America is, of course, famously the home of “Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”, as well as, perhaps rather more infamously, the concept of lifelong, worldwide taxation.
The result of this is that no matter where they are, or how long they may have been away from the US, American citizens and green card holders are obliged to file a seemingly ever-growing package of annual tax and information returns annually with the US Internal Revenue Service.
The reality is that thousands of American expats have not been aware, often for decades, that they ought to have been doing this – and some still are not.
But the IRS is getting much better at finding and tracking down expat Americans.
Here London-based David Treitel, managing director of American Tax Returns Ltd, who has been advising American expatriates on their tax affairs for more than 25 years, reveals 20 ways the IRS could find that one or more of your clients is American… possibly before you do.