US tax implications for KiwiSaver

[Spoons]

Hi there -

I have been trying without a lot of success to find out if I need to file IRS form 3520 for my KiwiSaver account. I am a US/NZ dual citizen resident in NZ. I am finding tax preparation extremely time consuming and expensive. The price I have been quoted for my expat tax specialist to fill out these forms is $485 USD/ each. I'm pretty sure that is more than the interest I have made on the funds. Sigh

[Oregonkiwi]

I consulted a US/NZ tax specialist to make sure I was compliant, and I've never filed (or even heard of ) that form.
These are the forms I filed last year:
FBAR (I declared kiwisaver here)
1040 and schedule B
8938
2555EZ
request for filing date extension (automatic 2 month extension but you have to ask for it)

hope that helps, yes it's a pain but now that I've been doing it a few years it's pretty straightforward.

[Spoons]

I'm glad to hear that your specialist didn't tell you those forms were necessary. I really feel like it is not worth filing them, but I am having a hard time convincing the tax prep lady. I usually have done all the filing on my own, but it is so complicated that I am never really sure if I have got it right. And I am loathe to pay even more in "prep" than in "tax" as at least some of the tax gets written off against what we pay in NZ tax. (Though not the self-employment tax apparently, but that is a can of worms for another thread).

Also, I am not sure why random letters got capitalized in my previous post. I'm new here, not sure if there is a way to edit.

[JandM]

Capital letters removed!

The 'edit' function is only operational for forum members for a few minutes after you post - just long enough to correct a duplicated word or typo that you spot just as it goes live. After that, it switches off, so nobody can alter one of their own posts after there have been replies, and make a nonsense of the later part of a thread.

[Oregonkiwi]

but I am having a hard time convincing the tax prep lady.

why does she think 3520 is necessary?

[Spoons]

She thinks it counts as a foreign trust with a US owner. And she wants to know lots of information about it which I am having a hard time getting - and, honestly, don't really want to spend my time finding. Such as exactly what companies it is invested in and how much, or what percentage of each company/stock, and of course all reported on 31 Dec. for each year, when most NZ accounts have a financial year ending 31 March. If there is any way that I don't have to fill this stuff out, I would be exceedingly grateful!

[Spoons]

Thank you!

[Oregonkiwi]

I'm just muddling along figuring it out from the IRS website each year (and help from that consultant one time) so I'm no expert and could well be wrong, but....my understanding is that Kiwisaver is a retirement savings account, not a trust. So 3520 doesn't apply. If you decide the form isn't necessary, then don't file it. It sounds like the tax preparer is causing you more stress that doing it yourself

[Spoons]

The tax preparer is causing me more stress than doing it myself at this stage. However, I have already engaged her services, so I can't really back out now. We have been working on this since July! Also, because we have a small business, my husband does a bit of work in the US, and I am a couple of years behind (yikes), doing it myself was pretty stressful too. I'm glad to have found this site, and a few people who are also filing. Only one of the other US expats I know here bother to file. I'm sure the reason they don't file is because it is so complicated, since most of them probably wouldn't owe any actual tax.

[filipinoguy]

The tax preparer is causing me more stress than doing it myself at this stage. However, I have already engaged her services, so I can't really back out now. We have been working on this since July! Also, because we have a small business, my husband does a bit of work in the US, and I am a couple of years behind (yikes), doing it myself was pretty stressful too. I'm glad to have found this site, and a few people who are also filing. Only one of the other US expats I know here bother to file. I'm sure the reason they don't file is because it is so complicated, since most of them probably wouldn't owe any actual tax.

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