I am planning to sell a house in Albania (Europe). This house was given to me as a gift by my parents. If I sell this house, the Albanian government will hold 10% of the total sale in taxes. Do I have to report this money to IRS even though I paid the Albanian government 10%? If you are a resident of the US (i.e. a citizen or permanent resident/green card holder) then you pay income taxes on income “world wide”. If you paid taxes on the gain in another country, then you may and probably qualify for a foreign tax credit for taxes paid to Albania (we have no tax treaty with Albania). There is not a 20% tax to the US if you are filing world wide taxes here in the US; it’s the tax bracket you are in based upon US tax laws and the top capital

A long time friend of mine told me that she has not filed tax returns in over 40 years. Now, she is going to retire and is afraid she will not be able to get her social security checks. What can she do? Will she be arrested? Go to jail? What can she do about this at this late time in her life? I have dealt with these issues many times over the years. The issue of unfiled tax returns really doesn’t mean going back more than the current year plus 7 years as a policy stated by both the IRS and the Commonwealth of Mass. They have the right to go back more but as a practical matter they don’t. Criminal doesn’t usaully come into play either if she voluntarily files the returns for the periods mentioned. If her social security comes from wages paid to her then she