Cross-border tax work is rarely about one form. It is about understanding a person’s residence, citizenship, family relationships, accounts, property, business interests, and money movement over time. A Bay Area resident may receive salary and equity compensation in the United States, keep a bank account in China, own inherited property, support parents, and invest through more than one institution. Each fact can affect the US return or create a separate information-reporting obligation.
Silicon Valley Tax helps clients in San Jose and throughout the Bay Area organize those facts and understand the US side of the analysis. Our team includes Mandarin-speaking CPAs and Enrolled Agents. We can coordinate with a China-side adviser when the matter requires local-law advice; we do not replace that adviser.
Residency Comes First
US tax residency is not determined solely by the date a person received a visa or opened a US bank account. Green-card status, citizenship, days present, the substantial presence test, and treaty positions can all matter. A person who is a US tax resident may have worldwide-income reporting obligations even when income remains in a foreign account. A person who is not a resident may still have US-source income or other filing requirements.
We build a year-by-year timeline and identify the documents needed to support it. That is safer than applying a single label to a complicated family situation. For families, each person may have a different status, so the analysis needs to cover spouses, parents, children, and entities separately.
China Accounts and Assets
Bank accounts, securities accounts, fixed deposits, and other financial accounts in China may create FBAR and FATCA questions. An FBAR generally applies when the aggregate maximum value of foreign financial accounts exceeds $10,000 at any time during the year. Form 8938 has different thresholds and can cover specified foreign financial assets beyond the accounts reported on an FBAR. The forms overlap, but they are not interchangeable.
Foreign real estate is another area that needs careful classification. Directly owned personal-use property, rental property, property held through a company, and an interest received through an inheritance can have different US reporting and tax consequences. We ask who owns the asset, who receives income, how the asset was acquired, and whether a foreign entity or trust is involved.
Income, Gifts, Inheritances, and Transfers
Transfers between China and the United States are not all the same. A family transfer may be a gift, a loan, a reimbursement, a distribution, or business revenue. A property sale may create gain, basis, withholding, and foreign-tax questions. An inheritance may require documentation of the date-of-death value and the identity of the estate or trust. We identify the transaction before deciding how to report it.
Records matter. Keep bank statements, remittance confirmations, purchase and sale documents, inheritance materials, loan agreements, and correspondence that explains the purpose of a transfer. When records are in Chinese, preserve the original document and provide a clear working translation or explanation. Do not delete the original because a US form was prepared.
Coordination and Compliance
Cross-border tax work may involve the federal return, California return, FBAR, Form 8938, Form 3520, foreign tax credit analysis, and amended returns. Not every client needs every form. Our process is to create a reporting map, reconcile the map to the return, and identify open facts before filing. If a client has missed filings, we discuss the available correction paths and the importance of non-willfulness and complete disclosure.
中美跨境税务服务
中美跨境税务问题通常不只是填写一张表格。我们需要了解您的美国税务居民身份、在中国的银行和证券账户、房产、继承资产、家庭企业、收入、赠与和资金转账。我们会按年度整理时间线,再判断哪些收入和资产需要在美国申报。
美国税务居民如果在海外金融账户的总额在一年中的任何时间超过一万美元,通常需要考虑FBAR。Form 8938是另一项不同的申报,门槛和资产范围不同。海外房产、外国公司、信托、继承和家庭成员代持账户也可能需要单独分析。
我们可以用中文、英文或两种语言结合的方式沟通,并审核中文银行流水、汇款凭证、房产文件、继承资料和贷款协议。需要中国当地法律意见时,我们会建议您同时咨询合适的中国律师或税务顾问。我们负责美国税务部分以及与其他顾问的协调。
How We Organize a Cross-Border Review
We start with a timeline. The timeline records when the client entered the United States, received a visa or green card, became a citizen, opened or closed accounts, acquired property, received an inheritance, started a business, and moved money between countries. It often explains why a filing obligation changed from one year to the next.
Next, we create an asset and income inventory. For each account or asset, we record the owner, institution or entity, currency, highest value, income produced, and documents available. For family-held assets, we ask what each person can do with the account and who receives the economic benefit. That distinction can matter for ownership and signature authority.
Finally, we reconcile the inventory to the federal and California returns and information forms. If a China-side adviser prepared a local filing, we use it as part of the document set but do not assume it answers a US reporting question. The client receives a list of open questions and a clear explanation of what is known and missing.
When to Start
The best time to begin is before a property sale, inheritance distribution, account closure, business investment, or move between countries. A review after the money has moved can still be useful, but it may be harder to reconstruct values, ownership, and the reason for the transaction. Early planning also leaves time to request certified records and coordinate advice across jurisdictions.
Clients should preserve the original Chinese documents and a record of exchange-rate assumptions used in the analysis. The US filing may require maximum account values rather than a year-end balance, and a property or investment may need historical cost information. Good records are part of the cross-border plan, not an administrative afterthought.
Our work is deliberately fact-specific. We do not assume that every Chinese account is reportable, that every transfer is income, or that every family member has the same US status. We document the conclusion and the facts supporting it so the client can understand the result and revisit it when circumstances change.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to report an account that earned no interest?
Potentially. FBAR analysis is based on account type, ownership or authority, and aggregate maximum value. Whether the account earned income is not the only test.
Can you handle a missed filing?
We can review the history and discuss an appropriate correction path. The right approach depends on residency, years involved, income, account values, and the reason the forms were missed.
Do you provide China legal advice?
No. We handle US tax and coordinate with China-side advisers when needed. This page is general information, not individualized advice.
Schedule a complimentary consultation or call (408) 383-9870.