Are there tax liabilities (in the US) for having a US bank account while I am abroad?
I don't think so in your case. Unless the account generates so much interest income that it became reportable (I don't know the exact limit, but I think it's in the hundreds if not thousands of dollars, you might get a 1099 form if it generates over $10 of interest income, but you don't have to file taxes if your overall income is too low anyways). The US does not typically tax assets, only income. There are some states (Florida is the only one I can think of) that has odd tax treatment of intangible assets, but I doubt that would apply in your case. If this were a large enough amount, usually over $10,000, it might trigger some reporting requirements (possibly by your home country).
it just depends on your situation and sometimes accounting can't fix that.  by mentor pays 35% even though he only goes back to the USA to visit. I go back less than 30 days a year so I can claim I'm a foreign resident but if all my income is in the USA I'm screwed.   I can't even route my income through my wife who has never stepped foot in the USA because we must claim whatever she makes.    US tax laws are so bad that it takes a lot just to get an account with HSBC in Hong Kong "Q) Will I have to submit the accounts for the Swiss Business even though Im not on the payroll - and the business makes hardly any profit each year. I can of course get our accounts each year - BUT - they will be in Swiss German! You will have to submit on your income from the business.  The term ""partnership"" refers to a specific business entity type in the U.S.  I'm not sure if you're using it the same way.  In a partnership in the U.S. you pay income tax on your share of the partnership's income whether or not you actually receive income in your personal account.  There's not enough information here to know if that applies in your case. (In the U.S., the partnership itself does not pay income tax - It is a ""disregarded entity"" for tax purposes, with the tax liability passed through to the partners as individuals.) Q) Will I need to have this translated!? Is there any format/procedure to this!? Will it have to be translated by my Swiss accountants? - and if so - which parts of the documentation need to be translated!? As regards language, you will file a tax return on a U.S. form presumably in English.  You will not have to submit your account information on any other form, so the fact that your documentation is in German does not matter.  The only exception that comes to mind is that you could potentially get audited (just like anyone else filing taxes in the U.S.) in which case you might need to produce your documentation.  That situation is rare enough that I wouldn't worry about it though.  I'm not sure if they'd take it in German or force you to get a translation. I was told that if I sell the business (and property) after I aquire a greencard - that I will be liable to 15% tax of the profit I'd made. I also understand that any tax paid (on selling) in Switzerland will be deducted from the 15%!? Q) Is this correct!? The long-term capital gains rate is 15% for most people. (At very high incomes it is 20%.)  It sounds like you would qualify for long-term (held for greater than 1 year) capital gains in this case, although the details might matter. There is a foreign tax credit, but I'm not completely sure if it would apply in this case. (If forced to guess, I would say that it does.)  If you search for ""foreign tax credit"" and ""IRS"" you should get to the information that you need pretty quickly. I will effectively have ALL the paperwork for this - as we'll need to do the same in Switzerland. But again, it will be in Swiss German. Q) Would this be a problem if its presented in Swiss German!? Even in this case you will not need to submit any of your paperwork to the IRS, unless you get audited.  See earlier comments." "What would be the best strategy to avoid paying income taxes on the   sale after I move to another US state? Leaving the US and terminating your US residency before the sale closes. Otherwise consider checking your home country's tax treaty with the US. In any case, for proper tax planning you should employ a licensed tax adviser - an EA, CPA or an attorney licensed in your State (the one you'd be when the sale closes). No-one else is legally allowed to provide you tax advice on the matter. Because the company abroad is befriended, I have control over when   (and e.g. in how many chunks) the earnings of the sale flow into my   LLC. So I can plan where I live when that money hits my US account. I'm not familiar with the term ""befriended"" in this context, but form what I understand your description - its a shell corporation under your own control. This means that the transfer of money between the corporation and your LLC is of no consequence, you constructively received the money when the corporation got it, not the LLC. Your fundamental misunderstanding is that there's importance to when the money hits your US bank account. This is irrelevant. The US taxes your worldwide income, so it is taxed when you earn it, not when you transfer it into the country (as opposed to some other countries, for example India or the UK). As such, in your current scheme, it seems to me that you're breaking the US tax law. This is my personal impression, of course, get a professional advice from a licensed tax professional as I defined earlier." It seems that you're complicating things quite a bit.  Why would you not create a business entity, open one or more bank accounts for it, and then have the money wired into those accounts?  If you plan on being a company then set up the appropriate structure for it. In the U.S., you can form an S-corporation or an LLC and choose pass-through taxation so that all you pay is income tax on what you receive from the business as personal income.  The business itself would not have tax liability in such a case. Co-mingling your personal banking with that of your business could create real tax headaches for you if you aren't careful, so it's not worth the trouble or risk. With a question like this you should talk to a tax professional who knows about international tax and knows about both the UK and the country you will be working in. They will give you up to date advice on what can be an extremely complex question. However to get you started I'll tell you what I was told when I did this nearly twenty years ago. It's all about whether you are resident in the UK for tax purposes or not. If you are, you will pay UK tax. If not, you wont (assuming you are being paid outside the UK - check with your professional exactly what is involved). In those days you could be counted as 'non resident' if you spent a complete period of twelve months outside the UK. You can make occasional visits to the UK without invalidating that. Again, check exactly how much you are allowed to return while still being not resident. Usually you will have to pay tax in the country where you are resident, but check the rules there. With some skilful timing you may be able to be considered non-resident in bouth countries, at least for some of the time. Again, your tax professional will know. The bank account question - again get a professional. I don't think it's a problem, but you may have to establish that you are being paid in the foreign country. In general you are going to need an account in the country where you work, so if its a problem get paid there and transfer any money you need in the UK. "It says that you are exempt ""as long as such interest income is not effectively connected with a United States trade or business"". So the interest is from money earned from doing business with/through AirBnb, a US company. So you will have to report it. Even if your bank doesn't send you a 1099-INT, you have to report it, unless it is under $0.49 because the IRS allows rounding." Not by you. Your bank might have to fill some reports for the IRS, but for the customer, nothing needs to be done. As long as the money is not income from illegal activity you don't need to worry about it. my tax liabilities in India on my stock profit in US  You would need to pay tax on the profit in India as well after you have become resident Indian. India and US have a double tax avoidance treaty. Hence if you have already paid tax in US, you can claim benefit and pay balance if any. For example if you US tax liability is 20 USD and Indian liability is USD 30, you just need to pay 10 USD. If the Indian tax liability is USD 20 or less you don't need to pay anything.  what if in future I transfer all my US money to India?  The funds you have earned in US while you were Non-Resident is tax free in India. You can bring it back any-time within a period of 7 years. No you won't. Germany taxes income, not bank accounts. Note that this changes immediately when your bank account makes interest - you will owe taxes on this interest. However, chances are you won't get a bank account. Without residency or income, typically the banks wouldn't give you an account. Feel free to try, though. You won't be paying any taxes for income generated in the US as long as you are not-resident in India. You pay US taxes. You can file a null return in India just in case (all zeroes). If you have any income in India - bank deposits in your name, house rental income and so on - that needs to be declared and tax needs to be paid in India. Stripe Atlas helps with this. They form US companies for foreign solo entrepreneurs and get them US bank accounts. Another thing to remember with banks though, it doesn't matter what the compliance documents say, money talks. So your troubles will more likely stem from the amount of money you need to put in banks, more so than what the rules are. A lot of Americans have used Swiss bank accounts to avoid paying taxes. However recently several large Swiss banks have started disclosing the details on some of their customers to the IRS. There isn't much security in Swiss banking at this point in time. You should definitely be able to keep the US bank account and credit cards. I'm a UK citizen and resident who worked in the US for a few months (on a temporary visa) many years back and I still have the US bank account from that time. Unless you are planning on moving to the UK permanently, you also should keep your US bank account and cards to make the process of moving back there eventually easier. I would also suggest keeping/moving at least a portion of your savings to the US at regular intervals to insure you against the risk that exchange rates will be against you when you move back. It'll also make things easier when you visit the US as you presumably will every so often - if you use your US account and cards you won't get hit so badly by charges for making each individual payment. "If it is planned, then one can get a Bankers Check payable overseas; if destination is known. 1.) What will happen to the money? It will eventually go to Government as escheating. Unlcaimed.org can help you trace the funds and recover it. 2.) Will the banks close the accounts?   3.) After how much time will the banks close the accounts? Eventually Yes. If there is no activity [Note the definition of activity is different, A credit interest is not considered as activity, a authentic phone call / correspondence to change the address or any servicing request is considered activity] for a period of One year, the account is classified as ""Dormant"". Depending on state, after a period of 3-5 years, it would be inactive and the funds escheated. i.e. handed over to Government. 4.) Is there anything else to do? Any ideas? Before leaving? Try keeping it active by using internet banking or credit / debit cards linked to the account. These will be valid activities.  5.) Is there any way to send a relative to the US with any kind of paper of power, to unfreeze the accounts? 6.) The banks say they would need a power of attorney, but does that person actually need to be an attorney in the US, or can it simply be   a relative WITH a paper (a paper that says power of attorney) or what   is a power of attorney exactly, is it an actual attorney person, or   just a paper? 7.) Is there any other way to unfreeze the accounts? Although I can confirm first hand; I think there would be an exception process if a person cannot travel to the Bank. It could even be that a person is in some remote state, not well etc and can't travel in person. I think if you are out of country, you could walk-in to an US embassy and provide / sign relevant documents there and get it attested. Although for different purpose, I know a Power of Attorney being created in other country and stamped / verified by US embassy and sent it over to US. This was almost a decade back. Not sure about it currently." Answering for US tax only: The bank account makes absolutely zero difference.  If you are not a US national and not resident in the US, but earn income from a US employer/client/customer, generally that income is not subject to US tax (no matter where it is banked). However there are (complicated) exceptions, particularly if you are considered to be operating a 'trade or business' in the US or US real estate is involved. Start at https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/nonresident-aliens and proceed through pub 519 if you have time to spend. I do not know (or answer) about Argentinian taxes. Whether you can find a US bank that wants to open and maintain an account for a foreigner (which is extra paperwork and regulation for them) is a different Q, that is already asked and answered: B1/B2 visas do not allow you to work, but that isn't really in scope of money.SX and belongs over on travel.SX (or expatriates.SX for longer stay);  https://travel.stackexchange.com/questions/25416/work-as-freelancer-while-tourist-in-us-for-an-already-existing-us-client seems to cover it.