Residency date
Map green-card status, U.S. travel days, elections, treaty questions, and the likely start of worldwide taxation.
Plan Your U.S. Taxes Before You Move
CPA-led planning for families, investors, and business owners preparing to become U.S. tax residents.
We help connect your residency date, worldwide assets, foreign companies, investments, family transfers, and first U.S. filing - while planning choices may still remain.
The intro call confirms fit, timing, and scope. Detailed document review, calculations, and recommendations require a paid engagement.
Plan before residency begins.Timing | assets | ownership | reporting
CPA-led strategyFederal + CaliforniaWorldwide asset reviewSecure implementation
The pre-arrival planning window
One move can change how the U.S. taxes your worldwide life
U.S. tax residency can affect income, investments, companies, gifts, trusts, real estate, and financial accounts across countries. We identify the pressure points before the first return is due.
Foreign investments
Screen foreign funds, investment accounts, pensions, and insurance products for U.S. tax and reporting risk.
Family gifts
Review planned gifts, inheritances, family loans, trusts, and the records needed to explain cross-border transfers.
Foreign business
Map companies, partnerships, ownership, compensation, distributions, and potential U.S. information returns.
Real estate
Review foreign and U.S. property, rental income, basis records, ownership, financing, and a planned sale or purchase.
First U.S. filing
Build a first-year calendar for income tax, estimates, foreign tax credits, FBAR, and international reporting forms.
What we coordinate
A worldwide tax map tied to your arrival date
We connect your timeline with assets, income, companies, trusts, gifts, and reporting obligations across countries - so you can see the likely U.S. tax consequences before choices become difficult to reverse.
Discuss your planned moveResidency timelineArrival, U.S. days, visa or green-card facts, spouse status, elections, and treaty questions
Worldwide asset mapAccounts, investments, property, companies, trusts, pensions, insurance, and digital assets
Investment risk scanForeign funds, holding structures, basis records, income history, and reporting complexity
Business ownershipEntities, ownership, management, payroll, compensation, loans, distributions, and bookkeeping
Family transfersGifts, inheritances, trusts, family loans, joint ownership, and source-of-funds documentation
Reporting calendarFirst-year return, estimates, FBAR, Form 8938, and entity or trust information returns
Chinese-language tax resources
Prefer to review these issues in Chinese?
ChineseCPAinLA is the Chinese-language tax education website of JH Group CPA, A Professional Corporation. These general resources help Mandarin-speaking families organize questions before a formal engagement.
移民美国前税务规划Review residency timing, worldwide assets, foreign companies, investments, gifts, and first-year reporting.Read the Chinese guide
海外账户多年未申报Understand the difference between account reporting, taxable income, FBAR, Form 8938, and possible correction paths.Read the Chinese guide
父母赠与、海外遗产与 Form 3520Organize the donor, source, amount, timing, ownership, and records before evaluating U.S. information reporting.Read the Chinese guide
中国基金、ETF 与 PFICLearn why foreign investment products may require product-level review and potentially Form 8621.Read the Chinese guide
Choose the right level of help
Three ways to prepare for U.S. tax residency
Scope depends on the countries, assets, entities, family structures, and transactions involved. The intro call helps identify the right starting point.
Core review
New Immigrant Tax Landing Review
For a family or employee with a defined move date and relatively straightforward foreign holdings.
- Residency-date assessment
- High-level worldwide asset review
- Reporting-risk scan
- Prioritized action roadmap
Family planning
Cross-Border Family Landing Plan
For families with investments, property, pensions, gifts, inheritances, trusts, or nonresident relatives.
- Everything in the Landing Review
- Foreign investment and ownership analysis
- Gift, trust, and family-transfer planning
- First-year implementation calendar
Business owner
Global Business Owner Landing Plan
For founders and owners arriving with foreign companies, partnerships, employees, or related-party activity.
- Everything in the Landing Review
- Foreign entity and ownership mapping
- Compensation and distribution review
- U.S. bookkeeping and reporting blueprint
Free pre-arrival planning tool
New Immigrant Pre-Arrival Tax Checklist
Use 25 questions to organize the facts a CPA may need before your move and identify issues that deserve attention while planning choices remain.
- Residency dates and U.S. travel days
- Foreign investments, pensions, and accounts
- Gifts, inheritances, trusts, and family loans
- Companies, property, ownership, and major transactions
- Documents and basis records to gather
FREE CHECKLIST25 tax questions to answer before moving to the United States
Enter your full name and email for immediate access. Phone is optional.
Get the Free ChecklistImmediate access
Unlock the pre-arrival checklist
Your checklist unlocks immediately in this browser after the required fields are completed.
Do not submit confidential tax, financial, banking, immigration, identity, or patient information through this form.
A controlled planning process
Plan early. Organize securely. Arrive with a roadmap.
1
Intro call
Confirm your move, deadline, countries, family, key assets, and likely scope. No detailed advice is given on the intro call.
2
Engage and upload
Approve the scope and securely upload relevant records through TaxDome.
3
Build the tax map
Analyze residency, assets, ownership, income, transfers, reporting, and available planning choices.
4
Implement and file
Receive action owners, deadlines, coordination items, and a first-year compliance roadmap.
Do not wait for the first return
The first U.S. tax return may be too late to change the result
Do not sell, gift, distribute, restructure, close accounts, or move assets based on a quick guess. The right analysis depends on timing, ownership, basis, country, treaty, family, business, and state facts.
Frequently asked questions
Questions families ask before moving
When does U.S. tax residency begin?
The answer depends on facts such as lawful permanent resident status, U.S. days of presence, prior-year travel, elections, and any applicable treaty position. The tax residency date may not be the same as your immigration or physical moving date.
Why review foreign funds before moving?
Some foreign funds and investment products may face complex U.S. tax and reporting treatment after the owner becomes a U.S. person. A pre-arrival review can identify items that require specialist analysis before any transaction occurs.
Are gifts from foreign parents taxable?
A genuine gift may not be income to the recipient, but large foreign gifts and foreign trust distributions can create U.S. information-reporting obligations. The donor, source, ownership, timing, and documentation should be reviewed.
Can JH Group CPA coordinate with attorneys and advisers?
Yes. We can coordinate the tax analysis with appropriate immigration, estate, corporate, investment, insurance, and other professionals.
What should I bring to the intro call?
Bring a short summary of your expected move date, immigration status, family members, countries involved, major assets, companies, trusts, gifts, and upcoming transactions. Upload sensitive records through TaxDome only after screening.
Tax-smart planning before a cross-border move
Cross the border with the tax plan already in view.
Start with a complimentary 15-minute intro call to confirm fit, timing, and the right planning scope.
Request an Intro CallDo not send confidential tax, financial, investment, immigration, estate, banking, payroll, or identity information through the public contact form.JH Group CPA provides tax planning and coordination within the scope of an executed engagement. Immigration, legal, investment, insurance, valuation, and other professional advice remains with the appropriate licensed specialist. Prepared by JH Group CPA, A Professional Corporation. 930 Roosevelt Ave, Suite 205, Irvine, CA 92620. Updated August 2026.