# Do I have to report income Twice? UK vs US tax years



## ontta (Feb 28, 2016)

Hi all.

I’m a self-employed, UK resident. Both UK and US citizenship, but have lived and worked in the UK all my life. Therefore I’m filing US taxes to remain compliant, and am up to date with both the UK and US via accountants.


Here’s my query:

A US Tax accountant has been preparing my US returns for the past few years, based on the information in my UK self assessments. 

For the 2014 US tax return, he used the figures from my 2014/15 return.

For the 2013 US tax return, he used the figures from my 2013/14 reutrn. And so on.

Last year in early 2015 I left to go travelling. I did a very small amount of work at the start of the year in Feb, totalling around £2,000 gross.

This was of course included on my UK tax return for 2014/15.

This return has been used in full, for my 2014 return, including the £2,000 mentioned, and the UK taxes paid on it.

After this, I have not earned any income, (closed down my self-employment as of end of 2014/15 tax year), and will not be required to file a self assessment for 2015/16 - confirmed by HMRC.

So my question is: Do I need to file a US tax return for 2015? That small amount of money in the the UK in Feb has already been declared to the IRS on the US return, as it was included in the 2014/15 UK return.

Obviously I would love to not have to declare it twice 

I know that this small amount won’t incur US tax, but I’d very much like to avoid paying for an accountant to complete another US return.

Any thoughts on this would be great to hear.

Thanks in advance.


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

OK, the official take on this is that you report your income according to the tax year of the jurisdiction in which you are filing.



> For the 2014 US tax return, he used the figures from my 2014/15 return.
> 
> For the 2013 US tax return, he used the figures from my 2013/14 reutrn. And so on.
> 
> ...


That's NOT how it's supposed to be done. 

For 2014, you report on your US taxes what you earned from January to December 2014. And for 2013, you report January to December of 2013.

The fact of having reported that income from Feb. 2015 on your 2014/15 UK taxes means nothing. For US purposes, your 2015 income is whatever you earned in calendar year 2015. If your accountant reported that income on your US 2014 return, that was wrong.

Now, practically speaking, if that was your only income for 2015, and particularly if that income is below the filing threshold for your filing status, it ultimately won't matter because if your 2015 worldwide income is below the filing threshold you simply don't have to file.

Up to you to decide how you want to handle this.
Cheers,
Bev


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## ontta (Feb 28, 2016)

Thank you Bevdeforges,

The income was from self-employed, so I am assuming that as it was £2,000 (roughly $3,000) its above the filing threshold of $400 - do you know if that is correct, or if it is different internationally?

Thanks for your help


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## BBCWatcher (Dec 28, 2012)

ontta said:


> The income was from self-employed, so I am assuming that as it was £2,000 (roughly $3,000) its above the filing threshold of $400 - do you know if that is correct, or if it is different internationally?


Did you pay U.K. National Insurance contributions from that self-employment income?


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## ontta (Feb 28, 2016)

Yes, I did.


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## BBCWatcher (Dec 28, 2012)

Then there's no U.S. Self-Employment Tax (thanks to the U.S.-U.K. social security treaty), so it looks like you're in the clear on the U.S. side in terms of a tax return. (As always you might have financial disclosure forms, for example FinCEN Form 114.) Just hang onto your personal financial records in case there's a question.


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## ontta (Feb 28, 2016)

Hi BBCWatcher,

Thanks for your post. I'm just reviewing this.

As my income from Feb 2015 was very small, and reported already on my 2014 US return via the figures on my 2014/15 UK return. Do I need to file a US return for 2015?

I want to be complaint, but it seems strange to report the same income twice..!

I appreciate your advice.

Thanks


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

Your US return should reflect income received from January to December of 2015. Your UK return is based on April 2014 to April 2015. In essence, you are reporting the same income twice, albeit for a different time frame. But there is no connection between your US return and your UK return. Falls under the "render unto Caesar" rule.
Cheers,
Bev


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## ontta (Feb 28, 2016)

Hi Bev,

What does 'render unto Caesar' mean?

Thanks for your help.

Ontta


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

"Render unto Caesar" refers to the idea that you kind of have to give in to the laws as they are written (at least if you want to stay out of trouble). So, in this case, you file your returns in both the US and UK, sticking to the respective rules for each country, even if it seems to you that you're reporting things twice.
Cheers,
Bev


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## iota2014 (Jul 30, 2015)

ontta said:


> As my income from Feb 2015 was very small, and reported already on my 2014 US return via the figures on my 2014/15 UK return. Do I need to file a US return for 2015?
> 
> I want to be complaint, but it seems strange to report the same income twice..!


Couldn't you fix this by 

a) filing an amended US return for calendar year 2014, removing the income that was received in Feb 15, and

b) reporting the income that was received in Feb 15 on your US return for calendar year 2015.

Plus, of course, reporting income for the UK 2014/15 tax year to the HMRC.

In that way, you'd be reporting the Feb 2015 income only once to each tax authority. Which is what you're meant to do.


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## ontta (Feb 28, 2016)

Thanks Bev. 

That's what I'd expect too. I'll get the 2015 sorted so its all present and correct.


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