PROTECT · VOLUME 2 OF 3 · STRATEGIESLife on a US Visa shelf
Taxes, Money Back Home and Reporting
The second book for people living in the US on a visa: what changes when you become a resident for tax and your income from everywhere counts, the FBAR and Form 8938, why foreign mutual funds are so costly to hold, rent and interest from home and the foreign tax credit, tax treaties and Social Security agreements, NRE and NRO accounts, moving money and gifts across borders, and filing with a spouse who is not a resident. Every rule is taken from IRS, FinCEN, SSA or Reserve Bank of India sources and dated.
Chapters8
Reading time45 min
Worked examples16
Updated2026-10-01
What you will be able to do
- Tell when the US taxes your income from abroad, and estimate what it adds to your federal tax.
- Decide whether you must file an FBAR, Form 8938 or both, and gather the balances each one needs.
- Explain why a foreign mutual fund is a PFIC, what holding or selling one costs, and which options are open to you.
- Claim credit for tax already paid abroad, and check what a treaty or a totalization agreement does and does not do for you.
- Report large gifts from abroad, cut the cost of sending money home, and choose how to file with a spouse who is not a resident.
Contents
8 CHAPTERS · ABOUT 45 MIN- 01When the US Taxes Your Income from Everywhere How passing the substantial presence test turns a nonresident into a resident taxed on worldwide income, the split dual-status year, what income from abroad becomes reportable, and why it is taxed at your top bracket.6 min4 computed
- 02Reporting Foreign Accounts: the FBAR and Form 8938 Who counts as a US person, which accounts and assets each report covers, the 2026 thresholds and deadlines, why filing one never replaces the other, and the penalties as the primary sources state them.6 min
- 03Rent, Interest and Gains from Home, and the Foreign Tax Credit How rent from a property abroad is reported and depreciated, how the foreign tax credit and its limit work, interest and dividends from abroad, gains measured in dollars, and the 3.8% tax the credit may not reach.6 min2 computed
- 04Foreign Mutual Funds and the PFIC Rules Why nearly every fund set up abroad is a PFIC, how the default rules tax a sale at the top rate with an interest charge, the mark-to-market and QEF elections, Form 8621, and the options for funds you already hold.6 min3 computed
- 05Tax Treaties and Social Security Agreements What an income tax treaty decides, the saving clause that limits it for residents, the residency tie-breaker and Form 8833, how to read the IRS treaty tables, and what totalization agreements do for Social Security.6 min
- 06NRE and NRO Accounts and Bringing Money Over Why accounts at home change when you move, India's NRE, NRO and FCNR accounts in general terms, why interest that is tax-free at home is taxable in the US, reporting, and moving your savings to the US.6 min2 computed
- 07Sending and Receiving Money and Gifts Across Borders When a gift or inheritance from abroad must be reported on Form 3520, the US gift tax on what you send home, what an international transfer really costs, and the 1% federal tax on cash-funded transfers since 2026.5 min2 computed
- 08Filing with a Spouse Who Is Not a Resident The three ways to file when your spouse is a nonresident alien, the tax under each for a spouse with and without income, and what the election to file jointly brings with it: worldwide income, Form 8938, an ITIN, and permanence.5 min3 computed
CALCULATORS USED IN THIS BOOK