International Tax Lawyers in New York City
We advise cross-border businesses and families. Those coming into the United States, and U.S. persons doing business, investing or living abroad.
Inbound: founders, investors and families entering the U.S. market or the U.S. tax system. Outbound: U.S. citizens, residents and companies with businesses, trusts and accounts outside the country. Planning first. Compliance built in.
The U.S. taxes by status, not by location.
A U.S. citizen or resident is taxed on worldwide income, wherever it is earned. A nonresident is taxed only on U.S.-source income and income connected to a U.S. business.
Status can change without anyone deciding it. A founder who spends enough days in the United States becomes a resident. A foreign company becomes a controlled foreign corporation the day its owner does.
Most planning options exist before status changes. After that, the same steps trigger tax instead of avoiding it. We help clients see the line and plan on the right side of it, in both directions.
Inbound and outbound. One system.
The same Code applies to both. The questions, the forms and the deadlines are different. We organize the practice the way clients experience it.
Coming into the United States.
Families relocating or obtaining green cards. Founders and startups opening a U.S. company. Investors buying U.S. real estate or securities. Non-U.S. parents with U.S. children.
The questions: when does U.S. residency start, what should be restructured before it does, how is U.S. income taxed and withheld, and how are U.S. assets held so that estate tax does not take 40 percent.
Going out of the United States.
U.S. citizens and residents who own foreign companies, hold foreign accounts and investments, settle or benefit from foreign trusts, live abroad, or plan to give up citizenship or a green card.
The questions: is the foreign company a CFC, is the fund a PFIC, is the trust grantor or non-grantor, which forms are due each year, and what the exit costs if you leave.
Twelve areas, organized by direction.
Each tile lists the terms clients most often search for. If you recognize yours, start there.
Into the United States
For non-U.S. families, founders, startups and investors. The U.S. tax system reaches you when you arrive, invest or start a business here.
Pre-Immigration Tax Planning
Restructuring before U.S. residency starts: timing the move, repositioning appreciated assets, reviewing foreign companies, pensions and trusts while the options are still open.
U.S. Market Entry for Foreign Businesses & Startups
Choosing the U.S. entity, deciding between a subsidiary and a branch, flipping a foreign startup into a U.S. holding company, and setting up reporting for foreign-owned U.S. companies.
U.S. Real Estate for Foreign Investors
Ownership structures for New York and other U.S. property, FIRPTA withholding on sale, rental income elections and estate tax exposure on U.S. real estate held directly.
Nonresident Income, Withholding & Treaties
How U.S. income is taxed for nonresidents: effectively connected income at graduated rates, passive income at a flat 30 percent, treaty reductions and the forms that claim them.
Crypto Taxation for U.S. Residents
Form 1099-DA and wallet-by-wallet basis, staking and airdrops, stolen crypto losses, holdings on foreign exchanges and in foreign foundations, amended returns and disclosures.
U.S. Estate & Gift Exposure for Nonresidents
A nonresident’s U.S.-situated assets above $60,000 face federal estate tax at rates reaching 40 percent. Situs rules, holding structures and gifts to non-citizen spouses.
Out of the United States
For U.S. citizens, residents and companies with companies, investments, trusts or accounts abroad, and for those planning to leave.
Controlled Foreign Corporations (CFC)
U.S. owners of foreign companies: Subpart F income, net CFC tested income (formerly GILTI), the section 962 election, and Form 5471 for every year of ownership.
Foreign Holding Companies & Check-the-Box Elections
Choosing how a foreign entity is treated for U.S. purposes: corporation, partnership or disregarded. Form 8832 elections, holding-company structures and the traps in hybrid treatment.
PFIC & Foreign Investments
Foreign mutual funds, ETFs and holding companies owned by U.S. persons. Passive foreign investment company rules, QEF and mark-to-market elections, Form 8621.
Foreign Trusts: Grantor vs. Non-Grantor
Who is taxed on a foreign trust’s income, when a U.S. settlor is treated as owner, how distributions to U.S. beneficiaries are taxed, and Forms 3520 and 3520-A.
Expatriation & Exit Tax
Giving up U.S. citizenship or a long-term green card. Covered expatriate tests, the deemed sale, the exclusion amount, Form 8854 and planning before the date.
FBAR, FATCA & Offshore Compliance
Foreign account and asset reporting, FinCEN Form 114, Form 8938, foreign earned income exclusion, foreign tax credits and resolution of past filing failures.
The thresholds that shape cross-border planning.
Current IRS figures. Each one marks a line where tax treatment changes.
A foreign-owned U.S. corporation that misses Form 5472 faces a $25,000 penalty, plus $25,000 for each 30 days after IRS notice. A buyer of U.S. real estate from a foreign seller generally withholds 15 percent of the price.
A U.S. citizen or domiciliary has a $15 million federal estate tax exclusion in 2026. A nonresident not domiciled here has $60,000. Gifts to a non-citizen spouse are free of gift tax up to $194,000 a year in 2026.
For tax years beginning after December 31, 2025, a U.S. corporation’s deduction against net CFC tested income, formerly GILTI, is 40 percent. A U.S. owner of a foreign trust who misses Form 3520-A owes the greater of $10,000 or 5 percent of the trust assets. A check-the-box election on Form 8832 binds for five years.
A 2026 expatriate is a covered expatriate if average annual net income tax exceeded $211,000 over five years or net worth is $2 million or more. The first $910,000 of deemed gain is excluded. The foreign earned income exclusion for 2026 is $132,900. An FBAR is due when foreign accounts together exceed $10,000 at any time in the year.
Sources: IRS, Substantial Presence Test; IRS, Taxation of Nonresident Aliens; IRS, Nonresidents With U.S. Assets Must File Estate Tax Returns; IRS, Instructions for Form 5471; IRS, Instructions for Form 5472; IRS, FIRPTA Withholding; IRS, Rev. Proc. 2025-32 (2026 inflation adjustments); IRS, Internal Revenue Bulletin 2026-40 (section 250); IRS, Instructions for Form 3520; IRS, About Form 8832; IRS, Expatriation Tax; IRS, Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts.
Planning and compliance, under one strategy.
Entity classification and holding companies
Choosing where a holding company sits and how each entity is treated for U.S. purposes. Check-the-box elections, disregarded entities and the reporting each choice creates.
CFC and PFIC planning
Subpart F and net CFC tested income analysis for U.S. owners of foreign companies. PFIC identification and elections for foreign funds. Form 5471 and Form 8621 compliance.
Trust formation and taxation
Grantor and non-grantor trusts, foreign and domestic. Trusts for U.S. beneficiaries of non-U.S. families. Trustee duties written into the trust document, and the annual reporting that follows.
Pre-immigration and expatriation planning
Planning before U.S. residency begins, and before citizenship or a green card ends. Residency start dates, basis documentation, covered expatriate tests and Form 8854.
Treaty and withholding analysis
Residency tie-breakers, permanent establishment, reduced withholding on dividends, interest and royalties, and the forms that claim treaty benefits.
Reporting and disclosure
Forms 5471, 5472, 8865, 8858, 8621, 3520, 3520-A and 8938, and the FBAR. Streamlined and voluntary disclosure submissions for past failures. Penalty defense.
How an engagement runs.
Cross-border planning is a sequence. Each step depends on the one before it.
Map the facts
Residency history and plans, every entity, trust, account and property, and the family members and jurisdictions involved.
Classify
Each entity and trust is classified under U.S. rules: corporation or disregarded, CFC or not, PFIC or not, grantor or non-grantor. The classification drives everything after.
Model the alternatives
Tax outcomes under each structure, including treaty positions and foreign tax, with counsel and accountants in the other jurisdiction where needed.
Implement in order
Elections filed, entities formed or restructured, trusts settled and funded, assets repositioned, on a timeline set against the residency or exit date.
Maintain
An annual reporting calendar for every form, and a review when the law, the family or the business changes.
One strategy across jurisdictions.
Cross-border matters involve more than one country’s law. We lead the U.S. analysis and coordinate the rest so that advice does not conflict.
Foreign tax counsel
Home-country treatment of the U.S. structure, treaty positions from the other side, and local filing obligations.
Cross-border accountants
Preparation of U.S. international information returns, FBARs and foreign tax credit computations on the calendar we set.
Trustees and local counsel
Regulated trust companies, foreign trustees and counsel in the jurisdictions where entities and property sit.
The vocabulary, in plain language.
The terms clients most often search before they call, each explained in a sentence or two.
Substantial presence testInbound
The day-count that makes a foreign national a U.S. tax resident: 31 days in the current year and 183 days over three years, with prior years weighted. Residency means worldwide taxation.
ECI and FDAPInbound
Two kinds of U.S. income for nonresidents. Effectively connected income from a U.S. business is taxed at graduated rates. Fixed or determinable passive income is taxed at a flat 30 percent unless a treaty lowers it.
FIRPTAInbound
The rule that taxes foreign sellers of U.S. real estate. The buyer generally withholds 15 percent of the price and sends it to the IRS. Structure and certificates can change the amount.
Form 5472Inbound
The information return for a U.S. corporation or LLC that is 25 percent or more foreign-owned and has transactions with its owner. The penalty for missing it is $25,000.
Permanent establishmentInbound
The treaty concept that decides whether a foreign company’s U.S. activity is enough to be taxed here. Offices, employees and dependent agents are the usual triggers.
Foreign grantor trustInbound
A trust settled by a non-U.S. person who keeps certain powers. During the settlor’s life it generally pays no U.S. tax on non-U.S. income. It is a common vehicle for non-U.S. parents with U.S. children.
Situs rulesInbound
The rules that decide which assets count as U.S.-situated for a nonresident’s estate. U.S. real estate and shares of U.S. companies count. How the asset is held changes the answer.
Controlled foreign corporation (CFC)Outbound
A foreign company more than 50 percent owned by U.S. shareholders who each own 10 percent or more. Its income can be taxed to the U.S. owners each year whether or not it is distributed.
Net CFC tested income (formerly GILTI)Outbound
The annual inclusion of a CFC’s active income for its U.S. shareholders. Renamed and recalculated for tax years beginning after 2025, with a 40 percent deduction for corporate shareholders.
Check-the-box election (Form 8832)Outbound
The election that lets an eligible foreign entity choose U.S. treatment as a corporation, a partnership or a disregarded entity. Binding for five years once made.
PFIC and Form 8621Outbound
A passive foreign investment company, usually a foreign mutual fund or holding company. Without a QEF or mark-to-market election, gains and distributions are taxed under punitive rules.
Grantor vs. non-grantor trustOutbound
In a grantor trust, the settlor is taxed on the income. In a non-grantor trust, the trust or the beneficiaries are. For foreign trusts with U.S. settlors or beneficiaries, the classification decides who reports and how much.
Covered expatriate and exit taxOutbound
A person who gives up citizenship or a long-term green card and exceeds the income tax, net worth or compliance tests. Assets are treated as sold the day before, with the first $910,000 of gain excluded in 2026.
FBAR and FATCA (Form 8938)Outbound
Two separate reports of foreign financial accounts and assets. The FBAR goes to FinCEN when accounts exceed $10,000 in total. Form 8938 goes with the tax return at higher thresholds. Both can apply in the same year.
Streamlined filing compliance proceduresOutbound
The IRS program for taxpayers whose past failures to report foreign income and accounts were non-willful. Three years of returns, six years of FBARs and a certification.
Foreign tax credit and foreign earned income exclusionOutbound
The two main tools against double taxation for Americans abroad. The credit offsets U.S. tax with foreign tax paid. The exclusion removes up to $132,900 of earned income in 2026.
The planning window closes on arrival.
Whether you are coming to the United States or leaving it, the date matters more than anything else.
- Count your U.S. days for this year and the two before it
- List every company, trust, account, pension and property, in every country
- Obtain valuations of appreciated assets before the residency or exit date
- Ask who the trustee, director and signatory of each structure will be after the move
- Speak with counsel before the move, not after the first filing is due
- Become a U.S. resident with an unreviewed foreign company; it may become a CFC that day
- Fund or receive from a foreign trust after becoming a U.S. person without advice
- Keep foreign mutual funds as a U.S. person without checking the PFIC rules
- Assume a treaty solves residency; tie-breaker rules have their own tests
- File late foreign-account reports quietly; choose the right disclosure path first
Start with the rules.
U.S. Pre-Immigration Tax Lawyer for AI & Software Founders
What happens to a foreign technology company on the day its founder becomes a U.S. resident, and what to do first.
Read the articleInternational Tax Attorney on Form 8832 Elections
How check-the-box elections work for foreign entities, and when they help or hurt.
Read the articleCFC vs. PFIC: Complete Guide to Foreign Corp Reporting
Which regime applies to your foreign company or fund, and the forms each requires.
Read the articleFrequently asked.
Only on U.S.-source income and income connected to a U.S. business. Business income is taxed at graduated rates. Passive income such as dividends is taxed at a flat 30 percent unless a treaty lowers it.
Owning U.S. real estate or U.S. company shares also creates estate tax exposure above $60,000.
When you receive a green card, or when you meet the substantial presence test: at least 31 days in the United States this year and 183 days counted over three years, with earlier years weighted.
From that date, your worldwide income is taxable in the United States. Planning should be finished before it.
A foreign company more than half owned by U.S. shareholders is a CFC. Its income can be taxed to those shareholders each year, whether or not it pays dividends, and Form 5471 is due annually.
A founder who moves to the United States can turn a foreign company into a CFC on arrival. Reviewing the structure before the move is the main reason to plan early.
In a grantor trust, the person who created it is treated as the owner and pays the tax on its income. In a non-grantor trust, the trust itself or its beneficiaries pay.
For international families, the classification decides whether U.S. beneficiaries face tax and reporting on distributions, and whether a non-U.S. settlor’s trust stays outside the U.S. system. The trust document and the settlor’s powers control the answer.
Often, if it will raise from U.S. investors or relocate its founders. The usual structure is a U.S. corporation that owns the foreign operating company. Timing matters: the exchange of shares is easier before the company has significant value and before the founders are U.S. residents.
A tax on people who give up U.S. citizenship or a long-term green card and meet the covered expatriate tests: average annual income tax above $211,000 for 2026, net worth of $2 million or more, or a failure to certify five years of compliance.
Assets are treated as sold the day before expatriation. The first $910,000 of gain is excluded in 2026. Planning before the date can change the result.
Do not file quietly. The right path depends on whether the failure was non-willful or willful. The IRS streamlined procedures are for non-willful cases and require three years of returns, six years of FBARs and a certification. Other cases call for a voluntary disclosure. We review the facts before anything is submitted.
Go deeper on a specific question.
Coming to the U.S. or going abroad? Plan before the date.
A confidential consultation with international tax lawyers in New York City. We will tell you which rules reach you, what can still be done and in what order.