American expat investment advice

By Chad Creveling, CFA, and Peggy Creveling, CFA​

When it comes to losing weight, most agree that short-term fads don’t work. The only permanent solution is to maintain a sensible diet and exercise plan over time. And it's the same with investing. Get-rich-quick schemes or investments won’t work.

By Chad Creveling, CFA and Peggy Creveling, CFA

While most expat Americans are aware of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) and the increased reporting requirements for foreign holdings, many are still unaware of the IRS’s particularly harsh tax treatment of foreign-incorporated investments such as overseas mutual funds and pension plans. As a direct consequence of increased reporting from FATCA, we are also likely to see more rigorous enforcement of the IRS’s Passive Foreign Investment Corporation (PFIC) rules. This article is intended to help you understand PFIC rules so that you can minimize the U.S. tax consequences of investing overseas and avoid penalties, both now and over the long run.