# IRS and Border



## Willow75 (Feb 23, 2016)

Hi everyone, 
Hoping someone can help eleviate my fears. I fall into the 'just realised I need to file' category and am currently getting info together to enter streamlined program to back file FBARS and tax. I haven't lived or worked in the States since Uni (and therefore filed) and that was nearly twenty years ago. I don't believe I will owe any tax once I file as rate is much higher here. I'm an Aussie citizen and planning to go back to the states with my two kids (not registered in the states and travelling on Aussie passports) to visit family next month. I had to renew my US passport and supply my SSN.

I've been reading a lot about new legislation where by your passport can be revoked for back taxes. I'm nervous about getting 'trapped' in the states due to my delinquent tax return issue. This would be catastrophic for me given my work, kids dad etc... are all in Aus. 

Can anyone shed any light on this and know if I should be concerned? Debating delaying visit until tax is sorted, but not sure if I'm overly panicking about this???? Any advice would be much appreciated. 

Thanks in advance!


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## Nononymous (Jul 12, 2011)

I can alleviate your fears, not elevate them - you have nothing to worry about.

There's no evidence that US customs has access to any information about tax status. Even if you owed the IRS money, you could not be detained unless there were criminal charges against you, which obviously isn't the case. There are no laws yet that allow your passport to be seized, as far as I know. 

I haven't filed taxes since leaving the US twenty years ago, nor do I intend to. I regularly cross the border without incident, sometimes on a US passport, mostly on a Canadian passport with US birthplace (despite this being against the law). Never have taxes been mentioned.

One thing that might be an issue is your entering the US on a US passport with two kids on Australian passports. The border folks could ask if your kids are US citizens, and if so, request that you obtain US passports for them. This entails registration of their birth, with all its various lifelong consequences. We've recently discussed the pros and cons of this - to an obsessive degree - in a couple of recent threads.


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## nyclon (Apr 3, 2011)

US citizens need to enter the US on US passports and your children are US citizens so you should sort that before you travel.


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## Nononymous (Jul 12, 2011)

nyclon said:


> US citizens need to enter the US on US passports and your children are US citizens so you should sort that before you travel.


The children only acquire US citizenship if certain criteria are met: one US citizen parent must have lived five years in the US, two of which after age 14. So it's not automatic that they would need US passports just because the father or mother carries one.

Enforcement of the passport rule has been very, very lax over the years. It's supposedly tightening up, but still doesn't seem to ever be worse than a polite warning. (I was warned once but ignored it and have continued using my Canadian passport, to no ill effect.)


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## Willow75 (Feb 23, 2016)

Thanks, and yes alleviate - my typo!

As for my kids, I've been going back and forth with them to see family always on Aussie passports and never been an issue or mentioned over the past 8 years. When I renewed my passport, I was advised that it was ok for them to travel as Aussies as long as I have not registered their births, which I haven't. I've debated about registering them, but I don't want to lump them with this ridiculous tax burden if they can stay under the radar or at least wait until they are older and can decide for themselves.


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

Technically speaking, the kids either are or are not US citizens, depending on your exact status (mainly how many years you spent in the US before leaving), whether or not they were registered (i.e. had a consular report of birth filed for them). They can always "claim" their US nationality if and when that becomes interesting to them.

Although they do seem to be cracking down on this, it's highly unlikely they'll stop you on a visit to the US if the kids' place of birth is outside the US. To be honest, it's not really necessary to get all your tax filings up to date before traveling - there are legitimate reasons why you might not have filed in recent years and the CIS doesn't have any sort of direct access to IRS records, unless a warrant has been issued against you (and I think you'd know about that by now). We've had a few random reports of people being "reminded" about their tax obligation on entry to the US - but they certainly can't/won't stop you from entering the country simply because you haven't filed recently. 
Cheers,
Bev


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## BBCWatcher (Dec 28, 2012)

Nononymous said:


> There are no laws yet that allow your passport to be seized, as far as I know.


There's a new law. Effective January 1, 2016, the U.S. State Department can revoke and/or suspend the U.S. passports of those who are "seriously tax delinquent" as the law defines it. That's for individuals with a formal tax lien of $50,000+ as reported from the IRS to the State Department.

It doesn't sound like Willow75 fits the "seriously tax delinquent" definition. Only a subset of individuals with unresolved tax/financial reporting issues are "seriously tax delinquent."


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