FileAbroad

Foreign life insurance consultation

Own a Foreign Life Insurance Policy? Map the U.S. Tax Before You File or Take Money Out.

A policy sold as life insurance abroad does not automatically receive ordinary U.S. life-insurance treatment. The contract terms, cash value, investment features, ownership, premiums, and policy transactions can change the analysis. In a paid consultation, I identify the classification, income, and reporting questions that need further review before preparation begins.

Start My Foreign Policy 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.

Contract and U.S. classification

The policy type, issuer, issuing country, effective date, death-benefit and cash-value mechanics, riders, and contract terms needed to identify which U.S. life-insurance questions require further analysis.

Ownership and policy roles

The legal owner or policyholder, insured person, premium payer, beneficiary, U.S. tax status of the relevant parties, and any ownership, assignment, or beneficiary changes that may affect the analysis.

Cash value and investment control

Cash or surrender values, segregated or unit-linked accounts, the investment menu, and the degree of policyholder direction that may affect insurance treatment or downstream investment analysis.

Premiums and policy transactions

Premiums, withdrawals, distributions, loans, assignments, surrenders, lapses, reinstatements, death-benefit payments, foreign tax, and the years and currencies involved.

Reporting and next scope

Whether contract-income, cash-value reporting, foreign-insurance excise-tax, PFIC, foreign-trust, transfer-tax, or prior-year correction questions require separate work based on the facts.

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.

  • The policy and ownership facts that control the next analysis, including any classification question that remains unresolved.
  • The years, premiums, policy transactions, and reporting regimes that may require separately scoped work.
  • The policy records and prior filings needed next, with instructions for providing accepted documents securely after intake.
  • Whether FileAbroad can accept the next stage, what that engagement would cover, or which specialist or referral is needed.
  • Foreign-country legal, tax, valuation, banking, remittance, title, and local-filing conclusions are outside FileAbroad's scope; confirm those with the relevant foreign authority and a licensed local professional.

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

Before you send anything

Documents to gather for the products in this path

The checklist below is generated from the FileAbroad product registry using the same product IDs that power the public product records. Start with the governing document and add the annual statements; do not send them through the public form.

Documents to gather

Start with the governing document, then add the annual statements. Keep the original record together with any translation and note the currency-conversion method.

Assurance-vieFrance

  • Policy contract, riders, and amendments
  • Annual statements and cash-value or surrender-value schedules
  • Underlying fund list with legal issuers and domiciles
  • Premium, withdrawal, loan, surrender, and death-benefit records
  • Prior U.S. returns and any Forms 8938, 8621, or 3520

Foreign life insurance and annuity contractsMultiple countries

  • Policy contract, riders, and amendments
  • Policy roles and role changes with dates
  • Premiums by date and original currency
  • Cash-value and surrender-value statements by year
  • Underlying fund documents, including legal issuers and jurisdictions
  • Transaction history: withdrawals, surrenders, loans, assignments, lapses, annuitizations, death benefits
  • Investment-in-contract or basis records and prior inclusions
  • Prior U.S. returns and any Forms 8621, 8938, FBARs, 3520, 3520-A, 720, and 1116
  • Foreign tax and withholding statements and currency-conversion method

These are screening questions and record requests, not a conclusion that a particular form is required. Provide records securely only after an accepted scope.

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 foreign policy

What type of policy is it, which company and country issued it, where were premiums paid, when did it begin, and which tax years need review?
Who is the legal owner or policyholder, insured person, premium payer, and beneficiary; what is each person’s U.S. tax status; and did any of those roles or ownership rights change?
Does the policy have cash or surrender value, what was its approximate highest value and death benefit in each relevant year, and can you choose or change underlying investments?
What premiums, withdrawals, distributions, policy loans, assignments, surrenders, lapses, reinstatements, or death-benefit payments occurred, in which years, and was foreign tax withheld or paid?
Which policy contract, riders, annual statements, cash-value and death-benefit records, premium history, investment schedules, and prior U.S. filings are available?
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 life insurance reporting guide

Review the records and classification questions before deciding which U.S. reporting channel may apply.

French assurance-vie guide

Start with the product-specific discussion when the policy is a French assurance-vie.

FBAR vs. Form 8938

Compare two separate reporting regimes when a cash-value policy or other foreign financial asset is involved.

PFIC consultation

Use this path only after the ownership and underlying-investment facts make PFIC analysis the primary problem.

Foreign trust consultation

Use this path when a trust owns the policy or the governing arrangement presents a genuine foreign-trust question.

FBAR catch-up consultation

Use this path when a cash-value policy or other foreign accounts may be missing from prior FBARs.

Expat tax filing

See the broader return-preparation service when the policy is one part of an accepted expat filing engagement.

FATCA compliance

See the reporting service when Form 8938 preparation is accepted after the policy and threshold facts are established.

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 Foreign Policy Intake

Prefer email? info@fileabroad.com

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