[ebiester]

It's really pretty bad. We're not even talking about the wealthy in many cases. You basically have to have an tax preparer who specializes in expat issues handle your taxes, and they aren't cheap. This is not a job for H&R Block.

[nikdaheratik]

It depends on how much money you earn and where you live, mainly. If you make < 100k a year U.S. and pay taxes on it in the country you live in, you can get by with a 1040 and one or two extra forms as far as the IRS goes, and not have to pay the U.S. anything in income taxes.

However, the issue with the WSJ article, where you would also have to disclose retirement and savings accounts or pay a penalty can be an unpleasant surprise for people. Makes me want to just put everything in my spouse's name and pretend the U.S. government doesn't exist.