# Accidential American that decided to move to US



## MildWednesday (Nov 13, 2018)

First off I want to say thank you for this great resource. In situations like this it is such a relief to get both knowledgeable and impartial advice. 

I was born in the US and moved to the UK when I was about 2 years old. I was not aware I was supposed to be filling US tax returns every year, but I have always kept a valid US passport alongside my UK one. 

Within the last month I decided to accept a new job opportunity and move to the US, now I find out there may be serious tax implications to this decision. From what I can workout reading this forum, I think I probably don't owe any tax for all of the years I didn't file. I am sure I was under the $100k earnings threshold every year, I have made pretty insignificant amounts in capital gains, and I don't own any businesses or property, nor do I have any savings to be proud of. But the older I get the more I would like to start getting these things. 

What is the best way forward for me? Bearing in mind I will have only worked in the US for a couple of months of 2018, but I do intend to keep living and working here. Should I just plead ignorant to the previous years and start filing using something like TurboTax in February? Or should I try to partake in the Streamlined Foreign Offshore Procedure I have read about on this site? My concern with trying to follow the streamlined procedure is with how complicated it might be, I have hardly kept any paperwork from the last three years and would hate to have to pay fortunes to a specialist accountant to help me find and fill in forms. My new employer made me fill in a W1 and even that took me nearly an hour to work out. 

Again, thanks for any help you can give.


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

Your best option is probably to just file the Streamlined process. https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/streamlined-filing-compliance-procedures

Once you move to the US you'll have to file as a "resident" whereas before you move you can file under the "non-resident" rules. The differences are somewhat minor, though. Don't mess with the OVDP program as long as you can avoid it. It's pretty much for admitted tax evaders and/or high rollers.

The first round of returns is probably the worst. In your situation, you could probably file your current US income tax form (2018, due April 2019) when you get there. That will give you some idea how the forms work, and then you file the 3 years of back forms together, marked up as being part of the Streamlined Compliance program. 

If you don't have the back records available, make a good faith estimate of your earnings in the years you are back filing. You don't need to submit any sort of "proof" of overseas earnings. As for your "confession" (i.e. the statement showing you are "not willfully" avoiding taxes), just state the facts simply (and briefly). Namely that you left the US at age 2 and didn't realize you were supposed to be filing all this time until the opportunity came up to move to the US to work. Period.

Seriously, the first return you file will be the most difficult. After that, you just follow the pattern. Once you're in the US there are all sorts of aids to filing - instruction books, programs, volunteer programs etc. Just be aware that you can't e-file the back returns. Those have to be printed off and mailed to the IRS. But start with the current year returns and then move to the prior year ones.


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## MildWednesday (Nov 13, 2018)

OK that sounds simple enough. Thanks a lot Bevdeforges


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## Nononymous (Jul 12, 2011)

I'm not sure how strict things are now, but I was in the same situation a quarter-century ago. I simply filed a return after my first year working part-time as a student (declaring US income only, no mention of my Canadian summer job or graduate fellowships - kept it simple) and left it at that. They sent a letter asking for previous years' returns and I sent it back with "student, lived in Canada, no income" written across the top, and never heard another word. I stopped filing when I left the US after a few years, and have been happily non-compliant ever since.

In your case I might just file for your first year and not bother with anything else unless they ask for it. If you do go the Streamlined route, you need to look at the Domestic program, not the Offshore program, since you are already in the US. I believe that the domestic version is a little less friendly and forgiving.

What's probably a bigger concern, as a US resident, is ensuring that you file FBARs if you have financial assets in the UK worth over $10k total (I believe that does not include pensions, just bank accounts or investments). And you would need to be careful about mutual fund investments etc. in the UK that might fall afoul of the PFIC rules.


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