Do you work with U.S. citizens as well as non-residents?

Yes. The practice focuses on inbound work, meaning non-U.S. persons with U.S. exposure, but personal returns for U.S. citizens, including those living abroad, are part of the work.

I have been in the United States a lot this year. Am I taxed here?

It depends on the day count across the current year and the two before it, weighted, and on whether any of those days are excluded. The substantial presence test calculator on this site runs the arithmetic on your own dates. A treaty tie-breaker or the closer connection exception can change the outcome even when the count is met.

Do I need an ITIN to file?

You need a U.S. taxpayer identification number to file a personal return, and if you are not eligible for a Social Security Number that means an ITIN. Whether you need one at all depends on what you are filing and why, which is worth establishing before an application is prepared.

Tax was withheld on my U.S. income. Can I get it back?

Sometimes. Withholding at source is a payment on account, not a final settlement, unless the income is of a type taxed on a gross basis with no return required. Where a treaty applies, or the income is connected with a U.S. business and taxed on a net basis, a return is how the position is claimed.

§00Personal Tax Matters

Your own return, across a border.

Personal tax for people whose life and income do not sit in the same country: non-residents with U.S. income or property, people whose days here have made them U.S. taxpayers without meaning to, and Americans filing from abroad.

Check your residency

Ask a question

What this covers

Six questions this practice answers for individuals.

Residency

Are you a U.S. tax resident?

Days in the United States are counted across three years, and enough of them make you taxable here on your worldwide income without a visa change or a move. We run the count, apply the exempt days, and look at whether a treaty tie-breaker or the closer connection exception is available.

Run the calculator

Nonresident returns

Form 1040-NR

The personal return for a non-U.S. person with U.S. income: rental property, business profits, a sale, or tax already withheld at source. Filed with the treaty positions your facts support, so the number is right in both directions.

How the return works

Identification

ITIN applications

A taxpayer identification number for someone who cannot get a Social Security Number. What actually has to accompany the application, and how to avoid posting your passport abroad and waiting on it.

Start an ITIN

Disclosure

FBAR and FATCA

Foreign accounts and foreign assets are reported separately from your return, on different thresholds, to different places. This is the filing that most often surprises someone who has only recently become a U.S. taxpayer.

Read the mechanics

Property

Buying or selling U.S. real estate

Withholding applies to the sale price rather than the gain when the seller is a non-resident. There is a route to reduce it before closing, and a route to recover it afterwards. They are not the same route.

Property intake

Americans abroad

U.S. citizens living outside the U.S.

Citizens and green card holders file wherever they live. Streamlined filing compliance for returns that were never filed, foreign tax credits, and the treaty interaction with the country you actually live in.

Questions and answers

“Ali Gulzari, CPA, EA is hands down one of the best accountants I've ever worked with. He recently helped my daughter with urgent international tax forms and certificates that required immediate attention and a very fast turnaround. Not only did he deliver flawlessly under pressure, but he also brought incredible clarity and confidence to a stressful situation…”

Terri G.Winter Garden, FloridaYelp · every review →

§01Common questions

Asked before every engagement.

The full list, including the work this firm does not take on, is on the questions page.

Read every question

Do you work with U.S. citizens as well as non-residents?: Yes. The practice focuses on inbound work, meaning non-U.S. persons with U.S. exposure, but personal returns for U.S. citizens, including those living abroad, are part of the work.
I have been in the United States a lot this year. Am I taxed here?: It depends on the day count across the current year and the two before it, weighted, and on whether any of those days are excluded. The substantial presence test calculator on this site runs the arithmetic on your own dates. A treaty tie-breaker or the closer connection exception can change the outcome even when the count is met.
Do I need an ITIN to file?: You need a U.S. taxpayer identification number to file a personal return, and if you are not eligible for a Social Security Number that means an ITIN. Whether you need one at all depends on what you are filing and why, which is worth establishing before an application is prepared.
Tax was withheld on my U.S. income. Can I get it back?: Sometimes. Withholding at source is a payment on account, not a final settlement, unless the income is of a type taxed on a gross basis with no return required. Where a treaty applies, or the income is connected with a U.S. business and taxed on a net basis, a return is how the position is claimed.

Gulzari CPA LLC is a firm of U.S. Certified Public Accountants. It is not a law firm and does not practice law. No communication with this firm creates an attorney–client relationship. Where legal counsel is required we coordinate with your attorneys.