Six weeks for you to be heard before the November elections

Dear supporters,

In the closing weeks of an election campaign, congressional offices count their mail more carefully than at any other point in the two-year cycle. We are asking every supporter to spend fifteen minutes on one short letter — and, if you can, one short phone call.

ELECTION DAY: Tue 3 Nov

DAYS LEFT: 43 (FROM THE 21st of September)

OFFICES TO REACH: 3 per supporter (see suggested targets below)

Why now

Rep. Darin LaHood (R-IL) intends to reintroduce the Residence-Based Taxation for Americans Abroad Act with bipartisan support before the end of the year (and we’re expecting Sen. Todd (R-IN) to introduce the companion bill in the Senate) . When that bill lands, we want it to arrive in offices that have already heard from constituents overseas — not to have to explain, from a standing start, why as many as nine million Americans abroad are taxed by a country most of them do not live in.

As a non-partisan, independent organization, TFFAA does not endorse any candidates for public office. But residence-based taxation is our sole mission, and a bipartisan fix to a problem that lands on Americans abroad regardless of how they vote.  That is exactly how we are asking supporters to raise it.

What we're asking you to say

Three things, personalized, to your representative and both of your senators.

1. What double taxation costs you: The concrete “price” you pay for living abroad while filing as an American — in money, in time, in accounts you cannot open.

2. That you support the fix: You back Tax Fairness for Americans Abroad and Rep. LaHood's Residence-Based Taxation for Americans Abroad Act.

3. That you want their vote: Ask them to cosponsor and support the bipartisan bill when it is reintroduced, reach out to Rep. LaHood and Sen. Young for more information in the meantime, and to tell you where they stand.

Points to build your note around

Include the points that are true for you. A short letter in your own voice outweighs a long one in ours. Aim for under 200 words.

TALKING POINTS

• I am a U.S. citizen living in [country], I vote in [state / district], and I am writing/calling about the double taxation of Americans abroad.

• I am a [give your profession, e.g. teacher, salesman, mother, etc.] and have X children who are also American and live abroad.

• I pay tax in full where I live. The United States taxes me again on the same income, simply because I hold a U.S. passport. The only other country that does this to its citizens abroad is Eritrea.

• Even in years when I owe no U.S. tax at all, I spend [amount / hours] each year proving it — a second tax return, extra forms, and an accountant specializing in international tax to prepare them. Those accounting costs add up.

• Because of U.S. reporting rules, banks here have [refused / closed / limited] my bank accounts OR: banks here have closed friends’ accounts, and I dread that it could happen to me next. Add what that blocked: a mortgage, a pension/investment account, a business account, a joint account with your spouse.

• This is not about wealth. It affects teachers, retirees, small-business owners, military spouses and dual citizens who have lived abroad for decades.

• FOR REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES: President Trump publicly pledged to “end the double taxation of Americans overseas”. For the past two years, Rep. Darin LaHood and Sen. Todd Young have been actively working on a bipartisan solution: the Residence-Based Taxation for Americans Abroad Act would let Americans abroad elect to be taxed on the same basis as everyone else in the world – i.e. taxed by the U.S. only on U.S. source income, not on a worldwide basis.

• I support Tax Fairness for Americans Abroad, Rep. LaHood and Sen. Young and the Residence-Based Taxation for Americans Abroad Act.

• Please cosponsor and support the bill when it is reintroduced--and please let me know whether you support residence-based taxation for Americans abroad.[MW1] 

Replace the bracketed parts with your own details — and cut anything that isn't relevant.

How to send it

To contact sitting members of Congress, use AARO's instructions — they are the clearest we know of, and they are written for people writing from outside the country:

1. Find your three offices by U.S. voting address.

Not where you live now. Enter the U.S. address you vote from at democracy.io, and it returns your representative and your two senators. If you don’t vote in the U.S., use the address of a U.S. parent.

2. Write to all three in one pass.

Select the three offices, choose a topic close to taxation from the drop-down, and give the message a subject line that states your position — for example, "Support the Residence-Based Taxation for Americans Abroad Act." CC us at advocacy@taxfairnessabroad.org if possible or forward your message separately so we can help you follow up with them. 

3. Watch the phone field.

An overseas number works, but the form needs exactly 10 digits, with no "+" and no hyphens. Drop numbers or add zeros to the start of the number to make it exactly 10 digits long.

4. Then call, if you can spare another 5 minutes.

Ring the Capitol switchboard on +1 202-224-3121, ask for your member's office by name, and give the staffer three sentences: your name, the U.S. address you vote from, and the one thing double taxation has cost you. Calls are logged separately from letters, so a call and a letter count twice.

5.     Contact the campaigns of candidates for Congressional office.

This isn’t as straightforward as calling Congress, but Ballotpedia can help you identify candidates and reach out to their campaign teams.

If you have already written this year, write again! Offices weigh repeat contact from the same constituent as a sign the issue is not going away — and the election is a new reason to get in touch.

Then pass it on

Send this to two other Americans abroad — a colleague, a neighbor, the group chat that complains about filing season every April. Six weeks and three offices per person is a small ask. Multiplied across our supporters, it is the difference between a bill that arrives to silence and one that arrives expected.

Finally, we are 100% donation-funded and volunteer-driven. If you can, please make a donation, or a recurring donation, and share our campaign with other Americans you know. The more people helping fight this battle, the sooner we’ll win. The money will be well-spent: 97% of all funds we raise go straight towards advocacy in Congress. www.taxfairnessabroad.org/donate.

Thank you for your support!

— The Team at Tax Fairness for Americans Abroad

TFAA is a nonpartisan advocacy organization. We do not support or oppose any individual party or specific candidate for public office. Contacting your elected representatives about pending legislation is your right as a citizen, wherever in the world you happen to live.

Image generated with help from AI.