Connected Financial Planning

15/06/2026

It's June 15th.

For many Americans living abroad, that means today is an important U.S. tax filing deadline.

It's also a good moment to give a shout-out to the tax professionals working behind the scenes to help clients navigate another filing season.

If you're still waiting on documents, sorting through a complicated situation, or feeling stressed about your return, remember:

✅ Communicate with your accountant.
✅ Ask questions if you're unsure.
✅ Confirm whether an extension is needed.
✅ Be kind to yourself and your tax professional.

Cross-border tax filings are rarely simple. Many accountants are juggling hundreds of returns, multiple tax systems, changing regulations, and client questions all at once.

A little patience and kindness go a long way.

To all of the tax professionals helping globally mobile families navigate filing season: thank you. We appreciate you.

12/06/2026

Living abroad doesn't mean giving up your right to vote.

Millions of Americans living overseas remain eligible to vote in U.S. federal elections. The challenge is making sure you understand the process and start early.

Recent headlines have highlighted concerns about voting access for overseas Americans and military voters, particularly as changes to ballot delivery and return systems may create additional hurdles for some voters living abroad.

The takeaway?

Don't wait until election season.

If you're a U.S. citizen living overseas, now is a good time to confirm:
✅ Where you are registered to vote
✅ Whether your overseas voter registration is current
✅ How your state delivers absentee ballots
✅ How your ballot must be returned
✅ Key deadlines for requesting and submitting your ballot

One of the biggest misconceptions we see is that voting from abroad works exactly the same way it did when you lived in the United States.

In reality, EVERY state has different rules, and international mail delays, address changes, travel schedules, and ballot return requirements can all create unexpected complications.

The Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP) provides resources to help Americans living abroad register and vote from overseas.

🗳️ Learn more and get started here:

https://www.fvap.gov/overseas

At Connected Financial Planning, we work with globally mobile Americans every day. While our focus is on financial planning, tax, and wealth management, we also recognize that building a successful life abroad means understanding the practical systems that remain connected to the United States, including voting.

And if you're building a life abroad, this is a good reminder that many important tasks, from voting to taxes to financial planning, often require a little more lead time than they would back home.

Ensuring Service members, their eligible family members and overseas citizens can vote -- from anywhere in the world.

11/06/2026

Many Americans move to Switzerland expecting the biggest tax difference to be between Switzerland and the United States.

In reality, one of the biggest tax differences may be between two Swiss cantons. Switzerland's tax system is unique. While federal taxes apply nationwide, each canton, and even each municipality, sets its own tax rates.

That means two families with similar income and assets can face very different tax bills depending on where they live.

For U.S. citizens living in Switzerland, this matters for more than just Swiss taxes. Your Swiss tax bill directly impacts your ability to claim Foreign Tax Credits on your U.S. tax return.

In some situations, moving to a lower-tax canton can actually increase what you owe to the IRS. As we often remind clients, as a U.S. person, you generally pay the higher of the two systems. A lower Swiss tax bill does not automatically mean a lower overall tax bill.

In our latest article, we explore:
✅ What a Swiss canton is
✅ How Switzerland's three-tier tax system works
✅ Why canton selection matters for U.S. taxpayers
✅ How Foreign Tax Credits interact with Swiss taxes
✅ Planning considerations before relocating within Switzerland

If you're a U.S. citizen living in Switzerland, or considering a move here, understanding cantonal taxes is an important part of your cross-border planning strategy.

📖 Read the full article:

https://www.connectedfinancialplanning.com/swiss-canton-tax

Understanding Swiss cantons is essential to successfully navigating and planning for both Swiss taxes and your cross-border tax situation as a U.S. taxpayer living in Switzerland. In the U.S., federal taxes are the dominant force, and state taxes are a secondary consideration. Switzerland flips this...

10/06/2026

We're excited to share that our founder, Arielle Tucker, CFP®, EA has officially written her first book with Wiley Publishing:

📘 The Expat Money Playbook, Unlocking Your Passport to Wealth

Arielle has spent over a decade working with Americans building lives across borders, helping them navigate the financial, tax, investment, and planning complexities that arise when you live outside the United States.

Along the way, she noticed a common challenge:

Most financial advice assumes you never leave your home country.

But millions of Americans are building careers, raising families, starting businesses, retiring, and creating wealth abroad.

They deserve a roadmap built for the reality of a global life.

The Expat Money Playbook was written for:
✈️ Americans dreaming of moving abroad
🌍 Current expats navigating life in another country
💼 Globally mobile, US-connected professionals and entrepreneurs
🏡 Families planning an international move
📈 Individuals looking to build wealth while managing cross-border complexity

The book brings together practical guidance, real-world examples, and lessons learned from years of working with globally mobile families.

If you've ever wondered how a move abroad could impact your taxes, investments, retirement planning, estate planning, or long-term financial goals, this book was written with you in mind.

📖 Pre-order your copy here:
https://www.passporttowealth.com/expat-money-playbook

08/06/2026

📅 June 15th is Almost Here: A Quick Tax Deadline Reminder for Americans Abroad

If you're a U.S. citizen living outside the United States, June 15th is an important date.

While most Americans file by April 15th, U.S. taxpayers living abroad receive an automatic two-month extension to file their federal tax return until June 15th.

Before the deadline arrives, run through this quick checklist:

✅ Check in with your accountant or tax preparer this week
✅ Confirm whether an extension beyond June 15th has been filed if your return won't be ready
✅ Gather any remaining tax documents or foreign reporting information
✅ Review estimated tax payments and potential balances due
✅ Make sure FBAR and other international reporting requirements are on your radar

A few common mistakes to avoid:

❌ Don't assume your tax return will be completed by June 15th without confirming with your preparer
❌ Don't wait until the last minute to request an extension if additional time is needed
❌ Don't assume living abroad means you don't have a U.S. filing obligation

For globally mobile families, tax compliance often involves multiple countries, foreign accounts, pensions, investments, and reporting requirements. A little planning now can help avoid unnecessary stress later.

Need help navigating cross-border tax and financial planning? Connected Financial Planning specializes in helping U.S. citizens build wealth while living internationally.

📩 Want more cross-border tax and financial planning insights? Join our free email course:https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/615896/119620427794351122/share

01/06/2026

There is a stage of business growth where success starts to feel heavy.

The calendar is full.

The work is meaningful.

The opportunities are coming in.

And yet, behind the scenes, the founder is still holding too much.

In Arielle Tucker CFP®, EA’s recent interview on the Hey Boss Mama podcast, she shared an honest look at what it means to grow a highly specialized business while navigating capacity, visibility, family life, content creation, and support systems.

One of the central themes of the conversation was simple:
“There’s just one me, and that’s not very scalable.”

For many founders, especially those running expertise-driven service businesses, growth is not only about finding more clients.

It is about asking better questions:
→ What work truly requires my expertise?
→ What can be systematized, documented, or delegated?
→ Where is my visibility creating opportunities?
→ How can content become a system instead of another task?
→ How can tools like AI support the business without diluting the message?

At Connected Financial Planning, this is a conversation we understand deeply.

We often work with busy executives, founders, and highly capable professionals who are navigating complex cross-border lives.

They are smart, successful, and used to solving hard problems. But even the smartest people need thought partners.

Especially when their financial life spans multiple countries, tax systems, investment rules, currencies, retirement accounts, estate considerations, and family priorities.

Our work with US expats and globally mobile families is highly specialized. Yes, it requires technical expertise. But it also requires space to think strategically, ask better questions, organize competing priorities, and make decisions with more clarity.

Arielle’s conversation with Hey Boss Mama is a thoughtful reminder that sustainable growth does not come from doing everything yourself.

It comes from protecting your best energy for the work that actually needs you.

And sometimes, that means bringing in the right thought partners before you hit capacity.

We hope you enjoy this podcast:

If your business is growing but everything still depends on you, this breaks down how visibility, support, systems, content, and AI can help.

29/05/2026

Cross-border tax treaties are not loophole-hunting grounds (or are they?!).

In recent years, certain U.S. taxpayers used personal retirement schemes as a way to contribute highly appreciated assets, sell those assets, and claim that the gains and future distributions should be exempt from U.S. tax under the U.S.-Malta tax treaty.

The IRS disagreed.

The U.S. and Malta later clarified that these arrangements were not intended to allow U.S. taxpayers to move appreciated assets into Malta-based retirement accounts and avoid U.S. tax. The IRS has also treated certain Malta pension plan transactions as potentially abusive tax arrangements.

Why does this matter?
Because cross-border planning often lives in the tension between:
→ What the treaty says
→ What the local law allows
→ What the IRS believes was intended
→ What a taxpayer can actually defend

For U.S. citizens and green card holders abroad, this is an important reminder that “tax-favored” in one country does not automatically mean “tax-free” in the United States.

Retirement accounts, pensions, trusts, investment wrappers, insurance products, and tax treaties can all interact in unexpected ways.

And when the planning strategy only works because of an aggressive treaty interpretation, the risk may not show up until years later.

At Connected Financial Planning, we help globally mobile, U.S.-connected families think through these issues before they make major financial moves across borders.

Because sometimes the most expensive financial decision is the one that looked clever at the time.

If you are building wealth across borders, join our six-week email course on cross-border tax and financial insights: https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/615896/119620427794351122/share

https://www.npr.org/2026/05/27/nx-s1-5835164/malta-tax-evasion-avoidance-loophole

Planet Money NPR

Tax avoidance -- that is, legally reducing your tax bill -- is as American as apple pie. But the line between tax avoidance and tax evasion is often a grey one. On today’s show, a collaboration with Tax Notes, we listen in on the secret tapes that show how the wealthiest Americans avoid taxes. We ...

28/05/2026

A new USCIS policy memo may significantly change how some U.S. green card applicants move through the process.

Historically, many eligible individuals already living in the United States could apply for a green card through Adjustment of Status.

In practice, that meant:
Eligible person is in the U.S.
→ Files Adjustment of Status
→ Remains in the U.S. while the application is reviewed
→ May receive a green card without leaving the country

The new memo suggests a very different approach.

USCIS is now describing Adjustment of Status as “extraordinary discretionary relief” and an “act of administrative grace,” rather than a standard parallel pathway to permanent residence.

In practical terms, that could mean:
Eligible person is in the U.S.
→ Files, or plans to file, Adjustment of Status
→ USCIS applies a higher discretion-based standard
→ Applicant may be pushed toward consular processing abroad instead
→ Leaving the U.S. could create re-entry risks, family separation, employment disruption, or multi-year bars for some applicants

That last point is critical.

For some people, “just apply from abroad” is not simple. It may create real legal, financial, and personal consequences.

The memo does not clearly answer several important questions, including whether pending applications will be affected, which applicants will face the most scrutiny, and how broadly USCIS will apply this new standard.

For globally mobile families, this is another reminder that immigration, tax residency, financial planning, employment, and long-term wealth decisions are deeply connected.

A visa or green card strategy is not just an immigration question.

It can affect:
→ Where you can live
→ Whether you can work
→ How your income is taxed
→ Whether your family can stay together
→ Whether your financial plan still works

Before making a major move, changing status, or assuming the “standard path” still applies, it is worth getting coordinated advice from qualified immigration, tax, and financial professionals.

The rules are changing quickly. Planning reactively can be expensive.

For more cross-border tax and financial planning insights, join our six-week email course here: https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/615896/119620427794351122/share

Read more from the American Immigration Council https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/blog/green-card-news-uscis-memo/

USCIS issued a memo that may force immigrants to leave the country to apply for green cards, upending and complicating the usual process.

27/05/2026

“It really cracks me up that you thought you were going to have an adventure without it being hard.”

That is what Carl Richards’ daughter told him when he complained about how difficult their family's move to New Zealand had become.

That may be one of the best summaries of expat life we have heard. Just because something is hard doesn't mean it isn't worth doing.

This week on Passport To Wealth™, Arielle Tucker, CFP®, EA sits down with Carl Richards — The New York Times Sketch Guy, CFP®, and author of 'Your Money: Reimagining Wealth in 101 Simple Sketches' to talk about what really happens when you choose to build a life abroad.

Carl spent his savings to move his family outside the United States. It was hard. He would do it again.

In this conversation, Carl and Arielle discuss:
→ The difference between worrying and planning
→ Why fear can be useful, but worry often keeps us stuck
→ U.S. work culture that isn't the norm anywhere else
→ Why cost is often the excuse people name, while the deeper fear goes unspoken
→ The cognitive load of starting over in a new country
→ Why hard does not mean you made the wrong decision

Because moving abroad is not just a financial decision. It is a life decision.

And while planning matters deeply, no plan removes all friction, uncertainty, or discomfort.

Sometimes, hard is not the warning sign.

Sometimes, the entry fee is hard.

🎙️ Listen to the full episode here: https://www.passporttowealth.com/carl-richards-moving-abroad-worry-list

Connected Financial Planning

NYT sketch guy Carl Richards on moving his family to New Zealand, the blank worry list, and why most people never go.

26/05/2026

This year, Whit Monday in many parts of Europe fell on the same day as Memorial Day in the United States.

Two very different holidays.

Memorial Day is a U.S. federal holiday dedicated to mourning and honoring the service members who died while serving in the armed forces.

Whit Monday, celebrated the day after Pentecost, is a Christian holiday commemorating the descent of the Holy Spirit upon Jesus’ apostles.

But the cultural contrast around how these holidays are observed says a lot.

In the U.S., Memorial Day has also become one of the biggest retail sales weekends of the year. Many businesses stay open. Sales promotions dominate inboxes. For many families, it marks the unofficial start of summer.

In much of Europe, holidays like Whit Monday often mean something very different: businesses close, no shopping!

Neither approach is inherently right or wrong, but for globally mobile Americans, these differences can be striking.

And when you move abroad, these differences show up in practical ways:
→ when banks and offices are closed
→ when schools take breaks
→ when businesses slow down
→ when your work expectations no longer match local norms
→ and when your U.S.-based clients, colleagues, or family are operating on a completely different calendar

Cross-border life is not only about taxes, investments, visas, or bank accounts.

If you enjoy insights on cross-border living, cultural differences, and the practical realities of life abroad, subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more perspectives and updates: https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/615896/119620427794351122/share