1. "US Persons" are taxable on
worldwide income. A US Person is a US Citizen AND any non-US Citizen who is a resident OR a Green-card holder (the Green card gives the right of residency, so they can come after you and then up to you to prove that you weren't in the US).
2. The State Department, NOT the IRS, requires that you declare any account outside of the US where the average balance exceeds $10k.
3. The requirement on making a declaration if crossing the border with >$10k is in force in Russia, Ukraine, EU, Turkey, US, etc, etc. This is not necessarily a tax issue, but it is a way the countries make sure that there is no tax issue before the money is gone. This covers the movement of
monetary instruments. Gold jewelry is NOT considered a monetary instrument (watch out for coins though) and is the reason that so many people in the Middle East convert their money to jewelry when returning home, to avoid this issue
4. There are only a handful (actually less) of countries in the world that tax worlwide income of their
citizens. The US is the ONLY OECD country to do so (there are exceptions for inheretance tax or temporary absence cases).
5. Deducting gambling losses is possible, if properly documented (this could include hotel and airplane tickets if at casinos outside of the US) AND if you file itemized deductions. Gambling loss carryforwards not permitted, even if professional.
6. The earned tax credit is only available if you file. If you do not file, then the IRS will tax you on dollar 1, instead of dollar 80,001.
7. This is a basic tax question that ANY practicing CPA could answer, so why in the world waste your money on a tax lawyer? Overkill comes to mind.