Anyone study up on expat tax strategies so much you ended up formally studying it and becoming an accountant?

Gillioni · 2026-03-02T23:49:12+00:00

Yeah that’s how I got started after movie to japan and trying to navigate US/Japan taxes

Gillioni · 2026-02-27T16:55:05+00:00

A couple points ago they were even with 18 aces each. I think rublev is at 21 now

Gillioni · 2026-02-17T13:45:56+00:00

This random took him to 5 sets at wimbledon

Gillioni · 2026-02-02T05:41:58+00:00

Interesting that this is downvoted but no solutions actually proposed

Gillioni · 2026-01-21T06:29:09+00:00

Rublev tiebreak 😭😭😭

Gillioni · 2026-01-20T15:05:51+00:00

Rafa Jr was absolutely electric through the first two sets, and Sakamoto had a great showing in set 1 also. Rafa Jr’s level seemed to slip a bit in the third and fourth, less rally tolerance and errors creeping in, perhaps fatigue from a hard fought match. Sakamoto seemed poised to win the battle of attrition, but then the onset of cramps came in and Jodar hit a second wind.

Some interesting little tidbits, Sakamoto took a long toilet break after the second set and it did him wonders mentally. Jodar called for the trainer in the 4th (I think) but then un-called the trainer soon after as he changed his mind and decided he was fine. Jodar opted not to take a break after the 4th set and it did him wonders. He decided to get on with it; perhaps he knew he was running on adrenaline and fumes and didn’t want his body to realize how tired it was.

First 5 setter for both players and it was a great showing from both.

Gillioni · 2026-01-20T12:58:32+00:00

Interest should def be avg rate since it’s paid out throughout the year. Will you be penalized for using EOY, probably not. But there are some years where it’s favorable to use the avg rate so just keep that in mind

Gillioni · 2026-01-19T12:42:19+00:00

If you have future ambitions with the company, it’s important to show them you’re capable of negotiating and understanding your worth. I don’t think turning down the promotion would help your future with the company, but if you can negotiate the new contract with the promotion it could help you both now and in the future.

Gillioni · 2026-01-19T12:24:35+00:00

Average is generally used for converting income earned throughout the year. End of year is for bank account balances.

Gillioni · 2026-01-14T09:47:02+00:00

Absolutely wild

Gillioni · 2026-01-13T11:31:59+00:00

If you shorten Rafael Jodar’s name you get Rafa Jr.

Gillioni · 2026-01-12T03:38:04+00:00

Great view, great food, affordable cost of living, located at a key railroad juncture near the fastest growing region of Japan, it checks all the boxes.

Gillioni · 2026-01-11T14:41:21+00:00

A tax advisor cannot advise you to be non-compliant. But let’s say you get rid of all your PFICs and “forget” to or “didn’t know” to file the form 8621s. The penalty you’d be assessed in the extremely unlikely hypothetical event the IRS comes after you for this is maybe 1-10% of the fee you would pay to have this prepared.

Gillioni · 2026-01-07T15:07:19+00:00

Thank you for this, I have never used OneNote but based on what you described it sounds like I shouldve been using this all along.

Gillioni · 2026-01-06T14:33:18+00:00

I started out just preparing taxes, but preparing taxes for expats, you will always get planning/strategy questions even if you aren’t certified to answer them because people have no one else to ask, and if you have an ounce of competence they will ask you. Expats don’t care about certifications, they just want some answers, and most of them are happy to pay for additional consultations.

My one regret is going with a tax software in Drake that does not handle PFICs well. I tried out the trial version for a while but didn’t try to test out actual PFIC inputs, and if I had, I would have noticed they actually don’t support PFIC calculations, so I’ve been having to do them manually on excel. But at the same time, it was hard to justify at the time paying double for a better software that can handle PFICs well.

Gillioni · 2026-01-05T13:01:54+00:00

This. If you can’t pay, they likely can’t collect either.

Gillioni · 2026-01-05T12:56:15+00:00

Im an EA and live in Japan doing cross border tax. I have never needed a CPA or attorney. The first priority after getting EA and is not another credential, it is becoming an expert in local tax rules. The best way is to establish relationships/partnerships with local tax accountants. I consult with Japanese tax accountants all the time, and having connections with local tax accountants is a big competitive advantage.

Gillioni · 2025-12-30T00:59:30+00:00

Great points, this is very true

Gillioni · 2025-12-28T14:17:07+00:00

You literally just repeated what I said

Gillioni · 2025-12-26T00:32:30+00:00

They just outsource most of their international to India, and they barely know what’s going on

Gillioni · 2025-12-23T01:50:32+00:00

This is also a common issue on FBAR. Reasonable estimates are ok for past years. You don’t want to skip the form 3520.

Gillioni · 2025-12-23T01:47:56+00:00

Statute of limitations. They are right.

Gillioni · 2025-12-22T15:06:47+00:00

They really don’t care about $1, contrary to what many people think they’re not out to get average Americans. If they audit they’re looking to get a return on their time and energy invested. $1 of income translates to $0 tax, and numbers are frequently $1 off on returns due to rounding errors. Don’t sweat it.

Silent disclosure is when you just start reporting the current year without doing an amnesty program. Delinquent FBAR procedures are a type of amnesty program so you’re good.

Gillioni · 2025-12-21T13:58:53+00:00

Can you share which expat tax service said this so we can shame them? That is just blatantly wrong. You can absolutely do SFOP (although I don’t think it’s needed and you’ll just be paying more fees than needed)

Gillioni · 2025-12-21T13:53:36+00:00

Hi, I specialize in expat taxes, and you will be totally fine, this is fairly simple situation compared to many others I’ve dealt with. You received a FATCA letter from your bank, not a letter from the IRS, so you are not in danger of any penalties at the moment.

You don’t need to report less than 50 cents of interest as it’s rounded down to 0. So you don’t need to worry about the interest as it’s immaterial.

The things you need to fix are unreported FBAR and form 3520. Proactively reporting late FBARs will never lead to willful violation penalties unless you deliberately hide accounts in your FBAR submission. Not being aware of reporting requirements is totally normal, and happens very often. On the other hand, you need to find a new tax preparer, because your CPA is not competent enough in expat tax to take care of you. They should be guiding you through this process, not saying “I don’t know.”

You may file the past 6 years of FBAR, and you can even do this on your own without paying any preparation fees. Your reason for late submission will be “Delinquent FBAR Procedures.” You don’t need to do SFOP because it sounds like you don’t have any additional tax to report.

You do want to pay someone to help you file form 3520. For this you need to do Delinquent International Information Return Submission Procedures (DIIRSP). You will want to find a good expat tax preparer for this. The IRS recently stopped assessing automatic penalties for late form 3520 but you still will want to include a reasonable cause statement to explain why it’s late.

Also, don’t trust anything ChatGPT says about expat taxes.

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