Cross-border tax obligations — by home country

If you live and work in the US but still have income, property, or bank accounts in your home country, two tax systems claim a piece of your year. These guides explain — country by country — what the US expects you to report, what your home country still taxes, and which relief mechanisms actually apply to you.

The framework in four facts

  1. US tax residents are taxed on worldwide income. You become a tax resident by meeting the substantial presence test — roughly 183 days in the US under a weighted 3-year formula — regardless of immigration status. ITIN filers follow the same rule as everyone else.
  2. Only Mexico and Venezuela have a US income-tax treaty. Of the 12 home countries covered here, only these two appear on the IRS treaty list; Venezuela’s treaty was signed in 1999. The other ten countries have no treaty at all — so treaty-based exemptions you may read about elsewhere simply don’t apply.
  3. No treaty does NOT mean double taxation. The Foreign Tax Credit (Form 1116) is unilateral US law: income tax you actually paid to your home country offsets US tax on that same income. And several home countries — Guatemala and Nicaragua among them — tax only territorial income, so they never touch your US wages.
  4. Since January 1, 2026, cash-funded remittances carry a 1% federal excise tax (IRC §4475, enacted in the 2025 budget law). Transfers funded from a US bank account or a US-issued debit/credit card are exempt — the practical move is to fund transfers electronically.

Browse by country

What every country page covers

Each guide answers the same questions for one country: does a treaty exist (usually no, and what that changes), how the home country taxes residents abroad (territorial vs. worldwide), what happens to property and rental income back home, social-security double-payment exposure (no totalization agreement covers any of these 12 countries), and the reporting forms US residents forget — FBAR for home-country accounts over $10,000 combined, and Form 8938 at higher thresholds.

Last verified: 2026-09-24. Sources: IRS — US income tax treaties A-Z, IRS — remittance transfer tax regulations, IRS — Foreign Tax Credit.

General information — not legal or tax advice. Cross-border situations vary; consult a tax professional with international experience for your specific case.