Mel Whitney
- Non-resident taxation
- Real estate taxation
- Tax optimization
- Bachelor of Science in Business Administration
- Humboldt State University
Articles
IRS Form 14654 instructions for SDOP filing: How to certify non-willfulness under the domestic streamlined procedures
In 2014, the IRS changed the course of offshore compliance by launching the Streamlined Domestic Offshore Procedures – a relief path for US residents who had unknowingly failed to report foreign income and accounts. It offered a lifeline to those who made honest errors rather than deliberate omissions, replacing fear of massive penalties with a c...
F-1 International Student Tax Return 101
The 2026 tax season is here, and for many students, the hardest part is knowing where to start. An International Student Tax Return is usually based on your 2025 income, your visa status, and your tax residency status under IRS rules. Most F-1 and M-1 students who we...
FBAR filing requirements and deadlines in 2026
Whether you live in the US or abroad, if you hold an account in a foreign bank — whether savings, pension, or investment — you may be required to comply with FBAR (Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts) filing requirements. Many Americans are unaware that simply having a foreign bank account can trigger FBAR obligations. The US ...
What is FIRPTA? A guide for foreign sellers and US buyers
The Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act, FIRPTA, is a part of US tax law that can require withholding when a foreign person sells US real estate. In a typical sale, the buyer has the immediate filing duty, not the seller...
Form 1099-K threshold rollback: $600 rule reversed in latest tax reform
If you sell occasionally on eBay, collect client payments through Stripe, or use an online marketplace while living abroad, the 1099-K story for this filing season is much less confusing than it looked a year ago. Congress reversed the muc...
What is double taxation? How it works in the US and how to avoid double tax
Double taxation is one term that often becomes a cause for concern for those who live or do business abroad. In plain English, double taxation means the same income is taxed twice – either by two jurisdictions or at two levels, such as the company level and the shareholder level. That is what double taxation means. People also call it double tax....