Personal Tax
Expat Tax Returns for Americans Abroad, Prepared Remotely from Charleston
U.S. returns for citizens and green card holders living overseas: the 1040, the exclusion or credit, FBAR and Form 8938, and the state question, handled remotely from Charleston.
If your 2025 return was on extension to October 15, 2026 and still is not filed, it is now late: the discretionary extension to December 15 had to be requested by October 15, so file as soon as possible to limit penalties and interest.
Yes: Haigler CPA Group prepares U.S. returns for Americans living abroad, remotely and across time zones. A typical engagement covers Form 1040 with either the foreign earned income exclusion (Form 2555) or the foreign tax credit (Form 1116), the FBAR filed with FinCEN, Form 8938 when your assets cross the threshold, and whether you still owe a state return; if you are behind, we choose the catch-up route before anything is filed.
How we handle it
Free virtual consultation
We meet by video at a time that works across your time zone, Monday to Friday by appointment. We go over where you have lived, what you earn and hold, and what has been filed so far.
Map the filing obligations
We set out, year by year, which forms apply to you: the return, the exclusion or credit, FBAR, Form 8938, and any state return. If years are missing, we look at the delinquent filing routes before anything goes in.
Gather and reconcile
You send foreign pay records, tax assessments, account statements and travel dates. We convert to U.S. dollars, work out each account's maximum value and check presence or residence for the exclusion.
Prepare, review and file
We prepare the federal return, the FBAR and any state return, and walk you through them before you sign. The FBAR goes to FinCEN separately from the return.
Plan the next year
We note anything that changes next year, such as a move, a new employer or a property sale, and the deadlines that apply to you.
What to have ready
- Your last three U.S. federal returns and any state returns, plus your foreign tax returns for the same years
- Foreign payslips or year-end earnings statements, and foreign tax assessments or receipts showing tax paid
- A calendar of the days you spent in and out of the United States this year and last
- For each foreign account: bank name and address, account number, account type and the highest balance during the year
- Statements for foreign pensions, investment funds and insurance or savings products
- U.S. income documents: W-2s, 1099s and brokerage statements
- Whether you kept a home, driver's license, voter registration or vehicle in South Carolina or another state
- Any IRS or SCDOR letters, and a list of years you think were not filed
Please don’t send tax documents or Social Security numbers through the website form. Bring them to the consultation. More in documents to bring to your CPA.
What an expat engagement covers
The filing rules for citizens and resident aliens abroad are generally the same as at home, and worldwide income is reportable. What changes is the set of forms around the return. This is what we prepare and file, depending on your facts:
| Form | What it does | Where it goes |
|---|---|---|
| Form 1040 | Your U.S. return, reporting worldwide income in dollars | IRS |
| Form 2555 | Foreign earned income exclusion and housing exclusion or deduction | Attached to the 1040 |
| Form 1116 | Foreign tax credit for foreign tax paid on income the U.S. also taxes | Attached to the 1040 |
| FinCEN Form 114 (FBAR) | Foreign accounts that together exceeded $10,000 at any time in the year | FinCEN, through BSA E-Filing, not with the return |
| Form 8938 | Specified foreign financial assets above the threshold for filers living abroad | Attached to the 1040 |
| Form 4868 | Extension to October 15, requested by June 15 | IRS |
| Form 2350 | Extra time to meet the bona fide residence or physical presence test | IRS, only if you will file Form 2555 |
| SC1040 | South Carolina return if you remain a resident or have South Carolina income | SCDOR |
The exclusion or the credit
Most of the work on an expat return comes down to one decision: exclude foreign earned income on Form 2555, claim a credit for foreign tax on Form 1116, or use a combination where the rules allow. To use the exclusion you need a foreign tax home and either bona fide residence or physical presence of 330 full days in 12 consecutive months, and it does not reduce self-employment tax. We run both ways for your year before choosing. How each mechanism works, and why the choice is hard to undo, is covered in our Form 1116 vs. Form 2555 guide.
South Carolina: did you actually leave?
SCDOR treats you as a resident if South Carolina is your permanent home, the center of your financial, social and family life, and the place you intend to return to when you are away. That last condition is why moving overseas does not by itself end South Carolina residency. A house kept here, a South Carolina license or voter registration can all point toward the state.
We look at the state question as its own piece of work: the year you left, whether you stayed a resident after that, and whether you still have South Carolina income such as rent. The same applies to clients who left another state, and to anyone moving to South Carolina from abroad.
Working across time zones
Clients abroad never need to come to the office. Consultations are virtual and held Monday to Friday, 9 to 5 Eastern time, by appointment, so pick the end of your day that overlaps. The automatic June 15 extension gives the return itself more time, but any tax due still has to be estimated and paid by April 15, when interest starts to run.
Behind on filing, or moving back
If you have unfiled returns or FBARs, the order you file in matters. Read our guide to the streamlined and other delinquent filing paths first, then book a consultation before filing anything. If the IRS has already contacted you about those years, or there is any question of willfulness, an attorney needs to be involved, and we work alongside counsel. If you are coming home, the year of the move has its own rules; our returning to the U.S. checklist covers it.
Sources
- IRS: U.S. citizens and resident aliens abroad
- IRS: Publication 54, Tax Guide for U.S. Citizens and Resident Aliens Abroad
- IRS: About Form 2350
- IRS: Foreign earned income exclusion
- IRS: Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR)
- FinCEN: Report Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts
- IRS: Comparison of Form 8938 and FBAR requirements
- SCDOR: New to SC? Follow these steps to see if you need to file taxes
By Haigler CPA Group. Updated . Reviewed by Matthew Haigler, CPA on . The information on this site is general in nature and is not tax, legal, or accounting advice for your situation. Tax law changes and the right answer depends on facts we would need to review with you. Please speak with a qualified professional before acting on anything you read here.
This is for you if
- You are a U.S. citizen or green card holder living and working outside the United States.
- You pay foreign tax and want the exclusion and the credit compared properly.
- You have foreign bank, pension or investment accounts and need FBAR and Form 8938 handled.
- You left South Carolina or another state and are not sure whether you still owe a state return.
- You have missed returns or FBARs and want help choosing a catch-up route.
- You would rather work with a licensed CPA directly, remotely.
What sits outside this service
- Criminal tax matters, or a willful non-compliance question, where an attorney leads.
- Immigration, renunciation and other legal advice.
- Investment management or insurance advice.
- Tax Court representation; we prepare and coordinate with counsel.
Start somewhere else if you need
Questions people ask about this
When is my tax return due if I live overseas?
If you live and work outside the United States on April 15, you get an automatic two-month extension to June 15 by attaching a statement to the return, though interest runs on unpaid tax from April 15. Form 4868, filed by June 15, extends filing to October 15. Form 2350 gives longer if you need time to meet the residence or presence test, and a discretionary extension to December 15 can be requested by letter before October 15.
Can a CPA in the United States prepare my taxes while I live abroad?
Yes. We work with clients overseas entirely remotely, with virtual consultations scheduled across time zones.
Do I still owe South Carolina tax after moving abroad?
Possibly. SCDOR asks whether South Carolina is still your permanent home and the place you intend to return to. If it is, you can remain a resident while living overseas, and income from South Carolina property can create a filing requirement either way.
What happens if I never filed an FBAR?
There are set procedures for catching up, and which one fits depends on your residency, whether the failure was non-willful and whether the IRS has contacted you. Start with our guide to FBAR vs. Form 8938 and the streamlined guide, and talk to us before filing anything late.
Keep reading
- Personal Tax1040 preparation, tax-saving strategy, and multi-state or expatriate filings.
- Form 1116 vs. Form 2555Form 2555 excludes a capped amount of foreign earned income from U.S. tax. Form 1116 credits foreign income tax you actually paid against your U.S. liability. They relieve double taxation differently, they reach different kinds of income, and you cannot take a credit for tax on income you have excluded. Which is better depends entirely on your facts.
- FBAR vs. Form 8938The FBAR is a FinCEN filing covering foreign financial accounts once they exceed $10,000 in aggregate at any time in the year. Form 8938 is an IRS form attached to your return, covering specified foreign financial assets at much higher thresholds that depend on filing status and whether you live abroad. Filing one does not satisfy the other.
- Streamlined and other delinquent filing pathsThere is no single route back. The Streamlined procedures require certifying that the failure was non-willful, and split into a Foreign version with no penalty and a Domestic version carrying a 5% penalty. Separate procedures exist for late FBARs and late information returns where income was properly reported. Which one fits is a facts question, not a preference.
- Returning to the U.S.: a tax checklistReturning to the United States does not change whether you file — a citizen was already filing — but it changes almost everything about how. The year of the move can split into two periods with different rules, the foreign earned income exclusion is prorated or lost, and the Form 8938 thresholds drop sharply once you no longer live abroad.
Talk to a tax expert
Tell us what you are dealing with and we will tell you how we would handle it.