This is the time of the year for millions of Americans to begin the annual ritual of gathering information about income, taxes, charitable giving, health insurance, expenses and sundry other items, and prepare to send mountains of information to the IRS --and to those who prepare their tax returns.

Overseas Americans are no exception, as practically all Americans with any income anywhere in the universe are required to file a U.S. return. As most expats are painfully aware, this process is not only more complicated than for their compatriots back home, but the risks and potential penalties are higher even for simple mistakes.

U.S. expats generally fall into three categories: a) working with a paid tax return preparer; b) filing their tax returns on their own; c) unaware of or unwilling to be in either category.

If you are new overseas and have been working with a domestic tax preparer, you may want to consider switching to a firm that specializes in preparing tax returns for overseas Americans and who also have experience in the country you live in, if your current preparer does not. The IRS has a new Taxpayer Directory where you can verify the credentials of Registered Tax Preparers and American Citizens Abroad also has an Overseas Tax Preparer Directory that may be useful.

Many brave Americans overseas attempt to do their own tax returns, and often inadvertently end up learning about tax forms they may not have been filing or filed incorrectly. Unfortunately, many taxpayers who work with paid professionals also have ended up missing forms in their tax returns. The remainder of this article is dedicated to some of the most common tax forms that are generally part of an expat-American tax return. Whether you prepare your own return or work with a tax professional, you should be familiar with these forms.