US tax, home loans and health cover — the published rules, sourced and dated. 2026-10-12T00:00:00.000Z https://blog.musicheadsafrica.com/ Stateside Money Desk 2026-10-12T00:00:00.000Z https://blog.musicheadsafrica.com/cost-of-uk-health-insurance/

Two completely different costs get answered as one question. The Immigration Health Surcharge is a fixed, compulsory charge on your visa. Private medical insurance is an optional product with no published average price.

2026-10-12T00:00:00.000Z https://blog.musicheadsafrica.com/fbar-and-fatca-explained/

They are not the same filing, and most people who owe one owe both. The FBAR threshold is tested at any moment in the year, not on 31 December — which is how a single transfer between two accounts creates an obligation out of nothing.

2026-10-12T00:00:00.000Z https://blog.musicheadsafrica.com/filing-us-taxes-while-living-abroad/

You get an automatic extension to 15 June. You do not get an extension on interest, which runs from 15 April whether you knew about it or not.

2026-10-12T00:00:00.000Z https://blog.musicheadsafrica.com/first-time-buyer-mortgages-us/

There is no federal first-time buyer tax credit for a 2026 purchase. The credit people keep looking for expired in 2010 and every bill to revive it has failed.

2026-10-12T00:00:00.000Z https://blog.musicheadsafrica.com/getting-a-loan-for-a-house-timeline/

No federal agency publishes an average time to close. The last verifiable industry figure was June 2021, and the series stopped.

2026-10-12T00:00:00.000Z https://blog.musicheadsafrica.com/health-insurance-on-a-us-work-visa/

Federally, nothing requires you to hold health insurance and nothing in your H-1B, L-1 or O-1 conditions mentions it. Five states and the District of Columbia are a different matter, and your visa is no exemption.

2026-10-12T00:00:00.000Z https://blog.musicheadsafrica.com/home-loans-with-bad-credit/

Fannie Mae removed its 620 minimum in November 2025. The VA never had one. Almost every score floor you have been quoted belongs to a lender, not to a programme.

2026-10-12T00:00:00.000Z https://blog.musicheadsafrica.com/how-to-file-a-us-tax-return/

Form 4868 buys you six more months to file. It buys you nothing at all on what you owe. And if you are still expecting a refund cheque in the post, that has stopped.

2026-10-12T00:00:00.000Z https://blog.musicheadsafrica.com/how-to-get-a-us-employer-identification-number/

You need an EIN with no employees, and the online application is closed to you for a reason most guides get wrong. It is not the missing Social Security number. It is your address.

2026-10-12T00:00:00.000Z https://blog.musicheadsafrica.com/how-to-get-a-va-loan/

Nobody publishes how long a Certificate of Eligibility takes, and the VA least of all. The timescales you have read were made up by someone selling you a mortgage.

2026-10-12T00:00:00.000Z https://blog.musicheadsafrica.com/how-to-pay-us-tax-from-abroad/

Almost every IRS payment method assumes you have a US bank account. And the guidance telling you to use EFTPS is now out of date — it is closed to new individual enrolments and being switched off during 2026.

2026-10-12T00:00:00.000Z https://blog.musicheadsafrica.com/how-us-income-tax-works-2026/

Being in the 22% bracket does not mean you pay 22% of your income. And the standard deduction figure most guides printed for tax year 2025 is wrong.

2026-10-12T00:00:00.000Z https://blog.musicheadsafrica.com/minimum-credit-score-for-a-mortgage/

Three of the four main routes publish no minimum credit score at all. The number you were quoted almost certainly came from your lender, not from a government programme.

2026-10-12T00:00:00.000Z https://blog.musicheadsafrica.com/mortgage-insurance-explained/

PMI cancels. FHA mortgage insurance above 90% loan-to-value does not. Confusing the two is the most expensive mistake in American home finance.

2026-10-12T00:00:00.000Z https://blog.musicheadsafrica.com/us-tax-deadlines-extensions-and-penalties/

An extension extends the time to file, not the time to pay. That single misunderstanding costs more money than any other in US tax, and the arithmetic below shows exactly how much.

2026-10-12T00:00:00.000Z https://blog.musicheadsafrica.com/us-tax-documents-checklist/

Your forms are not due on 31 January this year. And from tax year 2026 a lot of freelance income will stop generating a 1099 at all — which changes nothing about whether you owe tax on it.

2026-10-12T00:00:00.000Z https://blog.musicheadsafrica.com/va-home-loans-2026/

The Department of Veterans Affairs sets no minimum credit score. Every score floor you have been quoted came from a lender, not from the VA.

2026-10-12T00:00:00.000Z https://blog.musicheadsafrica.com/which-us-tax-form-do-you-need/

Form 1040-SR has no income limit — it is simply Form 1040 in larger print for anyone aged 65 or over. And the residency test that decides between 1040 and 1040-NR has nothing to do with your visa.