I'm in exactly the same boat but with accounts in Germany. According to my research, if you file the FBAR before they contact you about it, you should be fine without penalties. I just did mine last week (about 2 months after filing taxes) and included a brief statement explaining that I didn't know about the requirement as a first-time expat.

Don't panic! You're definitely not alone in this situation. The FBAR requirement catches a lot of Americans living abroad off guard, especially digital nomads who are dealing with tax obligations for the first time. The good news is that $13,000 isn't a huge amount over the $10,000 threshold, and since you're proactively trying to fix this before being contacted, you're in a much better position than someone who gets caught later. The IRS generally recognizes that many people genuinely don't know about FBAR requirements, especially first-time expats. I'd recommend filing the delinquent FBAR as soon as possible through the BSA E-Filing System on FinCEN's website. Make sure to include a clear explanation that you weren't aware of the requirement as a new expat. Keep it simple and honest - something like "As a first-time digital nomad, I was unaware of the FBAR filing requirement and am submitting this form as soon as I learned of the obligation." The key is acting quickly and voluntarily. Most people in your exact situation who file proactively don't face penalties, especially for non-willful violations where the amounts aren't massive. You've got this!

As someone who recently went through this exact process with my small tech consulting business in Amsterdam (also a V.O.F.), I completely understand your frustration! The W-8BEN-E is genuinely one of the most confusing tax forms out there. Here's what I learned that might help: For a Dutch V.O.F., you're essentially dealing with a pass-through entity similar to a US partnership. The key sections you need are Part I (basic info), Part III (treaty benefits), and Part XXIX (signature). For Part I line 5, definitely select "Partnership" since that's how the IRS views a V.O.F. For the TIN fields - you can leave the US TIN blank since you don't need one for basic consulting. For foreign TIN, use your KVK number including any leading zeros. Skip GIIN entirely unless you're somehow a financial institution (which you're not). The treaty benefits section (Part III) is where you'll claim Article 7 from the US-Netherlands tax treaty at 0% withholding rate, assuming you're just providing remote consulting services with no permanent establishment in the US. One thing that really helped me was printing out the form and physically crossing out all the sections that don't apply - it made the relevant parts much clearer. You're basically filling out maybe 15% of the actual form. The whole process took me about 2 hours once I figured out what applied to us, and our US client accepted it without any issues. Feel free to ask if you have specific questions about any of the sections!

I went through this exact same process with my small consulting business in Belgium last year, and I totally feel your pain with the W-8BEN-E! It's honestly one of the most intimidating forms I've ever encountered. What really helped me was breaking it down into just the essentials for a simple EU consulting business like yours. For your Dutch V.O.F., you're looking at completing maybe 4-5 sections total out of the entire form. The key is understanding that most of those complex sections are for financial institutions, large corporations, or entities with complicated ownership structures - none of which apply to a small 3-person consulting firm. Here's what made it click for me: think of the form as the IRS trying to cover every possible type of foreign entity in one massive document, but your V.O.F. is actually a pretty straightforward case. You're a transparent partnership providing services remotely - that's about as simple as it gets from a US tax perspective. One thing I wish someone had told me upfront: don't try to understand every section of the form. Focus only on Parts I, III, and XXIX, and you'll have everything you need. The rest is just noise for your situation. Once I adopted that mindset, what seemed like an impossible task became totally manageable. Your US client will be familiar with receiving these forms from foreign consultants, so they'll know exactly what to do with it once you submit it. You're definitely not the first Dutch V.O.F. they've worked with!

My transcript been saying 'as of' date March 4th for like 2 months now... anyone else?

Looking at your transcript, that code 807 "Reduced or removed W-2 or 1099 withholding" is definitely concerning - it means the IRS removed your $10,557 in withholding credits, which is why you now owe $3,472 instead of getting a refund. This usually happens when they can't verify your W-2s or suspect there's an issue with the withholding reported. You'll need to contact them ASAP to find out why they removed it and provide documentation to get it reinstated. The 971 notices should explain what documentation they need from you.

I'm dealing with a very similar situation right now - been waiting since February with a 570 code on my amended return. Reading everyone's explanations about what "sending it over" means has been incredibly helpful! I had no idea that tax advocates have these special internal channels and priority systems. One thing I'm curious about - did your advocate give you any kind of reference number or case ID when she said she was sending it over? My advocate mentioned something about providing me with tracking information, but I haven't received anything yet. Also, are you able to see any changes on your IRS online account or transcript yet, or does that usually update after the processing is complete? Thanks for sharing your experience - it's so reassuring to know that others have gone through this exact process and come out the other side! Keeping my fingers crossed that your 570 code gets released soon.

I'm going through something very similar right now! I've had a 570 code since December and just got assigned a tax advocate two weeks ago. Reading all these explanations about what "sending it over" actually means has been so enlightening - I had no idea there were all these internal processes and priority systems working behind the scenes. My advocate used almost identical language when we spoke last Friday. She said she was "forwarding my case" to the processing department and that I should expect movement within 2-3 weeks. Based on everyone's experiences here, it sounds like this is actually a really positive development! The whole OAR (Operations Assistance Request) system that @Isaiah Cross mentioned makes so much sense. It explains why some amended returns seem to get processed so much faster than others. After 4+ months of feeling completely in the dark about what was happening with my return, it's such a relief to finally understand the actual process. Connor, it sounds like your advocate is doing exactly what she should be doing. The fact that she's staying on your case and actively monitoring the progress is a great sign. Fingers crossed that both of our 570 codes get released soon - this waiting game has been exhausting! Keep us posted on any updates you get.

As someone who's been in the service industry for years, I want to emphasize that catching up on unreported tips is usually way less scary than people think. I was terrified when I realized I had underreported about $2,800 in cash tips over 8 months, but when I finally dealt with it properly on my tax return using Form 4137, it wasn't nearly as bad as I expected. Yes, you pay the full self-employment tax on those tips (15.3% instead of 7.65%), but for most servers in lower tax brackets, you often still come out ahead because of refundable credits like the Earned Income Credit. Plus, those tips count toward your Social Security earnings record, which helps your future benefits. The key is being proactive about it. The IRS has way bigger fish to fry than servers who voluntarily report their cash tips correctly, even if it's after the fact. It's the people who never report anything and get caught later who face real problems.

Just wanted to chime in as someone who recently went through this exact situation. I was a server who had been inconsistent about reporting cash tips for about 18 months. When I finally decided to get my act together, I was amazed at how manageable it actually was. I ended up reporting all my unreported tips on Form 4137 for the current tax year only (didn't amend previous years). Even though I had to pay the full 15.3% self-employment tax on those unreported tips, I still got a decent refund because of the Earned Income Credit - my total income was still pretty low. The biggest surprise was that my Social Security statement now shows higher earnings for that year, which will help my future benefits. I wish I had known that earlier because it really is a win-win situation when you do it right. For anyone stressing about this - the IRS really does want you to report your income correctly. They're not trying to destroy people who are making an honest effort to comply. The horror stories you hear are usually about people who got caught hiding income, not people who voluntarily came forward. One tip: keep really good records of your cash tips going forward. I started taking photos of my tip jars at the end of each shift and keeping a simple log. Makes tax time so much easier!