Do Digital Nomads Still Owe US Taxes While Living Abroad?

9 min read · Updated July 2026

A surprising number of newly remote workers assume that once they leave the country, they leave the US tax system behind too. For US citizens and green card holders, that assumption is wrong, and finding out late can be an expensive lesson. The United States is one of the few countries in the world that taxes based on citizenship rather than residency, meaning your worldwide income generally remains reportable to the IRS no matter which country you're physically working from.

Citizenship-Based Taxation: The Rule Most Nomads Don't Expect

Most countries tax based on residency — live there, get taxed there; leave, stop being taxed there. The US and Eritrea are the two notable exceptions that tax based on citizenship. A US citizen living full-time in Portugal, Thailand, or Mexico while working remotely for a US company (or their own freelance clients) is still required to file a US federal tax return reporting worldwide income, even if they never set foot in the United States that year.

The Two Main Tools That Prevent Double Taxation

The tax code does include mechanisms designed to prevent citizens abroad from being taxed twice on the same income — once by the US and once by their country of residence.

• Foreign Earned Income Exclusion (FEIE): Allows qualifying individuals who meet either a bona fide residence test or a physical presence test (broadly, spending the large majority of a 12-month period outside the US) to exclude a substantial amount of foreign-earned income from US federal tax each year, with the excludable amount adjusted annually.
• Foreign Tax Credit (FTC): Allows a dollar-for-dollar credit against US tax liability for income taxes actually paid to a foreign government, which is often the better tool for nomads living in higher-tax countries, or for income types the FEIE doesn't cover.

Many nomads end up using a combination of both, since the FEIE only applies to earned income (wages, self-employment income from active work) and has an exclusion ceiling, while the FTC has no ceiling but requires the foreign tax to have actually been paid.

Self-Employment Tax Still Applies — Even Abroad

Here's the detail that catches the most people off guard: the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion reduces or eliminates federal income tax on foreign earnings, but it does not exempt self-employed nomads from US self-employment tax. A US citizen freelancing from abroad can legitimately owe $0 in federal income tax under the FEIE while still owing the full 15.3% self-employment tax on net earnings, unless a Totalization Agreement between the US and their country of residence says otherwise. See our self-employment tax breakdown for how that 15.3% is calculated.

State Taxes Can Follow You Abroad Too

Moving out of the country doesn't automatically end your state tax obligations if your prior state still considers you a resident. States like California and Virginia have historically been aggressive about continuing to tax former residents living abroad unless clear, well-documented steps were taken to sever residency — a similar theme to interstate moves covered in our state residency guide, just with an international twist.

FBAR and FATCA: Reporting Foreign Accounts

US citizens with foreign bank or investment accounts exceeding certain aggregate thresholds during the year generally must file a Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) with the Treasury Department, separate from the regular tax return, along with potential FATCA reporting on the return itself. These are reporting requirements, not necessarily tax bills, but penalties for failing to file can be steep and are unrelated to whether any tax is actually owed.

A Practical Starting Checklist for New Digital Nomads

• File a US federal return every year regardless of where you live, unless your income falls below the minimum filing threshold.
• Track calendar days outside the US carefully if you plan to rely on the physical presence test for the FEIE.
• Keep records of any foreign taxes paid in case the Foreign Tax Credit is the better option for your situation.
• Check whether your home state requires a part-year or nonresident filing for the year you moved abroad.
• Work with a tax professional experienced in expatriate returns at least for your first year abroad — the rules interact in ways that are easy to get wrong without experience.

Frequently Asked Questions

International tax rules are complex and highly fact-specific. This article is educational only; consult a CPA or tax attorney experienced in expatriate taxation before making decisions based on it.