# Question regarding filing USA federal taxes by an American Citizen living and working



## ManinDR (Sep 28, 2015)

Hello 
A friend of mine is an american citizen , She lives and works in DR since 1979 . Recently her bank sent her a notice that she must file some legal and tax documentation in order to keep her account open. She had never filed federal taxes . Anyone knows what she should do to comply with the requirements? . I have done some research and so far I have found out that she is eligible to the status of bona fine resident , since all her income is from non american origin and she make a far less than the amount exempted by law. 
If She want to regularize her status how many years of federal taxes she must filed?
How the Federal tax forms could be filed from the DR?
I just want to find a way to help her , she is a working single mother that doesn't earn much money and cant afford an expert ...anyone could give me some advice in helping her to comply?


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## BBCWatcher (Dec 28, 2012)

Her bank is presumably requiring her to fill out a W-9 form if she's a U.S. citizen. So that's step one, to comply with the bank's requirements and to answer their questions truthfully. (Unless she doesn't mind having her account closed.)

Next step, reasonably promptly: If the total value of her non-U.S. accounts ever reached US$10,000, she should file FinCEN Form 114 for 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014 (the past 6 years), though she can skip any year when the total value of her non-U.S. financial accounts did not exceed US$10,000. She should count all accounts over which she has "signature authority" toward the total, including joint accounts and any company, club, or association accounts where she can sign (as company or club treasurer, for example). She is late filing those mandatory reports (if she meets the threshold), but we have not heard reports of the U.S. Treasury Department penalizing those who have stepped forward voluntarily and filed late as long as they file truthful, complete reports with a truthful excuse. (The form itself allows selecting a reason for late filing. There's an "I didn't know" or similar choice available, and it's a popular one.)

Finally, if she genuinely owes zero U.S. tax then the penalty for non-filing or late filing a U.S. tax return is zero. So if she's highly confident that's her reality then "no rush." But if she has even a little doubt (or perhaps even if she doesn't) then it would be prudent for her to take advantage of the IRS's Streamlined Program to get caught up, then to continue filing normally going forward. One reason she might want to file anyway is if she has U.S. citizen children. Then she may be eligible to collect free money from the IRS, the Additional Child Tax Credit, depending on her tax and income situation.

Note that the U.S. does not have a social security treaty with the Dominican Republic. If she was/is self-employed then she should have been paying the U.S. Self-Employment Tax -- and earning U.S. Social Security retirement credits and becoming eligible for free U.S. Medicare Part A, importantly. The Streamlined Program might not be the best way to get current if she owes Self-Employment Tax for many years going back even as far as 1979 and if she highly values U.S. Social Security benefits -- a reasonable thing to do since they are valuable. But "it depends." If she has never been self-employed it's a moot issue.


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## ManinDR (Sep 28, 2015)

Thanks a lot BBCwatcher You hit the nail in the head ! You gave the exact information I was looking for! With you valuable help I also will be able to help her . She is a single working mother that get paid through Her bank account . She can't afford to get it closed down ! Thank on behalf of her 
Could I reach you again if any other doubt arises ? 


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

Just a further note - if she goes the Streamlined procedure, she'll have to file the "current" year (still 2014) plus three years back. If she waits until January, the current year will be 2015 and the three back years adjusted accordingly.

If she needs or wants help with the filings, there are two tax filings software programs available online - for free for the current year - TaxAct and Tax Slayer. Both of these will handle filings for overseas taxpayers. The back year versions of TaxAct are available for about $15 each (which is certainly less than most accountants or other tax preparers). There may be a similar deal for the three past years from Tax Slayer but I haven't had a chance to check that out.

Generally, what the IRS is looking for is a "good faith" effort. The forms do NOT have to be perfect (if a perfectly completed tax form is even a possibility these days, what with all the options). Main thing is to make sure she discloses what they're asking for. As long as she does that, any questions will be directed to her and can usually be dealt with amicably. (Though for overseas taxpayers with fairly simple financial situations, it's really pretty rare for them to come back with anything.)
Cheers,
Bev


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## StewartPatton (Aug 5, 2014)

Bevdeforges said:


> Just a further note - if she goes the Streamlined procedure, she'll have to file the "current" year (still 2014) plus three years back. If she waits until January, the current year will be 2015 and the three back years adjusted accordingly.


Nope. A Streamlined filing would involve tax returns for 2012-2014 all the way until June 15, 2016, after which point it turns to 2013-2015. The reason for this is that you have to file delinquent returns under the Streamlined procedure, and a 2015 return isn't delinquent for an expat until June 16th, 2016.


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

StewartPatton said:


> Nope. A Streamlined filing would involve tax returns for 2012-2014 all the way until June 15, 2016, after which point it turns to 2013-2015. The reason for this is that you have to file delinquent returns under the Streamlined procedure, and a 2015 return isn't delinquent for an expat until June 16th, 2016.


Not the usual interpretation I've seen of the requirement. But hey, whatever floats your boat. No penalty for filing extra returns, as long as they show nothing due.
Cheers,
Bev


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## BBCWatcher (Dec 28, 2012)

The IRS's Streamlined Program instructions say this: "1. For each of the most recent 3 years for which the U.S. tax return due date (or properly applied for extended due date) has passed...."

That's entirely consistent with the advice Stewart just gave, and I don't see any particular ambiguity in the IRS's instructions. Of course anything that isn't due yet is still due -- the IRS doesn't have to tell you that _again_.

In other words, a 2014 tax return is now late unless you happened to file a timely IRS Form 4868 for 2014. So, as I write this, you'd file your 2012, 2013, and 2014 delinquent tax returns to participate in the IRS's Streamlined Program, plus you'd file a tax year 2015 return per standard operating procedure in 2016, and keep filing per normal thereafter. That all fits exactly with the IRS's instructions quoted above.

Yes, I just filed my 2014 tax return about 10 days ago, well after the June 15 deadline. But I also filed IRS Form 4868 before April 15 to get a deadline extension until October 15, so my 2014 return isn't delinquent yet (and won't be since it's filed). Yes, there are other people still filing 2014 returns that aren't delinquent because they also filed IRS Form 4868. But if you're the "typical" IRS Streamlined Program candidate then you didn't file IRS Form 4868 in timely fashion -- you didn't file anything at all, and that's the problem -- so 2014 is already late and one of the 3 years you're required to submit if you join the program now, as I write this.


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