FileAbroad

Expat tax filing consultation

Need a U.S. Tax Return While Living Abroad? Map the Filing Before Preparation Begins.

If you know you need help with a current or recent annual U.S. individual return while living abroad but are not sure which expat rules or forms fit, start here. In a paid consultation, I review your U.S. status, country and travel timeline, filing year, income, work location, foreign taxes, accounts, assets, entities, prior returns, state ties, and deadlines; route any dominant specialist issue; and define the records and written preparation scope.

Start My Expat Tax Intake

The preliminary intake is free. Do not send sensitive tax documents through the public intake form.

30 minutes · Directly with Chip

The consultation

What we'll review

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

Filer, year, and residence timeline

Citizenship or residency status, filing year, filing status, countries, moves, travel, tax-home facts, and current deadline before any expat provision is selected.

Income, work location, and foreign taxes

Income by type, owner, payer, and service location, plus local returns, tax payments or accruals, refunds, and the records needed for a later FEIE or FTC analysis.

Accounts, assets, and ownership structures

Foreign accounts, signature authority, investments, pensions, insurance, property, entities, trusts, gifts, inheritances, and digital assets that may require a separate inventory or specialist path.

Prior filings and elections

Federal and state returns, FBARs, international forms, FEIE or other elections, foreign tax credit carryovers, amendments, extensions, known omissions, and notices.

State ties, timing, and records

Former-state connections, state-source income, filing and payment deadlines, available records, and gaps that must be resolved before preparation can be quoted.

Specialist routing and written scope

Whether the annual return is an ordinary preparation fit, requires a specialist consultation or separately priced analysis, or should be referred before work begins.

After the call

What you leave with

By the end of the consultation, you should understand the issues that need attention and the next practical step.

  • A written annual-return issue map covering the filer, year, income, foreign taxes, accounts, assets, prior filings, state ties, deadlines, and unresolved questions.
  • A tailored records list that distinguishes safe intake facts from documents that should be requested through the secure client process.
  • A specialist route when late filing, an account, entity, trust, investment, notice, state, treaty, transaction, or other issue is primary.
  • A next-step decision: accepted annual-return preparation, a separately priced analysis, another consultation, or an outside referral.

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.

The process

How it 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 next step for scheduling the 30-minute paid consultation.

  4. 4

    We review the situation together.

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

  5. 5

    Preparation is separate.

    If FileAbroad can accept preparation work, the scope and price are confirmed before that work begins.

Before you book

Questions we'll use to map your annual expat filing

Which filing year needs attention, what was your citizenship or U.S. residency status, where did you live, and what moves or travel occurred during the year?
What income did you receive, who earned or owned it, where were services performed, and did it include wages, self-employment, business, rent, investments, pensions, equity, digital assets, or another source?
Which foreign income taxes were withheld, paid, accrued, refunded, or disputed, who was legally liable for them, and what local returns or assessments exist?
What foreign accounts, signature authority, investments, funds, pensions, insurance, real estate, entities, trusts, gifts, inheritances, or digital assets need to be screened?
Which U.S. federal and state returns, FBARs, international forms, elections, carryovers, extensions, or amendments were previously filed, and are any omissions or notices known?
Which U.S. states did you leave, live in, work in, own property in, or continue to receive income from, and what significant ties remain?
What filing deadline, extension, life event, unresolved question, or preparation decision makes this review necessary now?
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

Annual expat return preparation

See the preparation deliverable and process after the filing years, records, specialist issues, price, and scope are defined.

Expat tax guide

Review the general federal framework for U.S. citizens and resident aliens living abroad before the paid scoping call.

Foreign tax credit consultation

Use the credit path when FEIE versus FTC, Form 1116 categories, creditability, carryovers, or foreign tax changes are the dominant question.

FBAR catch-up consultation

Use the catch-up path when missed or incomplete prior FBARs, account history, and the correction route are primary.

Business abroad consultation

Use the business path when foreign-entity classification, ownership, accounting, and annual international reporting drive the scope.

State tax termination consultation

Use the state path when former-state domicile, residency, continuing ties, state-source income, or a state notice is the central problem.

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 a FileAbroad consultation is the appropriate next step.

Start My Expat Tax Intake

Prefer email? info@fileabroad.com

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