Free downloadable guides.
Plain-English PDFs covering the cross-border US tax topics that come up most often. No email gate, no upsell — request the ones that match your situation and we'll send the current edition.
Eight guides we use as our own teaching aids.
Each guide started life as the explainer we’d email a client during a consult — then got expanded, fact-checked, and kept current with each filing season. They’re free to read and share.
- FBAR · FATCAStarter
FBAR & FATCA: a no-jargon walkthrough
Who has to file, when, and what the $10k threshold actually catches. Examples include UK current accounts, joint accounts with a UK spouse, and pension scheme reporting.
- Catch-up filingsDeep dive
Streamlined Filing Compliance Procedures
How to come back into US tax compliance without penalty: eligibility tests, the documents you'll need, the non-willfulness narrative, and what filing actually looks like.
- PFIC · ISADeep dive
PFIC rules and UK ISAs
Why your tax-free UK ISA is a US tax problem, the QEF vs. mark-to-market election decision, and what you should do before you contribute another pound.
- FEIE · FTCIntermediate
FEIE vs. Foreign Tax Credit: which to elect
A side-by-side modelling guide for picking between Form 2555 and Form 1116. Worked examples for typical UK salary levels and how the choice compounds across years.
- Pensions · TreatyIntermediate
UK pensions for US tax purposes
SIPPs, workplace pensions, the state pension, and US 401(k) / IRA from the UK side — treaty positions, Form 8833 disclosure, and how to keep the tax deferral intact.
- Pre-immigrationDeep dive
Pre-immigration planning checklist
A 12-month runway for British executives moving to the US: ISA decisions, basis step-ups, pension drawdowns, and the dual-status arrival-year filing.
- ExpatriationDeep dive
Renunciation & exit-tax planning
The covered-expatriate tests, Form 8854, the §877A exit tax, and the 18-24 month planning runway that gets most clients out under the thresholds.
- Business · EntitiesIntermediate
Cross-border founders: LLC vs. S-Corp vs. C-Corp
When each entity structure makes sense for a UK-resident founder, the elections that matter, and how to keep both HMRC and the IRS off your back as you scale.
Need a guide on a topic that isn't here?
Tell us what you're trying to figure out — we'll often have a draft note that answers it, and if not we'll write you back directly.