# 2555 question



## berniej (Mar 5, 2012)

My daughters have lived here their whole life and have both nationalities. 

On the 2555 part 2 section 11 asks about a house. They own their own house. Does that mean I have to fill out all the sections for housing expenses and housing deductions.

In section 12 do I add the names of her children or just say children.

In part 2 section 13a and b which blocks would I check as they have both US and Dutch nationality and they do pay income tax here to the Dutch.
They never filed anything with the government to stay here.
I assume I would say yes to both but?

In 15a they don't have visas as they have Dutch nationality.

I never used this form before and have no clue. Don't want to screw up and cause them to have to pay taxes or so.

Any help would be appreciated

Thanks again.

Bernie McKenna


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

Unless they are claiming the Housing Exclusion or Deduction you can skip those sections of the form. You should answer truthfully (but briefly) lines 11 and 12. Just say "children" (and add "spouse" if either of your daughters lives with a spouse). It's just to prove their bona fides when using the bona fide resident test.

Answer "no" to 13a and "yes" to 13b. Leave 15a blank and in 15b just indicate Dutch national (or Dutch citizen - as you prefer) from birth.

The questions on the form are clearly meant for US citizens who have moved abroad for work, not for "accidentals" like your daughters so just answer as briefly as possible while making the point.


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## Nononymous (Jul 12, 2011)

If your daughters were born outside the US, have dual citizenship, and are not planning on moving to the US, then it's generally much better for them not to file US tax returns. Stay out of the US tax system and - very important - don't disclose US person status to any banks, to avoid FATCA problems.


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## berniej (Mar 5, 2012)

no they were both born on military bases which made them US citizen we moved back here and they applied for and received their Dutch citizenship.
So they have to do both. It wasn't a problem until they stopped using the 2555ez. The 2555 has more you have to fill out.

Thanks 

Bernie McKenna


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## Nononymous (Jul 12, 2011)

berniej said:


> no they were both born on military bases which made them US citizen we moved back here and they applied for and received their Dutch citizenship.
> So they have to do both. It wasn't a problem until they stopped using the 2555ez. The 2555 has more you have to fill out.


The don't "have" to do anything, to be honest. If they aren't planning on moving to the US, it makes no sense for them to be filing. The IRS can think whatever it wants, but it can't force non-residents to file; not surprisingly, about 90 percent do not.

It's not clear from your comment if they were born in the US or not (since military bases can be anywhere) but if it's a non-US birthplace on their Dutch ID then they can easily deny US person status when dealing with banks and financial institutions, which is worth doing to avoid FATCA problems. Otherwise if born in the US they may be subject to some limitations, or at least to reporting requirements.


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## berniej (Mar 5, 2012)

one was born in Arizona and the other was born in Germany. We had to do a special form at the embassy for her citizenship. So they are American and when we moved back to Holland they were able to get the Dutch nationality after they finished high school. Had to pay about 300 for all the paperwork etc.
its just the text in the 2555 that is causing me problems I guess.

Thanks for the info.

Bernie McKenna


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## Nononymous (Jul 12, 2011)

The one born in Germany can easily avoid FATCA problems by concealing her US citizenship from banks, which is definitely worth doing; the other isn't so lucky.

Neither of them really needs to be filing US tax returns - there's nothing to be gained from it, save possibly the $1200 stimulus benefit this year. Otherwise it's just pointless paperwork that, if one is unlucky, can lead to money being owed.


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## berniej (Mar 5, 2012)

thanks for the info

Bernie McKenna


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## Nononymous (Jul 12, 2011)

It's really your daughters' decision. They should be aware that as non-residents with dual citizenship there is no benefit to pointlessly filing US tax returns, even if someone else does the paperwork for them.


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