Moving Abroad With Crypto: 4 Situations and Who Fits Each

Moving Abroad With Crypto: 4 Situations and Who Fits Each

Moving abroad with crypto changes where you live, not necessarily whom you owe. A US citizen is generally taxed by the United States on income from anywhere, and that includes gains on coins sold from a laptop in Lisbon or Bangkok. The country you move to may also tax the same gain.

Two firms in our featured program are written up here. Crypto Tax Made Easy, a New Jersey firm that lists Cryptocurrency Investors and Digital Nomads as specialties, fits where the question is records and reporting on the coins. Iota Finance, a Florida accounting, tax and fractional CFO firm that lists Cryptocurrency Investors, Digital Nomads and Equity Compensation, fits where the question is pay, credits and the rest of the move. Neither profile names foreign filings or foreign tax credit work, so ask each firm what it covers. Every firm named is a vetted Sam's List member. The firms written up below are paying members of our featured program, and payment does not buy the language we use or its reviews. How we picked is at the end.

The four situations are not ranked and neither are the firms.

Situation 1: Moving Abroad With Crypto You Plan to Keep Trading

You leave, keep an exchange account and keep selling. US citizens crypto taxes abroad generally work the way they did at home: crypto is property, and a sale, swap or spend is a taxable event reported on your US return. The foreign earned income exclusion applies to wages and similar earned income, not to capital gains, so it does not shelter coin sales.

Where you now live may also tax the gain, sometimes at a different rate or on different timing. A credit or treaty may reduce double tax, but you generally have to claim it.

Crypto Tax Made Easy may fit. It serves clients nationwide and is built around digital asset tax.

The limitation: the profile does not say the firm prepares foreign returns or advises on another country's tax, so ask who files the foreign side and who signs it.

Situation 2: Moving Abroad With Crypto Pay or Equity From a Remote Job

You keep a US employer or clients and are paid in dollars, tokens or stock while living overseas. Wages from services you perform abroad can qualify for the foreign earned income exclusion if you meet its tests, and tokens or equity received as pay are generally taxed as compensation when you get them, not only when you sell.

Timing is the common trap. Vesting, a token unlock and a payment can land in different tax years, and a country you left or entered mid-year may treat them differently from the IRS.

Iota Finance may fit. It lists Cryptocurrency Investors, Digital Nomads and Equity Compensation as specialties and serves clients nationwide.

The limitation: the profile does not mention token compensation or the foreign earned income exclusion by name, and a move can change withholding and state obligations too. Bring your pay documents and ask what the firm has handled.

Situation 3: Crypto Foreign Account Reporting and Unfiled Past Years

You are leaving, and your history is a mess: exchanges you no longer use, wallets you cannot trace and years where nothing was reported. Cleaning that up before a move is easier than after, when the exchange may be locked to your US address and a foreign bank may not take your calls.

A crypto foreign account reporting question can sit on top of the records problem. FinCEN has said that, as of now, the FBAR does not cover accounts holding only virtual currency, but it has said that could change, and a foreign exchange account that also holds fiat currency or other reportable assets may still need reporting. Form 8938 turns on whether the holding is a specified foreign financial asset. Ask a preparer how they handle it for you, and keep statements for every account you ever had.

Crypto Tax Made Easy may fit where the work is rebuilding records and filing what is missing.

The limitation: the profile does not mention unfiled returns, amended returns or foreign account forms by name. Ask before you hire, and expect a long document request.

Situation 4: Double Tax, Credits and the Rest of the Move

You are selling coins in a country that taxes the gain, and the United States taxes it too. The foreign tax credit can offset US tax with tax paid abroad, within limits, and a treaty may help. It is a calculation that depends on the type of income, your residency and when each country taxes it.

Moves also raise questions that sit beside the coins: whether a state still counts you as a resident, how to stay compliant with US filing while abroad and what happens to a business or equity you hold. Individuals living abroad on the due date generally get an automatic extension to file, but the tax is still due on time.

Iota Finance may fit. It lists Digital Nomads as a specialty and describes accounting, tax and fractional CFO work for small businesses, startups and entrepreneurs.

The limitation: the profile does not name foreign tax credit work, and the other country's rules are for a local adviser. Ask who coordinates between the two.

Where Crypto Tax Made Easy Fits on Moving Abroad With Crypto

Crypto Tax Made Easy is a digital asset tax firm based in Little Silver, New Jersey, founded in 2021, with six employees and clients nationwide. Its live profile lists Cryptocurrency Investors, Digital Nomads and High Net Worth Individuals as specialties and states no revenue or income minimums.

Crypto Tax Made Easy has 6 verified client reviews on Sam's List. Each review is submitted by an individual who identifies as a client of the firm and rates it on communication, subject-matter knowledge, and overall satisfaction. Reviews reflect those individual experiences and do not represent an endorsement by Sam's List. Crypto Tax Made Easy is a paying member of our featured program, and payment does not buy its reviews. Ratings and rankings are not indicative of future performance or results.

The limitation, plainly: the profile does not describe foreign filings, and a count of reviews shows how many clients wrote something down, not how well a firm handles a move.

Where Iota Finance Fits on Moving Abroad With Crypto

Iota Finance is a Florida firm, founded in 2022, with seven employees, serving clients nationwide. Its live profile names Igor Tutelman CPA as Managing Partner and lists Cryptocurrency Investors, Digital Nomads and Equity Compensation as specialties.

Iota Finance has 14 verified client reviews on Sam's List. Each review is submitted by an individual who identifies as a client of the firm and rates it on communication, subject-matter knowledge, and overall satisfaction. Reviews reflect those individual experiences and do not represent an endorsement by Sam's List. Iota Finance is a paying member of our featured program, and payment does not buy its reviews. Ratings and rankings are not indicative of future performance or results.

The limitation, plainly: the profile lists minimums of $200,000 in income, $500,000 in revenue and $500,000 raised, so a smaller holder may fall outside them. A count of reviews shows how many clients wrote something down, not how well a firm handles an international move.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I still owe US tax on crypto if I move abroad?

Generally yes if you are a US citizen or resident, because the United States taxes worldwide income. Moving abroad with crypto does not end the filing requirement. The country you live in may tax the gain too, and a credit or treaty may reduce double tax.

Does the foreign earned income exclusion cover crypto gains?

No, it applies to earned income such as wages for work done abroad, not to capital gains from selling coins. Pay received in tokens for work you do abroad may qualify if you meet the tests. Confirm with a tax professional.

Do I have to report a foreign crypto exchange account?

FinCEN has said the FBAR does not currently cover accounts holding only virtual currency, though that could change, and an account that also holds fiat or other reportable assets may still need reporting. Form 8938 turns on whether it is a specified foreign financial asset. Ask your preparer how they handle it, and keep statements for every account.

Should I sell crypto before I move?

It depends on your gain, your holding period and where you are going, so run the numbers with a preparer first. A sale before you leave is taxed by the United States and possibly by the place you leave, and one after may be taxed by both countries.

Before you go, export a full transaction history from every exchange and wallet, write down your departure date and list who will file in each country. You can browse accountants on Sam's List, including the firms above, and ask which situations each handles most.

How We Picked These Firms

You should be able to check our work, so here is how this post was built.

The pool. We wrote up two vetted Sam's List members from our featured program, one whose live profile lists Cryptocurrency Investors and Digital Nomads and one that lists those and Equity Compensation. This is not a survey of every accountant who works with crypto holders abroad, and many Sam's List members and other firms not written up here could fit.

How it is organized. The four situations are not ranked and neither are the firms. Each situation is matched to the firm whose live profile most closely describes it.

What review counts mean here. We cite each firm's verified review count and its date from its profile. A count shows how many clients wrote something down. It does not measure technical quality.

What payment does and does not buy. Listing on Sam's List is free, and so is being named in this article. The firms written up here are paying members of our featured program, which is why they get a write-up. What payment does not buy is the language we use about a firm, its review count, or a promise that it fits you.

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About the author: Kimberly Green is the cofounder of Sam's List, where business owners and high earners find vetted CPAs, financial advisors, and fractional CFOs. She's met one-on-one with 400+ financial professionals and writes from the real data behind thousands of client-advisor matches. Ask her anything about finding an accountant - she's heard it all, including the questions people are afraid to ask.