The Essential Tax Podcast with Mishkin Santa, Season 2, Episode 2 - 2025 US-Australia Cross-Border Tax Update with Tom Howard of Pilot Partners

In this episode of The Essential Tax Podcast, Mishkin Santa speaks with Tom Howard, CA, Associate Director of Taxation Advisory at Pilot Chartered Accountants in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In this episode, Tom and Mishkin dive into the intricacies of Australian Superannuation, particularly focusing on self-managed super funds (SMSFs) and how they compare to U.S. retirement structures like Roth IRAs and 401(k) plans.

Tune in for these key takeaways:

• The basics of Australian Superannuation—a protected, tax-advantaged retirement savings vehicle

• The flexibility and appeal of Self-Managed Super Funds (SMSFs) for family groups with significant wealth

• Tax benefits of contributing to Australian Superannuation

• The impact of capital gains tax on property investments within SMSFs

• Regulatory limitations on Australian Super contributions

• Challenges for U.S. taxpayers with Australian Super funds

• Complications arising when Australians use their SMSFs to invest in U.S. real estate, including FIRPTA withholding on sales and potential U.S. tax compliance issues

• The process for obtaining rulings from the Australian Tax Office (ATO)

• Some differences between Australia’s private ruling process (no ATO fee) and the U.S. IRS (high fees for private rulings).

Learn more about Tom Howard:

• Visit the Services page on Pilot Partners’ website: https://www.pilotpartners.com.au/services/

• View Tom’s profile on Pilot Partners’ website: https://www.pilotpartners.com.au/people/thomas-howard/

• Connect with Tom on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-howard-231136116/?originalSubdomain=au

• Follow Pilot Partners on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/pilot-partners/

• Visit Pilot Partners’ YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJDG2Jpwm0zy4HsNWtwP2eA

• Follow Pilot Partners on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pilotpartners

Further Resources:

• Pilot Partners: https://www.pilotpartners.com.au/

• Form 3520: https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-3520

• Form 3520-A: https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-3520-a

• TWG Foreign Pension Blog Post: https://thewolfgroup.com/blog/proposed-regulations-issued-in-2024-affect-your-options-for-foreign-pension-reporting/

• Form 5471: https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-5471

• Form 8992: https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-8992

• Form 1116: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1116.pdf

• Instructions to Form 1116: https://www.irs.gov/instructions/i1116

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About The Essential Tax Podcast:

In each episode of The Essential Tax Podcast, Mishkin Santa takes on the complex world of tax — all the jargon, acronyms, and stuff that makes your eyes glaze over, and explains it in an impactful way to understand the complex and unknown areas.

Watch or listen to more episodes of The Essential Tax Podcast:

• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheWolfGroupPC

• Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-essential-tax-podcast/id1754660944

• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2beZfOpwfBlBgWHlNelAOf

Connect and learn more from your host, Mishkin Santa:

• Connect with Mishkin on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/msanta

• Follow The Wolf Group on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-wolf-group-pc

• Read Mishkin’s bio on The Wolf Group’s website: https://thewolfgroup.com/our-people/mishkin-santa