Taxes for expats and non-US investors
How the US taxes Bitcoin-backed preferred dividends when you live outside the US, from IRS, FinCEN and issuer sources only. Facts we can't confirm say “Not yet verified” with no answer.
Taxes for expats and non-US investors
Last verified: 2026-10-26US citizens and green-card holders living abroad
The US taxes you on worldwide income wherever you live, so the return-of-capital rules on each ticker page apply to you as they would at home.
- Worldwide taxation U.S. citizens and resident aliens abroad are taxed on worldwide income; the dividend/ROC rules above apply exactly as for U.S. residents.
- Foreign earned income exclusion The Foreign Earned Income Exclusion does not cover dividends or other investment income.
- US withholding U.S. citizens abroad should give brokers Form W-9 so the 30% nonresident withholding is not applied.
- Foreign tax credit U.S. citizens can normally claim a credit for foreign income taxes paid.
- FBAR FBAR (FinCEN 114) required if foreign financial accounts total more than $10,000 at any time in the year.
- Form 8938 (living abroad) Form 8938 (living abroad): > $200k year-end or > $300k anytime (single/MFS); > $400k / $600k (joint).
- Net investment income tax 3.8% net investment income tax (NIIT) on net investment income, which includes dividends and capital gains, above thresholds that are not indexed: $200,000 single or head of household, $250,000 married filing jointly, $125,000 married filing separately.
- Foreign tax credit against NIIT
- State income tax
Non-US persons (not US citizens or residents)
We don't promise 0% withholding: the IRS lets a withholding agent choose whether to withhold on the return-of-capital part, so it depends on your broker. US citizens and green-card holders living abroad give their broker Form W-9, not W-8BEN, so non-US withholding doesn't apply to them.
- Default US withholding 30% U.S. withholding on the dividend (E&P) portion paid to non-U.S. persons, or a lower treaty rate with Form W-8BEN/W-8BEN-E.
- Treaty rates Treaty dividend rates are listed by country in the IRS Tax Treaty Tables (Table 1). We don't show a number here.
- Return-of-capital portion IRS Publication 515: a withholding agent may elect not to withhold on the part not paid out of earnings and profits, based on a reasonable estimate. It is optional, so results depend on your broker.
- Form 1042-S ROC (nondividend distribution) is reported on Form 1042-S with income code 37.
- Net investment income tax Nonresident aliens are not subject to NIIT.
- US foreign tax credit Nonresident aliens generally cannot take the U.S. foreign tax credit.
- What Strategy says Strategy says copies of Form 1042-S, “as required”, will be furnished to certain non-US holders.
- What Strive says (SATA only, not SATS) Strive says SATA distributions not paid out of earnings and profits “will be treated as exempt from U.S. dividend withholding tax” for non-US investors. The issuer expects these payments to be exempt, but brokers may still withhold 30% (Treas. Reg. 1.1441-3(c)); any over-withholding can come back through a broker correction or Form 1040-NR.
- What your broker actually withholds
General information from official sources, not tax advice. Talk to a qualified tax professional. ROC status is set by the issuer each year from its earnings and profits; it is an expectation, not a guarantee.
Talk to a crypto-savvy CPA US citizens abroad and non-US investors →
Per-ticker detail: STRF · STRC · STRK · STRD · SATA · SATS. Per-country rules: see each country page, for example Panama. Older guides: STRC return of capital · non-US holders.