# US Streamlined Filing Compliance Procedure



## pabloh

Hi all,

I'm a dual citizen (American and Spanish). I have been living in Europe all my life, and the last 12 years in France. Until recently, I was completely unaware that I should have been declaring my taxes to the US IRS. 

I would like to regularize my situation and I'm planning to use the US Streamlined Filing Compliance Procedure. 

I'm a french civil servant, and earn under 40000 dollars a year. I have one french bank account (a joint account with my boyfriend which is French) which gives us a few hundred dollars of interest per year.

From what I have read, filling 1040, 2555 and FBAR forms should cover my situation?
When filling FBAR forms for my joint bank account, should I declare the whole balance or only half of it ?
Are any pitfalls I should be aware of ? 
Has anybody used the Streamlined procedure successfully or had problems with it ?
Finally, is there any local group in the Paris area that can help/inform on US tax declaration procedures ?

Thanks a bunch !

Pablo


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## BBCWatcher

Good idea. The only outstanding hypothetical legal worry (since you're unlikely to owe U.S. tax) is getting those FBARs filed, and the streamlined program is a good way to do that.

FBARs are separate reports with their own separate rules, so, for example, for joint accounts you don't split the balance. Answer the questions asked per the instructions, not the questions you think they should be asking.

Is the joint bank account French, or is the boyfriend, or both? 

I understand the IRS has a good Web site (via the U.S. embassy's Web site) specifically for France.

Oh, you can try to run a tax calculation using only the Foreign Tax Credit, not the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion, and see what you get. If you arrive at a zero or negative U.S. tax owed with only the FTC, then that's the more attractive path since it could help you reduce future potential U.S. taxes and/or explore U.S. tax-advantaged retirement savings.

If you ever marry that boyfriend (or some other) then you'd have to pick one of the "married" filing statuses, usually (but not always) married filing separately if your spouse is not a U.S. citizen. MFS is the least attractive filing status in the U.S. tax code. While that might not matter, it's one small reason to celebrate the availability of France's PACS. I don't think PACS counts as marriage for purposes of U.S. tax filings, though perhaps Bev can chime in.


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## Bevdeforges

pabloh said:


> From what I have read, filling 1040, 2555 and FBAR forms should cover my situation?


You'll need a 1040-B (i.e. a Schedule B to add to your 1040).


> When filling FBAR forms for my joint bank account, should I declare the whole balance or only half of it ?


Give them the whole balance. (Though it's rare that they check it.)


> Are any pitfalls I should be aware of ?


You are FAR from the first, and certainly not the last to be in this situation. Just get it done and behind you.


> Has anybody used the Streamlined procedure successfully or had problems with it ?


We haven't had any reports of problems - though whether someone would come back here to tell us about problems is a good question.


> Finally, is there any local group in the Paris area that can help/inform on US tax declaration procedures ?


AARO, or go right to the horse itself: there is an IRS office at the US Consulate in Paris. They take questions by phone. Start here: Internal Revenue Service | Embassy of the United States Paris, France
Cheers,
Bev


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## pabloh

Thanks a lot BBCWatcher and Bev for your detailed answers !
It's really nice to help others with their tax issues 



BBCWatcher said:


> Is the joint bank account French, or is the boyfriend, or both?


Both  But I just checked and as you say I should still file the FBAR.



BBCWatcher said:


> Oh, you can try to run a tax calculation using only the Foreign Tax Credit, not the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion, and see what you get. If you arrive at a zero or negative U.S. tax owed with only the FTC, then that's the more attractive path since it could help you reduce future potential U.S. taxes and/or explore U.S. tax-advantaged retirement savings.


That seems a good idea. But the 23 explanation pages for the Foreign Tax Credit form are a bit too much for me. I think I'm going to stick with the "simpler" Foreign Earned Income Exclusion.



BBCWatcher said:


> I don't think PACS counts as marriage for purposes of U.S. tax filings, though perhaps Bev can chime in.


We actually are "PACSED", but I do not think either that counts as marriage purpose.


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## BBCWatcher

pabloh said:


> That seems a good idea. But the 23 explanation pages for the Foreign Tax Credit form are a bit too much for me.


You might have to take a trip through the FTC _anyway_. "It depends." I was actually thinking of saving you from the trip through the FEIE. If the FTC-only path gets you to zero U.S. tax owed, you're done. It's the better path in that event.

But you shouldn't have to read all 23 pages to run a quick simulation. Many of those instructions relate to coordinating with the FEIE/FHE, for example.


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