2025 US-Australia Cross-Border Tax Update with Tom Howard of Pilot Partners

The Essential Tax Podcast with Mishkin Santa, Season 2, Episode 2 - 2025 US-Australia Cross-Border Tax Update with Tom Howard of Pilot PartnersIn this episode of The Essential Tax Podcast, Mishkin Santa speaks with Tom Howard, CA, Associate Director of Taxation Advisory at Pilot Chartered Accountants in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In this episode, Tom and Mishkin dive into the intricacies of Australian Superannuation, particularly focusing on self-managed super funds (SMSFs) and how they compare to U.S. retirement structures like Roth IRAs and 401(k) plans.Tune in for these key takeaways:The basics of Australian Superannuation—a protected, tax-advantaged retirement savings vehicleThe flexibility and appeal of Self-Managed Super Funds (SMSFs) for family groups with significant wealthTax benefits of contributing to Australian SuperannuationThe impact of capital gains tax on property investments within SMSFsRegulatory limitations on Australian Super contributionsChallenges for U.S. taxpayers with Australian Super fundsComplications arising when Australians use their SMSFs to invest in U.S. real estate, including FIRPTA withholding on sales and potential U.S. tax compliance issuesThe process for obtaining rulings from the Australian Tax Office (ATO)Some differences between Australia’s private ruling process (no ATO fee) and the U.S. IRS (high fees for private rulings).Learn more about Tom Howard:Visit the Services page on Pilot Partners’ website: https://www.pilotpartners.com.au/services/View Tom’s profile on Pilot Partners’ website: https://www.pilotpartners.com.au/people/thomas-howard/Connect with Tom on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-howard-231136116/?originalSubdomain=auFollow Pilot Partners on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/pilot-partners/Visit Pilot Partners’ YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJDG2Jpwm0zy4HsNWtwP2eAFollow Pilot Partners on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pilotpartnersFurther Resources:Pilot Partners: https://www.pilotpartners.com.au/Form 3520: https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-3520 Form 3520-A: https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-3520-a TWG Foreign Pension Blog Post: https://thewolfgroup.com/blog/proposed-regulations-issued-in-2024-affect-your-options-for-foreign-pension-reporting/ Form 5471: https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-5471 Form 8992: https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-8992 Form 1116: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1116.pdfInstructions to Form 1116: https://www.irs.gov/instructions/i1116 ***********************************About The Essential Tax Podcast:In each episode of The Essential Tax Podcast, Mishkin Santa takes on the complex world of tax — all the jargon, acronyms, and stuff that makes your eyes glaze over, and explains it in an impactful way to understand the complex and unknown areas.Watch or listen to more episodes of The Essential Tax Podcast: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheWolfGroupPC Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-essential-tax-podcast/id1754660944 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2beZfOpwfBlBgWHlNelAOfConnect and learn more from your host, Mishkin Santa: Connect with Mishkin on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/msanta Follow The Wolf Group on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-wolf-group-pc Read Mishkin’s bio on The Wolf Group’s website: https://thewolfgroup.com/our-people/mishkin-santa