most locations and higher in costly cities, but only if you first qualify under one of the two residence tests. Our guide to the Foreign Housing Exclusion explains what counts as a qualifying expense, our housing exclusion calculator works through the formula, and our Q&A on employer-paid housing covers allowances.

How to Stop U.S. Overwithholding on a Foreign Salary

If you expect to qualify for the exclusion, U.S. withholding on your salary can be reduced while you are abroad instead of waiting for a refund. Our guide to Form 673 shows how to claim the exemption with your employer; our Q&A on stopping employer withholding covers the FICA and state caveats; and our guide to expat payroll taxation covers how overseas wages are reported.

How a Totalization Agreement Prevents Double Social Tax

Working overseas for a U.S. employer can put you in two social security systems at once. Where the host country has a totalization agreement, and 31 countries do, it decides which one you pay into, and a Certificate of Coverage documents it. Our guide to totalization agreements explains who is covered and how assignment length affects it, and our Q&A on countries with no agreement covers the rest.

Which Accounts Trigger FBAR and FATCA Filing

A local salary account, a housing deposit, and employer savings plans can push your combined balances past $10,000, the point where an FBAR is due, with FATCA applying at higher thresholds. Our FBAR guide and our comparison of FBAR and Form 8938 explain which accounts count, and our Form 8938 guide sets out the FATCA thresholds.

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What Americans Sent Abroad Say About Working With Us

Rated 4.8/5 by Americans on assignment who file it right once.

Trustpilot

“Our accountant was excellent. We had an initial consultation before I moved from the U.S., and I was pleased she was available to do my return for me. She answered my questions and was careful throughout. The price was fair, too.”

Heather H. Belgium

“I work as an overseas contractor and Greenback is the best in the business. I’m always impressed with their knowledge of tax exemptions for foreign earned income.”

Lucas R. Germany

“After using Greenback several years, they have proven to be consistently efficient, reliable and responsive. Their portal is easy to understand and complete with the relevant tax information. I would absolutely recommend Greenback to any expat for their tax filings.”

Per T. Sweden

“Super easy process for Streamlined filing and competitive pricing. My accountant was great, answered all of my many questions and got everything up together really quickly. Very grateful to him, thank you.”

Jess C. United Kingdom
Trustpilot

Services for Americans Sent Abroad

Annual U.S. Tax Return for Employees Abroad

USD $565

For Americans filing while posted overseas. We prepare Form 1040, test whether your assignment qualifies for the FEIE and housing exclusion, and apply Form 1116 for the Foreign Tax Credit when the exclusion does not fit.

FBAR Filing for Overseas Accounts

USD $125+

For employees whose overseas salary, housing deposit, and savings accounts top $10,000 combined at any point in the year. We work out which accounts must be reported and file FinCEN Form 114 for you.

State Tax Return Preparation

USD $185

For employees who never cut ties with a former state, which is common on a short posting. We check whether that state still expects a return while you are abroad, and help you end residency where the rules allow.

FATCA Reporting on Form 8938

USD $120+

For employees whose foreign accounts and employer savings plans pass the FATCA thresholds, which sit above the FBAR line and apply on either a year-end or an anytime test. We prepare and file Form 8938.

Assignment Planning Consultation

USD $250+

For employees weighing an offer, preparing to relocate, or renewing a posting. Sit down with a U.S. expat tax expert to map the exclusions, the residence test, and the timing before your assignment starts.

Streamlined Catch-Up: 3 Tax Years, 6 Years of FBARs

USD $1,750

For employees who stopped filing mid-assignment. We use the IRS Streamlined Procedures to bring you current on three years of returns and six years of FBARs in one flat-fee package, usually penalty-free.

Working Abroad Tax FAQs

If you were transferred or relocated abroad by your employer and the U.S. filing landed on you, these are the questions that come up first.

Usually far less than you expect, and often nothing. You file a U.S. return every year, and what you owe depends on whether your assignment is long enough to qualify for the exclusion.

The Foreign Earned Income Exclusion needs either 330 full days abroad in a 12-month period or bona fide residence for a full tax year, so a six-month posting usually meets neither.

When that happens, the Foreign Tax Credit subtracts the income tax you paid in the host country from your U.S. bill. We work out which of the two routes fits your dates.

Yes, Greenback handles employer-provided housing, cost-of-living adjustments, school tuition, and relocation benefits, each of which lands on your W-2 and follows its own rule.

We confirm whether your assignment qualifies for the Foreign Housing Exclusion, calculate the amount above the base that can be excluded, apply your location cap, and document employer-paid versus employee-paid costs.

We show you the excluded amount and the taxable remainder before anything is filed.

Equity that vests during a posting is split between your U.S. and foreign work periods, because only the foreign portion can sit behind the exclusion or the Foreign Tax Credit.

Your employer reports the income on your W-2, and your accountant reports it on your return with the treatment your dates support.

Where the split needs working out before you file, a planning consultation at $250+ covers it, and the sale of the shares afterwards is ordinary capital gains. This is where equity income is most often reported wrong, so it is worth raising early.

Yes. The IRS Streamlined Foreign Offshore Procedures cover this, and Greenback handles the whole catch-up for a flat $1,750: three years of returns, six years of FBARs, and Form 14653, the non-willfulness certification you sign yourself. You qualify if, in one of the last three years, you had no U.S. abode and spent 330 full days outside the country.

A short posting or a U.S. home you kept can fail that test, so we check first and use the alternative routes when it does. Where it is met, the IRS waives failure-to-file, failure-to-pay, accuracy-related, information return, and FBAR penalties, and exclusions and credits still apply retroactively.

A federal return is $565 flat and includes Form 2555, Form 1116, and the housing exclusion calculation. FBAR is $125 for up to five accounts, FATCA reporting on Form 8938 is $120, state returns are $185, and the Streamlined catch-up package is $1,750. Consultations start at $250, and additional tax forms carry published flat rates.

Nothing starts until you have seen the full cost and approved it.

A dedicated Greenback accountant, a U.S. CPA or IRS Enrolled Agent with deep experience in international assignment filings, prepares your return from start to finish.

They test which residence test your assignment meets, handle the housing exclusion or the Foreign Tax Credit, and know how vesting equity is reported.

You work with the same person each year, never outsourced and never automated.

Most people sent abroad by an employer 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 foreign salary and housing allowance, RSUs that vested on assignment, local accounts over $10,000, a state you never formally left, a year or two you did not file, and we will confirm the filings before anything is prepared.

Each carries its own published flat fee: federal return $565, FBAR $125+, Form 8938 $120+, state return $185, Streamlined catch-up $1,750, consultation $250+. You see the full total and approve it first.

Your Assignment Abroad, Filed Right the First Time.

Work with an accountant who knows housing allowances, short assignments, and equity abroad.