Guides
Big-picture playbooks for cross-border living: digital nomad tax, expat day-counting, remote-worker multi-state, treaty tie-breakers, and audit defense.
32 guides in this category.
- Guides9 min read
What records do you need for a residency audit? A complete checklist
State and federal residency auditors want very specific records. Here's the complete list of what they ask for, what you should keep, and how long to keep it.
Read the guide → - Guides8 min read
The Best Facebook Groups for US Expats and Digital Nomads
Four active Facebook groups for US expats and digital nomads, what each one is good for, and why residency and day-count questions never belong in a thread.
Read the guide → - Guides8 min read
Contemporaneous evidence: what residency auditors actually accept
Auditors distinguish contemporaneous records, created at the time, from reconstructed ones created later. Here's what actually counts as contemporaneous.
Read the guide → - Guides10 min read
Treaty tie-breaker rules: when two countries claim you, who wins?
If two countries both claim you as a tax resident, the treaty tie-breaker decides. How the OECD model applies: permanent home, vital interests, abode.
Read the guide → - Guides12 min read
Defending a residency audit: timeline, evidence, and what auditors actually do
State residency audits target high earners who claim to have left. What to expect, the timeline, the evidence requests, and how to defend your domicile.
Read the guide → - Guides6 min read
Tax Days vs. Topia: a comparison for individual cross-border residents
Topia is enterprise mobility software for global employers. Tax Days is for individuals. Here's why the comparison matters and which is right for you.
Read the guide → - Guides11 min read
The remote worker's multi-state tax guide: nexus, day counts, and double tax
Working remotely from several states triggers nexus, withholding, and potential double taxation. How to track days and avoid a surprise state tax bill.
Read the guide → - Guides7 min read
Tax Days vs. Domicile365: feature, price, and privacy comparison
Domicile365 is a long-running residency tracker for snowbirds and cross-border workers. Tax Days is the iPhone-native alternative. Here's how they compare.
Read the guide → - Guides7 min read
Tax Days vs. iReside: which residency tracker is right for you?
iReside and Tax Days both target privacy-conscious, internationally mobile users. An honest comparison on price, tracking method, coverage and privacy.
Read the guide → - Guides12 min read
The expat day counter guide: residency, treaties, and the rules you'll actually face
For Americans abroad, Brits in the EU, and anyone with a foreign tax home, day counts decide where you owe tax. Here's the playbook for tracking thresholds.
Read the guide → - Guides7 min read
Tax Days vs. TaxBird: which residency tracker is right for you?
TaxBird and Tax Days both target snowbirds and cross-border residents. Here's an honest comparison on price, jurisdictions, GPS, privacy, and audit support.
Read the guide → - Guides8 min read
Tax Days vs. Monaeo: an honest comparison
Monaeo is a long-running residency tracker for high-net-worth individuals at $1,200+ a year. Tax Days is the privacy-first iPhone app at $29.99 a year.
Read the guide → - Guides12 min read
How Snowbirds Should Track Tax Days: US States and the US-Canada Border
Snowbirds cross two very different borders for tax: the state line and the US-Canada border. How to count days for each, and the forms that protect you.
Read the guide → - Guides10 min read
Year-End Residency Review: A December Audit-Prep Checklist
A year end residency review locks in your day count and ties before the tax year closes. Use this December checklist to verify days, fix gaps, and prep early.
Read the guide → - Guides11 min read
Tax Residency for Yacht Crew & Pilots: Seafarers' Earnings & Day Counting
Yacht crew tax residency depends on the days you spend on land, not at sea or in the air. Here's how seafarer reliefs and day counting actually work for crew.
Read the guide → - Guides10 min read
Which Tax Residency Rules Apply to You? State + Visa + Test Matrix
This routing guide explains tax residency rules by situation, matching your country, US state, and visa to the exact test and guide that applies to your case.
Read the guide → - Guides9 min read
Schengen Overstay Penalties & Tax Implications
Schengen overstay penalties range from fines and entry bans to deportation. Here is what overstaying the 90/180 limit costs, plus the tax angle few expect.
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Perpetual Traveler Tax Status: Myth vs Reality
The perpetual traveler tax myth promises a life with no tax home. In reality you almost always keep a domicile somewhere, here is what actually decides it.
Read the guide → - Guides10 min read
Medical, Exempt & Military Days: Official Rules by Jurisdiction
The medical day exception tax residency rule, exempt-individual days, and military days each cut your taxable count under the IRS SPT, US states, and UK SRT.
Read the guide → - Guides10 min read
April Tax Deadline & Residency Audit Season: A Planning Guide
Residency audit season starts in April. Here's how to file a clean part-year or nonresident return and pre-build day-count evidence that survives an audit.
Read the guide → - Guides9 min read
Schengen 90/180 with Multiple Passports: Can You Reset Your Count?
Schengen multiple passports do not reset your 90/180 day count. The limit follows the person, not the document. Here is how it works and what overstaying costs.
Read the guide → - Guides10 min read
Tax Residency for Retirees: Social Security, Medicare IRMAA & Domicile
Retiree tax residency turns on domicile and day count: it sets how your Social Security, pension, and IRA withdrawals are taxed, and it shapes Medicare too.
Read the guide → - Guides11 min read
Tax residency audit defense: the evidence hierarchy and what precedent rewards
Residency audit defense is won on evidence, not arguments. Here's the evidence hierarchy auditors weight, contemporaneous over reconstructed, and why.
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New Year Tax Residency Planning: The 2026 Checklist for Snowbirds & Expats
A tax residency planning checklist for 2026: reset your day count, lock in your domicile, and stay under the thresholds that matter for snowbirds and expats.
Read the guide → - Guides11 min read
Dual Citizens & Treaty Tie-Breakers: When the US Saving Clause Overrides
Dual citizen tax residency: when two countries both claim you, a treaty tie-breaker picks one, but the US saving clause can override it. Here's how to tell.
Read the guide → - Guides11 min read
Tax Residency for Crypto Traders: Capital Gains by Jurisdiction & the 30% Trap
Crypto trader tax residency decides how your gains are taxed: a jurisdiction guide to capital gains, the US nonresident 30% trap, and exchange KYC day proof.
Read the guide → - Guides9 min read
Tax Residency Spreadsheet vs App: Why Google Sheets Won't Survive an Audit
A tax residency spreadsheet feels free and flexible, but it fails under audit. Here's an honest comparison of tracking days in Google Sheets vs a dedicated app.
Read the guide → - Guides10 min read
Tax Residency Edge Cases: Do Layovers, Partial Days & the Midnight Rule Count?
Whether a layover counts as day tax residency depends on the rule. New York counts any part of a day; the IRS and UK midnight rule are kinder. Full guide.
Read the guide → - Guides10 min read
How Many Days Can I Spend in a Country Before Becoming a Tax Resident?
Wondering how many days tax resident status takes? It's usually 183 days a year, but the US, UK, and US states count differently. Get the per-country answer.
Read the guide → - Guides10 min read
Best Tax Residency Tracker Apps 2026: Complete Comparison
An honest 2026 guide to the best tax residency tracker apps: TaxBird, Domicile365, Monaeo, Topia, iReside, and Tax Days on price, coverage, and privacy.
Read the guide → - Guides12 min read
The digital nomad tax guide: residency, Schengen, and the rules that catch you
Digital nomads face overlapping tax-residency rules in every country they visit. The playbook for avoiding accidental tax residency while working abroad.
Read the guide → - Guides9 min read
How the 183-day rule decides your tax residency
A plain-English guide to the 183-day rule used by most countries. How a 'day' is counted, what triggers tax residency, and where the rule has surprising twists.
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