Have you ever dealt with your taxes whilst you were abroad? Either on business or because you lived somewhere other than where your business was registered?

Does the US let you do that?

I lived in Canada (not overseas, but...) and filed a form each year saying, essentially, that I had paid my taxes in Canada and had lived and worked in that country for the entire tax year.

I forget the form number now, though. The form was the same for the years when I was in Canada part time and in the US part time - I just had to file / pay taxes for that time during each of those years when I was living in / operating in the US.

If I recall correctly, the US allows individuals an exemption of something like $75k in foreign income that you don't have to pay US taxes on. I don't know if the number has gone up since I lived abroad, and I also don't know whether it applies to a business. I guess if you are a sole proprietor, it does, but don't take my word for it. Check with the IRS or an accountant.

There's also some clauses that if you bring the money into the country, but if you keep it OUTSIDE then you don't have to pay taxes on it, and instead pay taxes with the country you're in.

I know bringing cash into the coutnry it used to be $10k was the limit, but I believe that was reduced to $5k in recent years.

Best bet, talk to an accountant. Advice from us here in the forums is nice, but not legally binding Get on the horn with the Accountant and they'll bring up the legalities of it and get you squred away.

I'll talk to an accountant yes, I don't like filing my own taxes...... I'm just aware that in my little hick town this kind of thing doesn't come up too often (I'm having issues dealing with my bank too) and so it may not be as cut and dry as just asking my normal dude. If I have some idea before I go in, it will be a big help.

This may be an odd question, I don't know...but if you called the US consulate, might they be able to point you toward some resources? They might even have someone on the consulate staff who knows the answer. (This just seems like the kind of thing Americans living/travelling abroad might have on a semi-regular basis. Not as regular, perhaps, as "when do I have to renew my visa", but they might know.)

Last I heard, it was around $90k now

I checked; it's now $87,600. For details, see http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/...=97324,00.html

This seems to be a page about small businesses; there's also a tab for individuals.

Interesting thought Lesli, thank you. Only trouble is that I am British and will be moving back to my home country so I'm not sure that the US embassy would deal with a Brit. I'd like to think I could just move it all to the UK but the hosting costs me nothing, in return for design services, so I'm tied here. I don't know if perhaps I can just register over there and start a fresh without people ever having to notice.

This is more than I need to be researching so close to a move!

I would talk to an accountant if I were you. Make sure you find out the laws from someone who is certified to do taxes.

I've talked to a tax expert who specialises in expat and immigrant tax issues and to be honest its all a little too involved. I think its going to be easier to shut up shop and start again in the UK. Otherwise I'm facing a lifetime of dealing with international taxes.

Well, then, if it's relevant, you could sell the US assets before you leave and use the money to start up again in the UK.