US taxes can become surprisingly complicated when you spend the year moving between countries and earning money as a freelancer.
There are physical presence rules to keep track of, self-employment taxes to consider, and the added question of whether your former home state still considers you a resident.
Universal Tax Professionals pairs every client with a licensed Certified Public Accountant or Enrolled Agent who handles these situations directly, offering accurate, compliant tax filing wherever you happen to be working from.
Key benefits include:
- Direct CPA or EA access: every return is prepared and reviewed by a licensed accountant, not routed through a chatbot or automated software.
- Self-employment tax expertise: quarterly estimates, deductible expenses, and Schedule Self-Employment calculations handled alongside standard returns.
- Physical presence tracking: help documenting the 330-day test needed to claim the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion.
- Global coordination: partnerships with local tax experts in the UK, EU, and other regions to keep US and local filings in sync.
- Transparent flat-fee pricing: the cost is confirmed upfront, with no hourly billing surprises.
With free filing extensions and year-round support, the service is great for Americans who spend much of the year outside the US. The company focuses on the tax nuances that come with a constantly changing location.
What Kind of Tax Help Do You Need?
It usually comes down to how you earn your money, where you spend your time and whether you have financial accounts or business interests outside the US. The table below gives a quick overview of some situations that may require additional attention.
| Your situation | What to consider |
|---|---|
| You have one US income source and live in one country | Your tax return may be relatively straightforward |
| You freelance or run your own business | You may need to account for business income, expenses and self-employment tax |
| You move between several countries each year | Keep careful records of where you’ve spent your time |
| You have foreign bank accounts or investments | Check whether additional US reporting applies |
| You own or operate a foreign company | You may have additional reporting requirements |
| You’ve missed previous US tax filings | Speak to a tax professional about your options before filing |
For a broader look at residency rules and exclusions, see our tax planning guide for digital nomads.
Universal Tax Professionals’ Services for Digital Nomads
Universal Tax Professionals’ service is built around the situations that come up most often for location-independent workers, from tracking travel days for the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion to reporting foreign business entities set up along the way.
Tax Filing Expertise
Every client works directly with a CPA or Enrolled Agent who reviews their travel calendar, income sources, and filing history before recommending a strategy.
The accountant reviews where you’ve been and how long you’ve spent there when working out whether you meet the relevant requirements.
Freelancers also have to account for self-employment tax, estimated payments and business expenses. Freelance and 1099 earnings carry a 15.3% self-employment tax that the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion does not touch. Accountants can help with calculating estimated payments and deductible expenses related to running the business, such as coworking memberships and equipment.
Multi-Country Coordination
Universal Tax Professionals maintains partnerships with tax professionals in the UK, EU, and other regions, which helps when a nomad’s local tax residency status changes partway through the year.
Coordinating both filings at once reduces the risk of double taxation and keeps Foreign Tax Credit calculations accurate.
Support and Accessibility
Documents are handled through a secure online portal, so paperwork can be uploaded from anywhere with an internet connection.
The team includes multilingual accountants who can read foreign tax documents directly, which helps when local tax certificates are not in English.
Handling Foreign Accounts and Entities
Nomads frequently open local bank accounts for rent or daily spending in each country they work from.
Once combined foreign account balances cross the reporting threshold, additional filings come into play, and higher asset levels can trigger further disclosure requirements.
Nomads who set up a foreign company to bill clients, such as an Estonian e-Residency business, also need that entity reported correctly to avoid steep penalties for a missed filing.
Universal Tax Professionals also handles some of the less straightforward reporting requirements that can come with living and working abroad. That includes Streamlined Filing Compliance Procedures for people who have fallen behind on previous returns, as well as Form 5471 for certain foreign corporations. The company also deals with PFIC reporting, which can become relevant when US taxpayers hold certain foreign investments, e.g. foreign mutual funds, ETFs, or investment accounts abroad.
Pricing, Fee Structure and What’s Included
Pricing runs on a transparent flat-fee model instead of hourly billing, so the cost is confirmed before any work begins.
The flat fee covers preparation, the CPA or EA review, and a full walkthrough of the draft return. More complex situations, like a foreign corporation or several years of catch-up filing, are quoted separately once the scope is clear.
Extensions and Flexibility
Free filing extensions are available for nomads who need more time to gather documents while traveling. Payment options are flexible as well, supporting clients who are paying from outside the US.
Universal Tax Professionals: Pros and Cons
The CPA-led approach fits nomads with real filing complexity, though it is worth weighing two trade-offs against your own situation:
- Cost: a full-service, CPA-reviewed return costs more than DIY tax software, which may be enough for a nomad with a single, simple income source.
- Turnaround: because a licensed accountant personally reviews every return, filing is not instant the way self-service software can be, which matters if you are filing at the last minute.
How to Work With Universal Tax Professionals
The process is designed to be handled remotely, which means you don’t need to be in the US to get started.
Getting Started
New clients upload documents through a secure online portal, so the process can be handled from wherever they’re living or working. Your assigned CPA or EA reviews your income sources and travel history, then confirms which forms and elections apply before any work begins.
If you are not sure where to start, you can send the team an email or book a consultation to talk through your situation.
Either option is a good way to get a clear picture of what you actually need to file based on your income, travel pattern, and any foreign accounts or entities, before deciding how to move forward.
Managing Complex Situations
For nomads running a business through a foreign entity, or juggling residency questions across two or three countries in the same year, they handle the coordination directly rather than leaving you to piece it together.
That includes flagging Foreign Earned Income Exclusion risk before a US trip runs too long, calculating quarterly estimates as income comes in, and keeping foreign account and entity reporting current year over year.
When Professional Tax Help Makes Sense
Filing taxes from abroad doesn’t need to be difficult, but it can become complicated when your income, location and financial accounts span multiple countries.
Between physical presence tracking, self-employment tax, sticky state residency and foreign entity reporting, there are a lot of places for a self-filed return to go wrong.
Universal Tax Professionals addresses these challenges directly, pairing every client with a licensed CPA or EA who understands the nomad lifestyle rather than treating it as an exception. Offering transparent flat-fee pricing and year-round support for Americans who work from wherever they happen to be.
About the author
Universal Tax Professionals is a US tax firm providing expat tax services for Americans living abroad. Founded by Josh Katz, CPA, a former Big Four accountant, the firm handles every kind of expat tax situation, from simple returns to complex filings involving businesses, investments, and back taxes, serving clients in over 150 countries.
