How to report taxes on stock sold in Spain with $4000 profit?

Thanks for the quick response! I don't think my Spanish account ever went above $10,000 so hopefully I can skip that FBAR thing. But I'm confused about how to calculate the cost basis since I bought the stocks years ago when the exchange rate was different. Do I use the exchange rate from when I bought or when I sold?

For calculating your cost basis, you'll need to convert the purchase price from euros to dollars using the exchange rate on the date you purchased the stocks. Then for the sale proceeds, you'll convert using the exchange rate on the date you sold. This means exchange rate fluctuations between purchase and sale can affect your gain or loss. For your records, you should document which exchange rates you used (Treasury Department or other reliable source) in case of questions later. And even if your account stayed under $10,000, if you have multiple foreign accounts that together exceeded $10,000, you'd still need the FBAR. Better safe than sorry when it comes to foreign account reporting!

Does it work with all countries or just certain ones? I have investments in Japan and always struggle with reporting those correctly.

Sounds useful but I'm skeptical about giving my financial info to some random website. How secure is it and do they keep your data? I'm paranoid about this stuff after all the data breaches lately.

It works with pretty much all countries - I've seen people use it for investments from all over. They have specific templates for major markets like EU countries, Japan, China, etc., but can handle statements from anywhere as long as they show the transaction details. Regarding security, they use bank-level encryption and don't store your actual financial documents after processing. I was worried about that too, but their security page explains everything. You can also mask account numbers before uploading if you're extra cautious. I've used it for two years now without any issues.

Wait, so this thing actually gets you through to a real IRS agent? How does that even work? The IRS phone system is notoriously impossible.

I don't believe this for a second. Nothing can get you through to the IRS faster. They're completely overwhelmed and undermanned. Sounds like a scam to me.

Yes, it actually connects you to a real IRS agent! It uses an automated system that navigates the IRS phone tree and waits on hold for you. When an agent picks up, you get a call back to connect with them. It's legitimate technology, not some insider connection or anything shady. I was just as skeptical as you are. I tried calling the IRS six times on my own and never got through. The longest I waited was 3.5 hours before getting disconnected. With Claimyr, I got a call back in about 20 minutes when an agent was on the line. The representative I spoke with answered all my questions about reporting my Spanish stock sales and foreign tax credits.

Is there a threshold for this Spanish filing requirement? I have a very small investment account in Spain (under €1000) and wondering if I need to bother with this.

Yes, there is a threshold, but it's based on your income, not account size. If your Spanish-source income is below about €1,600 annually, you're generally exempt from filing the Modelo 210. However, rules can change and there are exceptions, so it's worth double-checking with a Spanish tax advisor if you're uncertain. When I had a similar situation, I found that even though I wasn't required to file in Spain, having documentation from my Spanish bank about any tax they withheld was crucial for claiming my US foreign tax credit correctly. Ask your bank for an annual tax statement ("certificado fiscal anual") to help with your US filing.

Yes, the US-Spain tax treaty does address capital gains. Generally, under Article 13, capital gains from selling stocks are only taxable in your country of residence. So if you're a US resident, technically only the US should tax these gains. However, Spain might still withhold taxes, and you'd need to use Form 1116 to claim the foreign tax credit. As always with international tax, there are exceptions and complications. For example, if the Spanish company derives most of its value from real estate in Spain, different rules might apply.