US Tax Law for People and Businesses in Europe

 

Dahl International Tax Law is US tax law for people and businesses in Europe — led by Christine Stebbins Dahl, a U.S. Supreme Court advocate and former UN war-crimes prosecutor: the only IRS Certifying Acceptance Agent in The Netherlands, and the only U.S. attorney in Europe admitted to the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. For people who need protection from the machinery of the IRS, not just a return prepared.

The IRS is powerful, slow, and an ocean away. You need someone who knows how to move it.


You do not have to be American to have a US tax problem. We help people and businesses in Europe get into compliance with US tax law and stay there, solve serious problems with the IRS, and get their refunds paid without unreasonable delay.

How we help:

  • Legal Advice and Representation - We explain what US tax law requires of you: what to file, what to report, and when. We correct past mistakes and cure non-compliance. We defend you before the IRS and in civil or criminal investigations. Falling behind is common. Many people move abroad with no idea the US taxes its citizens wherever they live. There is a path through this, and we work to reduce or eliminate failure-to-file and failure-to-pay penalties.

  • Refund Recovery - Tax deposits on a US property sale, a pension or an estate distribution do not come back on their own. We file the claim and pursue it with the IRS. When the IRS will not pay, we take it to the US Court of Federal Claims.

  • ITINs - Christine Dahl is the only IRS Certifying Acceptance Agent in The Netherlands. We verify your passport ourselves, so you do not mail the original to the IRS, and we file your ITIN application. If the IRS rejects an application, we fix it and re-file at no extra fee. Stuck in the rejection loop? Let us help.

  • US Tax Returns and Foreign Account Reports (FBAR and FATCA) - We prepare US income tax returns for Americans in Europe, for couples where one spouse is American, and for Americans at international organizations and NGOs, wherever the posting takes them. We prepare them for non-US persons and companies with US income too: US shares held directly or through a BV, US property, stock awards from a US employer. The foreign account reports go with them: the FBAR, the annual report of your foreign bank accounts, and the FATCA form that travels with the return. We sort all that out.

  • Moving to The Netherlands (DAFT) - When you move to The Netherlands under the Dutch-American Friendship Treaty, the IRS moves with you. From then on, every financial decision is a two-country problem. We work with you before you arrive and after you are here. The first decision is the business entity, and a BV is not a given: it brings its own US reporting, with penalties that start at $10,000 a year. A sole proprietorship or a US LLC may serve you better. Christine Dahl has lived here and worked on the DAFT for more than ten years.

  • Citizenship and Expatriation - You were born in the US, or a parent was, and you hold the blue passport. What does that mean for your taxes and your investments? We help you understand your rights and obligations, and make the case for keeping the passport or giving it up. The answer differs at 25, at 45 and at 65. If you decide to leave, the order matters: five years of clean US filings first, then the consulate. If your child is the American, the citizenship is theirs. We show you what to do while they are young, and they take the lead once they are grown.

  • Confidentiality - Christine Dahl is an attorney. What you tell us to get legal advice is protected by attorney-client privilege. An accountant cannot offer the same protection.