# FATCA letter from bank - Accidental American living in UK



## dephreq

Hi all,

I recently received a 'Self-Certification for Individuals' from my UK bank asking for FATCA declaration of US citizenship. As a result, I like many other have gone down the US tax rabbit hole coming to the realisation of my US tax obligations. I was born in Europe and have never lived or worked in the US. I have been living in the UK as a European (have a Greek passport) since 2008 and have always paid my taxes on time etc. I've of course come to learn about the Streamlined Procedure and began the process of applying for it only to have found this forum which has made me question that decision. Is a FATCA declaration letter from a bank really a good enough reason to apply for the Streamlined Procedure?

A few things to mention for context:


I earn over $100,000 annually and have around that much in my UK bank account
I work for a UK subsidiary of an American company
I'm fortunate enough to have been granted RSU's from this company of which I have signed up for as a European via a W8-Ben. Having little knowledge of how RSU's worked I opted to automatically have RSU's sold to cover the US tax for vesting shares and tax is withheld etc.
I have multiple UK pensions which both I and my employers contributed to
I vaguely remember mentioning to my bank that I was a dual citizen when I opened my bank account in 2015
I plan on moving permanently to Cyprus (where my wife is from) in about a years time and will be closing/moving all my money out of the UK bank
May be irrelevant but I also dabbled in crypto currency over the years and have traded crypto using USD

The bank is demanding I respond to them withing a month and declare my tax residency. My initial plan was to apply for the Streamlined Procedure and then respond to the bank. Currently, where I stand is that I have prepared all my tax reports (3yrs) and FBARs (6yrs) on taxesforexpats.com, however, they will probably take 3 weeks to review everything and be ready to file.

So I guess my multiple questions are:

1) Should I even bother with getting into the US tax system? If yes, should I respond to the bank and continue with my current plan even though it will take almost a month to submit? If no, what are the risks of submitting the FATCA declaration and not sorting out my US taxes?
2) As I was not aware of my US tax obligations, should I capitalise on the fact that I can now leverage the amnesty program?
3) Should I transfer my savings out of this UK bank now? Is that a red flag? 

I'd very much appreciate advice on how to proceed.

Thanks!


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