FileAbroad

Equity compensation abroad consultation

Stock Options or RSUs Across Borders? Map the Grant-to-Sale Tax Timeline Before You Act or File.

Cross-border equity can create wage, source, payroll, alternative minimum tax, foreign tax credit, basis, and sale questions at different times. The answer depends on the instrument, plan terms, grant and vesting conditions, work locations, exercise or settlement, sale, foreign taxes, currency, and prior reporting. In a paid consultation, I map that timeline and define the calculation, preparation, or specialist work that should come next.

Start My Equity Compensation Intake

Send a free inquiry first. I review it personally and explain whether a paid assessment is appropriate before you book or pay.

30 minutes · $100 · directly with Chip

The consultation

What we'll review

The consultation focuses on the facts that determine what needs further attention.

Award and U.S. classification

The actual instrument, issuer/employer relationship, plan and grant terms, restrictions, vesting, settlement, modification, and special-rule questions that determine which events matter.

Service and mobility timeline

Citizenship/residence, employers, assignment periods, and U.S./foreign work locations across the service period relevant to each lot, without assuming one allocation rule fits every award.

Income events, AMT, and basis

Grant, transfer, vest, exercise, settlement, sale, regular wage income, ISO/AMT exposure, regular and AMT basis, holding periods, and broker-reporting gaps.

Payroll, foreign tax, and currency

U.S./foreign wage statements, withholding, shares withheld, social contributions, assessments/refunds, tax timing and character, fair-market values, and original-currency conversions.

Connected filings and next scope

FEIE/FTC, state, treaty, account/asset, issuer ownership, entity, deferred-compensation, expatriation, prior-year, and referral questions—and the work FileAbroad may accept separately.

After the call

What you leave with

By the end of the consultation, you'll have a clear map of the issues that need attention and the next practical step.

  • A lot-by-lot grant-to-vest/exercise/settlement/sale timeline tied to employers, countries, work periods, payroll, and tax events.
  • The compensation-source, regular/AMT, basis, FEIE/FTC, state, account/asset, and connected-reporting questions that require further work.
  • A focused records request for plan documents, award statements, workdays, payroll, fair-market values, foreign taxes, broker history, currencies, elections, and prior filings, with secure-upload instructions after intake.
  • Whether FileAbroad can accept the return/allocation work, whether another consultation path fits, or whether valuation, securities, payroll, deferred-compensation, expatriation, legal, or foreign-tax specialists are needed.

You are not required to hire FileAbroad for preparation after the consultation.

Scope

What the consultation does not include

The consultation is a review and scoping session. It does not include preparation or filing of a tax return, FBAR, information return, amended return, or Streamlined submission.

It also does not create an open-ended support engagement. Additional research, document review, preparation, or follow-up work is included only when it is specifically agreed or purchased.

FileAbroad does not provide legal advice or tax litigation services.

Current pricing

Optional $100 scope assessment

30-Minute Expat Tax Scope Assessment

$100

Focused review of your filing situation with a written list of the years and forms that need attention, a document checklist, key scope flags, and an exact preparation quote when FileAbroad can accept the work.

Preparation is priced separately. A paid assessment is offered when substantive review is needed; it is not required for every preparation engagement. Straightforward tax-year-2025 federal expat returns start at $575, and standalone current-year FBAR preparation starts at $100. Prior-year, delinquent, amended, entity, trust, partnership, PFIC, Streamlined, and other complex international work is quoted after review.

See preparation services and pricing

The process

How the paid assessment works

  1. 1

    Start the intake.

    Tell me the broad facts of your situation without uploading sensitive tax documents through the public form.

  2. 2

    I review the inquiry.

    I personally review the intake to determine whether a FileAbroad consultation appears appropriate.

  3. 3

    Book the consultation.

    If the situation fits, you'll receive the scheduling and payment link for the $100 30-minute consultation.

  4. 4

    We review the situation together.

    We use the call to identify the relevant filing questions, missing information, and next practical step.

  5. 5

    Preparation is separate.

    If FileAbroad can accept preparation work, you receive the written scope and price before preparation begins.

Before you book

Questions we'll use to map your equity compensation

What awards did you receive—options, restricted stock, RSUs, ESPP shares, SARs, phantom equity, or another instrument—and what do the plan and grant documents say about issuer, employer, dates, price, vesting, performance, transfer, expiry, and settlement?
Where were you a citizen or tax resident, which employer did you serve, and where did you physically perform work from each grant through vesting or other employment-related condition, including U.S. workdays and moves between countries?
For each lot, what grant, transfer, vest, exercise, settlement, forfeiture, dividend, tender, merger, or sale events occurred, with shares, strike price, fair-market value, proceeds, fees, and currency?
What U.S. or foreign payroll income, share withholding, sell-to-cover, income tax, social contribution, assessment, refund, or employer reimbursement was reported at each event and in which country/year?
Which Forms W-2, 3921, 3922, 1099-B, 6251, 8949, 2555, 1116, foreign statements, 83(b) elections, state returns, account/asset reports, or prior workpapers exist, and is an exercise, vest, sale, move, expatriation, or filing deadline approaching?
Do I need a paid assessment before hiring FileAbroad?

Not for every engagement. Start with a brief intake to discuss needs, timing, process, and pricing. Straightforward preparation can proceed directly to an accepted written scope. A paid assessment is offered when substantive review is needed, with the fee explained before you decide.

What should I send before the consultation?

Start with the public intake and describe the broad facts of your situation. Do not send Social Security numbers, tax returns, bank statements, or other sensitive tax documents through the public intake form. If documents are needed later, I will provide secure upload instructions.

Will you tell me exactly what I need to file?

The consultation is designed to identify the filing issues that need attention and the information required to determine the next step. Some questions can be resolved during the call; others may require records, additional research, or preparation work outside the consultation.

Do I have to hire FileAbroad afterward?

No. The consultation stands on its own. If FileAbroad can accept preparation work, you can decide whether to proceed after the scope and price are confirmed.

Can you review documents during the consultation?

Limited document review may be possible when agreed in advance, but the consultation is not a substitute for a full document review or tax-preparation engagement.

Related paths

If this is not the right starting point

Foreign employer consultation

Use the broader foreign-payroll path when equity is only one part of a non-U.S. compensation package.

Remote employee abroad consultation

Use the U.S.-payroll path when remote-work wages and withholding are central and equity is incidental.

Foreign tax credit consultation

Use the credit path after equity income, source, taxpayer, foreign tax, and timing are mapped.

FEIE consultation

Use the eligibility path for foreign-tax-home and qualifying-period questions after award sourcing is organized.

Foreign corporation consultation

Use the owner/officer/CFC path if acquired equity creates a material foreign-corporation reporting question.

Renunciation consultation

Use the expatriation path when unvested or deferred equity must be coordinated with a planned or completed expatriation.

Start here

Tell me what's going on.

You don't need to know which form, filing procedure, or service you need. Start with the broad facts, and I'll review whether intake or a paid assessment is the appropriate next step.

Start My Equity Compensation Intake

Prefer email? info@fileabroad.com

Do not send sensitive tax documents through the public intake form or ordinary email.