be careful if you go to the USA as a visitor. Can be very expensive.

[VIPinthailand]

You believe that staying a maximum of 183 days / year in the USA would keep you off of the irs'hook.

you are wrong!

of course they changed the rules. you thought you were safe because you are a normal tourist and your account Is outside of the USA , not at all. foreign banks have signed fatca and now non US banks have the obligation to report your bank account to the irs.

it means for you the irs can seize your account in Thailand if they decide you have breached their code of conduct, and it can at the end be very expensive as you will need a tax expert, all documents from your banks, travel to USA or to the US embassy to talk to the irs. you can get audited, fined or jailed for tax avoidance, and they irs can simply seize 50 percent of your capital without any warrant and you will never see your money back.

so, do you think it's a good idea to visit the USA.?

on the good side, if you stay a maximum of 4 months a year, you should be OK. but for how long? They could change the rules while you are on US soil and you get screwed?!

for USA citizen, it's stricter.

The test determines whether you have been in the U.S. long enough to be considered a U.S. resident for tax purposes. The IRS determines this by using an unusual formula that calculates the total number of 'days' you have spent in the U.S. over a three-year span, and that number must add up to 183 or more.

They calculate the sum as follows:

Each day in the U.S. in the current calendar year counts as one day;Each day in the U.S. in the prior year counts as one-third of a day;Each day in the U.S. in the year before that counts as one-sixth of a day.

If the sum of those three numbers totals 183 or more, the IRS may insist you file a U.S. tax return.

[Jay Sata]

I was under the impression all US citizens have to file a tax return and pay taxes no matter where they live.

London mayor Boris Johnson was chased by the IRS recently for capital gains on a UK proprty sale as he holds dual nationality.

[Tywais]

I was under the impression all US citizens have to file a tax return and pay taxes no matter where they live.

You are required whether the income is earned in the US or overseas. If overseas though you can file a foreign exclusion but still have to file.

[Jay Sata]

Boris had not lived in the USA since he was a child but still got no exemption.

Here is the BBC story

London Mayor Boris Johnson has settled a US tax bill he had previously described as "absolutely outrageous".

Mr Johnson, who has dual nationality, faced a demand from the US authorities to pay capital gains tax on profit from the sale of his house in North London.

American law requires all citizens to pay US taxes even if they live abroad.

The mayor, who is due to visit Boston, New York and Washington next month, had rejected the demand, saying he had not lived in the US since he was a child.

Mr Johnson, who was born in New York, revealed last year he had received a bill from the US Internal Revenue Service. Unlike the UK, the US levies capital gains tax on proceeds from the sale of a main residence.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-30932891

Edited May 25, 2015 by Jay Sata

[Utley]

What kind of visa do you have that allows you to stay in the U.S. for six months during the year?

[SpokaneAl]

What kind of visa do you have that allows you to stay in the U.S. for six months during the year?

If you are a U.S. citizen you do not require a visa to visit your own country. And if you are a U.S. citizen your income is taxable, subject to, as others have posted, a foreign exclusion for at least a portion of foreign earned income.

[VIPinthailand]

What kind of visa do you have that allows you to stay in the U.S. for six months during the year?

the USA b1/b2 visa is called tourist/business visa. they do not have a tourist visa or retirement visa in the US. it 's a b1/b2 visa.

you can get extension for 6 months more but in this case you must pay your tax to the IRS and to your own country which could be a problem.

you stay by example 5 months per year(for the last 3 years) in the USA as a tourist. if you calculate, you must file and pay your tax to the irs as you have exceeded the 183 days rule.

problem is you are still a resident in your country as you stay more than 6 months(7 months in this case) . in your case both country want your money on your worldwide income .

you will need a lawyer and a tax expert to fix the issue which will cost you thousand dollars. USA will win at the end because they will threat your bank, threat your government and you to throw you to jail if you do not comply with their IRS rules. this is why banks pay billions of fine (and kick USA customers out) because they are all scared.

Governments worldwide and banks have agreed with fatca so pretty much the IRS can now blackmail who they want and how much they want. this is why it' s better to stay away from the USA or know what you are doing.

the way the IRS calculate is not fair at all and it s disgusting and outrageous because at the end you find yourself in a situation where you need to pay taxes in 2 countries.

in the future, anyone stepping a foot on USA soil will have to file a tax return and pay through the nose. Stay in Thailand instead and have a good life.

Edited May 25, 2015 by VIPinthailand

[AaronLV]

Edited

Edited May 25, 2015 by AaronLV

[HeijoshinCool]

Fascinating.

No, not your post VIP. Rather, the fact that your English in this thread, reads quite differently than in all your previous postings.

You're slipping, Troll.

[SpokaneAl]

I was under the impression all US citizens have to file a tax return and pay taxes no matter where they live.

London mayor Boris Johnson was chased by the IRS recently for capital gains on a UK proprty sale as he holds dual nationality.

All this stuff that the OP writes about visiting the US for a limited amount of time to avoid being subject to US taxes is, as usual with the majority of his posts, flat wrong. You are a citizen or not - the number of days you return to the US is not material.

The OP's comments concerning b1/b2 visas do not apply to US citizens - visas, as we all know very well, are for foreign visitors.

The London mayor is a US citizen - for whatever reason he decided to maintain his US citizenship. That is fine, but it also makes him subject to US taxes.

The answer for the London mayor is simple - he should have given up his US citizenship years ago.

Edited May 25, 2015 by SpokaneAl

[hhgz]

"Each day in the U.S. in the current calendar year counts as one day..."

Similar to every other country in the world.

[JLCrab]

Fascinating.

No, not your post VIP. Rather, the fact that your English in this thread, reads quite differently than in all your previous postings.

You're slipping, Troll.

For all his posts and helpful advice for us 'Muricans, I don't recall that the guy has yet to say of what country he is a citizen and what passport he presents to the IMM folks upon entering/leaving Thailand.

[SantiSuk]

Overly dramatic headline. 'Long-term visitor' (or even 'temporary resident') would have been a fairer reference in the headline

[VIPinthailand]

"Each day in the U.S. in the current calendar year counts as one day..."

Similar to every other country in the world.

not at all. And this is exactly where people are caught.

you must take into consideration their 1/3 and 1/6 rule , first year you can stay 6 months(less than 183 days), second year 120 days and then 90 days.

then you are limited to 90 days, which is not similar to other countries.

And I believe they will change the rule to 1/2 and 1/4 in the future. (90 days second year, then 45 days)

http://www.clearfacts.ca/new-u.s.-tax-laws-could-ground-canadian-snowbirds

Edited May 27, 2015 by VIPinthailand

[balo]

Who would stay more than 3 months in the US ? Most be a night mare.

[JLCrab]

From the 2011 article linked above:

Looking to leverage a strong Canadian dollar into a warm, sunny U.S. getaway?

Ain't so strong now.

[NeverSure]

Who would stay more than 3 months in the US ? Most be a night mare.

This is a night mare. Is that what you had in mind?

Edited May 27, 2015 by NeverSure

[Time Traveller]

"Each day in the U.S. in the current calendar year counts as one day..."

Similar to every other country in the world.

I think you'll find they use the metric system in the US, dude.

Edited May 28, 2015 by Time Traveller

[Mrjlh]

There is an income threshhold for all Americans in filing for taxes. If you are under it and do not owe taxes, you do not need to file. If you are over the threshhold and still do not owe you need to file just to prove to them you owe them zero. It's that simple. Some suggest filingalways but that a personal decision.

[soundman]

Off topic post removed. The op's intelligence level is irrelevant to the topic.

[JLCrab]

If you have a good accountant and you have no substantial current income (as in retired), you can make sure that your annual reported income is below the required filing level.

[zierf1]

Get a wife or live in to handle the finances.

[JakeSully]

This is just baloney.

As a tourist you can't work anyways, so your income from elsewhere in the world while you're not a US resident doesn't matter. I know a Greek guy who rents his house in Greece, gets money and lives here in the US as an unemployed Retiree and has no need to pay taxes.

Your IRS return is not based on how long you stay in the United States. It is based on if you make more than $10500 USD while in the United States or are you a U.S. Citizen living overseas that made $10500 USD or equivalent?

It's never been a problem for me.. I don't know why you're so scared about it.. if you have a US green card or citizenship just file your taxes.

[VIPinthailand]

your source?

[JLCrab]

your source?

[SpokaneAl]

your source?

Since you are the OP and started this mess, I would ask the same to you concerning your statement telling us that whether or not a US citizen pays income taxes is based on the number of days that citizen remains in the U.S.

[VIPinthailand]

(read this with a grain of salt as I m not a tax expert)

USA citizen can stay no more than 30 days /year in the USA, after 30 days, he will be taxed accordingly.

as long he stayed outside of the USA, he is exempted of 90'000$ as long he pay tax to another country.

If he receives more than 90k$ in Thailand by example(on his worldwide income) , he must pay the difference to the IRS, he will be taxed at the highest tax bracket which is called double taxation.

this is the basic info I have.

I don't have any info in case a US citizen live in a non tax country like Emirates. (no taxation on income)

Edited May 30, 2015 by VIPinthailand

[SpokaneAl]

(read this with a grain of salt as I m not a tax expert)

USA citizen can stay no more than 30 days /year in the USA, after 30 days, he will be taxed accordingly.

as long he stayed outside of the USA, he is exempted of 90'000$ as long he pay tax to another country.

If he receives more than 90k$ in Thailand by example(on his worldwide income) , he must pay the difference to the IRS, he will be taxed at the highest tax bracket which is called double taxation.

this is the basic info I have.

I don't have any info in case a US citizen live in a non tax country like Emirates. (no taxation on income)

No, no no.

Any money earned in the U.S, no matter how long you remain outside the U.S. is, depending on the amount earned, subject to U.S. Income taxes. The $90k exemption you refer to applies to income earned outside the U.S.

If one earns more than $90k from income outside the U.S., then that additional income is reported via a U.S. tax return and if taxes are due, they are paid.

That is not double taxation - if foreign taxes are paid on that foreign income, they are deducted from US taxes owed.

As another poster stated, it really is not that big of a deal - we earn money, which may or may not, depending on the amount, generate US income taxes.

Again, it absolutely matters not how many days one stays in the U.S.

As with most of your posts which are often based on fables and flat wrong info, you seem to be on a personal bandwagon in the hopes of convincing everyone of your anti/evil US and anti/evil Europe perspective on life and living.

Edited May 30, 2015 by SpokaneAl

[Kondiao]

I was under the impression all US citizens have to file a tax return and pay taxes no matter where they live.

London mayor Boris Johnson was chased by the IRS recently for capital gains on a UK proprty sale as he holds dual nationality.

I am under the impression that U.S. citizens are not required to file - unless there is taxable income.

In my casse, since I am retired and sole income is VA disability, not taxable, I have not filed in this century.

If I ma wrong on this I would sure like to know.

[Rocketsurgeon]

I was under the impression all US citizens have to file a tax return and pay taxes no matter where they live.

You are required whether the income is earned in the US or overseas. If overseas though you can file a foreign exclusion but still have to file.

There is a limit under which younare not required to file unless there is addl drama like divs or int being +1500. You still need not fiile, but if you do you need to 1040 and incl proper forms.