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U.S. tax expatriates expanding

November 22, 2010

Have you ever seriously considered giving up your United States citizenship to avoid paying the IRS?

Us_passport Apparently more Americans are doing just that.

The Financial Times of London reports that three times as many Americans renounced their citizenship in 2009 as did in 2008.

The trend, says the newspaper, was particularly noticeable in the United Kingdom, where there's a waiting list at the U.S. embassy in London of folks looking to renounce their citizenship.

Bankrate's Wealth blogger Judy Martel looks at this extreme effort to escape U.S. taxation in Here's one way to avoid taxes. And she quotes yours truly in the post.

We all have complained about taxes at some point, but would you really leave your U.S. roots behind so that you'd never have to pay them again?

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TAX-SAVVY WAYS 
TO WRAP UP 2026

It’s over! With October’s extended filing deadline behind us, it is now time to focus on year-end moves to reduce your 2026 tax bill. 

You’ll find ways to do just that on the Tax Tips page (see the More Tax Posts drop-down menu at the top of the blog), as well as the separate tax tip pages for each month, notably October through December. If you’re on the Tax Tips page, you’ll find a monthly list at the end of this column. If you’re on another blog page, you can head straight to the October tips; at the bottom of that tips page you’ll find links to all the other 11 months’ collections of tax advice.

Not to spoil what you’ll find in that tax advice, but it does cover such things as tax deductions for charitable donations, investment moves that could reduce tax due, and ways to max out your tax-favored retirement savings. 

Finally, as the year winds down, things get hectic. There are lots of other things to occupy our time, like the much more fun upcoming holidays. But don’t lose sight of taxes, since timing is key. To be of use, most tax moves must be made by the end of the tax year. That’s Thursday, Dec. 31, which also is the last business day of the year. 

So that you don’t miss that final tax year deadline, also keep an eye on the countdown clock below. It will keep you on top of just how much time is left to make important, tax-saving moves. (Note: I’m in the Central Time Zone, so adjust accordingly for where you live.)

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