Get ready to tell us all about what you think about taxes and banking while living abroad. The Democrats Abroad tax survey launches on April 5th. We are encouraging all Americans abroad to complete the survey, to help us capture an up to date picture on what filing taxes from abroad looks like and how FATCA is impacting Americans abroad ability to bank.
About The Survey
The survey will take you approximately 25-30 minutes to complete. The survey is split up into the following sections:
- How you acquired U.S. citizenship
- Taxes and voting
- Why you live outside the U.S.
- Banking
- Filing & reporting U.S. taxes
- Taxes
- Relationships
- Children
- Employment
- Retirement
- Self-Employment
You may or may not be asked to complete all of the sections depending on your answers and your personal circumstances. The survey could be shorter or longer, depending on your answers as you make your way through the survey. You will also have the option to take a break from the survey and return to it later, up to 15 days later if you're using the same web browser. We designed the survey in this way to allow you to consider your answers carefully, if you so choose. Please note that the survey must be completed in order for your responses to be included.
Can I share the survey with a friend or family member?
Yes, please share the survey with any friend or family member who is an American living outside the U.S.
Why another global survey?
Our last survey we conducted in 2019. It's been a few years and things have changed or had an impact like the pandemic. We need updated research to share with the Congressional American Abroad Caucus and Members of Congress to raise awareness of the problems Americans abroad face. Democrats Abroad has a history of producing leading research in the area of tax discrimination faced by Americans abroad. We will use the data collected from the survey to help shape our advocacy priorities along with our Congressional and grassroots outreach strategy. Ultimately, we aim to use the data to compel Congress to take urgent action to pass legislation to provide tax and financial access relief for Americans abroad. By participating in this survey, you are helping Democrats Abroad better understand Americans abroad and develop tools to lobby U.S. Congress to enact tax reforms that support U.S. citizens living outside the U.S..
What will happen with the survey responses?
The survey results will be analyzed and the results will be shared on the Democrats Abroad website, with the Congressional American Abroad Caucus, and Members of Congress to raise awareness of the problems Americans abroad face. The ultimate goal is to compel Congress to take urgent action to pass legislation to provide relief for the 9 million Americans living abroad.
Is the survey anonymous?
Yes, the survey is anonymous. In our last survey we had just under 10,000 responses and we expect a similar level of responses this time around. The only identifying information that will be used in the final report will be by identifying the state you last lived in with your country of residence (eg. American abroad from Texas living in Germany).
What have you done about data privacy?
As a global organization, Democrats Abroad adheres to applicable data privacy laws. This is an anonymous survey, we will not ask you for your email address, name, or any other uniquely identifiable information. We are not tracking your IP address and we will do our best to make sure your answers can't be uniquely identified in the final report. The only identifying information that will be used in the final report will be by identifying the state you last lived in with your country of residence (eg. American abroad from Texas living in Germany). If you are not comfortable with anything you submit in the survey being used based on your zip code and country of residence, we advise that you at least share your zip code for where you last lived in the U.S. so we can include your data in our constituent level data set that will be shared with your Members of Congress. To be clear, the only reason we ask for the zip code of your last residence in the U.S. is so we can include your data in our constituent level data set that will be shared with your Members of Congress.