This article is for general information purposes only and is not intended as specific tax advice. Please consult your tax advisor for advice relevant to your situation.

As year-end 1099 forms from U.S. banks and brokerages start to roll in, many Americans living overseas are beginning to collect the various documents needed to file their 2011 U.S. taxes. Since there's a number of sometimes obscure U.S. tax forms that U.S. citizens living overseas are required to file, we've provided an updated checklist below to help you keep track of them. Please note that using some of the following forms may help you to shield some of your foreign income from U.S. tax (although unfortunately U.S. citizens cannot "opt-out" of filing or paying U.S. federal income tax even if they're legally resident in another country). This list should be used as a starting point only. More detail on expat filing as well as each form can be found on the IRS website: www.irs.gov.

1. Form 8938 (New)—Statement of Foreign Financial Assets. This is a new tax form that is required for some U.S. citizens who are foreign residents. U.S. expats need to file Form 8938 for tax year 2011 if their filing status is Single, Head of Household, or Married Filing Separately, and they had more than $200,000 in aggregate foreign assets on the last day of the year or $300,000 at any time during the year. For U.S. expats who file Married Filing Jointly, the threshold limits for filing are higher―you need to file Form 8938 if you have aggregate foreign assets of $400,000 on the last day of the year or $600,000 at any time during the year. For more information on Form 8938, see "Some Good News for U.S. Expats on FATCA and Form 8938."
2. Form 8621—Information Return for Passive Foreign Investment Company (PFIC). If you own shares in a Passive Foreign Investment Company (such as a foreign-domiciled mutual fund, offshore investment scheme, or resident country tax-deferred fund), you're required to file Form 8621 for each PFIC in years that you have a realized gain or distribution for that fund. However, it can also be advantageous to you to file this form annually. That way you can elect the method that you'd like used to calculate tax on your PFIC income. If instead you wait to file Form 8621 until you have realized gains or distributions, you'll have to accept the IRS's punitive default method of calculating tax on your investment return.
3. Form 2555—Foreign Earned Income. If you qualify, you may be able to exclude foreign earned (salary) income of up to $92,900 for 2011, as well as potentially exclude or deduct housing costs using this form.
4. Form 1116—Foreign Tax Credit. If you've paid foreign taxes on foreign income (either from your salary or investments) and you haven't otherwise excluded the income from your U.S. taxes, you may be able to take a credit against any U.S. taxes owed by filing this form.
5. Form 5471—Information Return of U.S. Person with Respect to Certain Foreign Corporations. If you're a shareholder of a Controlled Foreign Corporation (CDC), you must file this form. A foreign corporation is generally classified as a CDC if you own 10% of the shares or control 10% of the voting rights. American expats who own foreign registered businesses or significant stakes in restaurants, bars, or other companies may need to file this form.
6. Form 926—Return of a U.S. Transferor of Property to a Foreign Corporation. Generally, you'll be required to file this form in the year you transfer cash, assets, or property (tangible or intangible) to a foreign corporation. U.S. citizens either just setting up and providing initial capital to a foreign business or injecting fresh capital/new assets to an existing business may need to file this form.
7. Form 8865—Information Return of U.S. Persons with Respect to Certain Foreign Partnerships. If you're a partner in a foreign partnership with five or fewer U.S. partners who each own 10% or more interest and in aggregate have more than 50% of the partnership, you may need to file this form to report income and transactions between you and the partnership.
8. Form 3520—Annual Return to Report Transactions with Foreign Trusts and Receipt of Certain Foreign Gifts. This form is used to report transactions you may have with foreign trusts, as well as if you receive large gifts from foreign persons (greater than USD 100,000), or corporations or partnerships (greater than USD 14,375 for 2011).
9. Form 3520A—Information Return of Foreign Trust with a U.S. Owner. If you own a foreign trust you need to file this form to provide information about the trust, its U.S. beneficiaries, and anyone who's treated as an owner of any portion of the trust.
10. Form TD F 90-22.1 Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR). If you own or have authority over a foreign financial account, including a bank account, brokerage account, mutual fund, unit trust, or other types of financial accounts, and the aggregate value of all foreign financial accounts is over USD 10,000 at any time during year, you're required to report the account each year to the Department of the Treasury. Please note that this form is still required even with the introduction of Form 8938 described above.

The above list is not intended to be comprehensive, and other forms may be needed depending on your particular situation. Please consult your tax advisor for advice relevant to your situation.

Creveling & Creveling is a private wealth advisory firm specializing in helping expatriates living in Thailand and throughout Southeast Asia build and preserve their wealth. Through a unique, integrated consulting approach, Creveling & Creveling is dedicated to helping clients cut through the financial intricacies of expat life, make better decisions with their money, and take the steps necessary to provide a more secure future. For more information visit http://crevelingandcreveling.com/.

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