zelphiakat said:
Hey Everyone... I know tomorrow (JUNE 15) is the last day to file as a american citzen for 2011 taxes. I am having a hard time making heads or tails of everything. Has anyone used a service provider to file their US taxes? In the US I used H&R block online, but when I try now even the questions they ask use words and names for things that I don't even know what they are asking. Am filing for an extension but was curious if anyone was satisfied with their provider and could pass along details. Thanks!
The bottom line is if you owe any money you should have paid an estimate of what you owe. If you haven't. Pay them something asap as you already have incurred a fine but now its interest for every day you didn't get around to paying. Filing an extension doesn't mean you get to pay late. This other stuff of I don't understand the terminology is bewildering. Be precise, I can't imagine what is so daunting that you couldn't avail yourself of online help.
I find it suspect you are asking this the day before the deadline so yes I call into question your ability to understand since this impacts the choice of your service provider even though I wasn't suggesting you were stupid. Again your vagueness makes your story more and more incredible and when people make up stories to get an answer to a question that is hiding within, then you get peripheral commentary you didn't want.
You still make no sense to me. Why should I PM you? You said originally you were trying to figure out how to do your taxes which indicates you were doing it yourself and couldn't, then you said does anyone know a service provider which indicates you weren't going to do it. I took it from there to tell you the utmost important things based on the timeline. NOW you say you filed an extensive so what do you want from me to read your mind and predict your actions. I don't need to police anything when you trip yourself up.
I am living in NL for past 5+ years. I used to do my own 1040 and other taxes when I lived in US even with a S-Corp. But for US expats there are more forms some are absolutely ridiculous and for 2011 there is yet another form (FATCA) to declare all your foreign investments!
Besides, being a owner of a BV in NL makes the situation more complex. The required form 5471 (Ownership of Foreign corp) alone need 80hrs of preparation time according to IRS!
In a way, I am forced to use a professional accountant and they are very good but not cheap. For the first few years I used http://www.taxpat.com. After they got acquired by a bigger company, for the past 2 years I used http://www.onestoptax.nl/ I must say both are very good and professional. But the cost of IRS fling is quite expensive compared to Dutch taxes.
I don't know what your situation is: simple employment, business ownership, real estate, investments, etc. the number of forms and time required can be significant. In any case, if I were you, I'd at least have 1hr meeting with a professional and make sure you are filing the right forms.
As everyone knows, IRS is not only about tax collection, not filing a stupid form with $0 tax implications can have significant fines and criminal penalties. For example: FBAR (Foreign Bank Account Report) is just a declaration of all your bank account details if you have more than $10K in total at any time of year. Failing to file an FBAR can carry a civil penalty of $10,000 for each non-willful violation!!!
If there is a one reason to renounce US citizenship this is it for me!!
Good luck
