nun

As far as the tax goes you need to get stuff up to date which means filing back 1040s and FBARs. Get a professional to do it if you have any issues, but your situation sounds quite simple unless you have a UK pension or ISA.

As far as the security clearance goes your biggest issue will be being born outside the US, living in the UK and holding a UK passport (I assume you do). You will be required to give up your UK passport (NOT UK citizenship though) and only use a US passport. You will probably be asked if you would be prepared to renounce UK citizenship, but as I said before they never ask for you to actually renounce a non-US citizenship, you just have the be willing to do so.

galego

whoa, thanks for all the rapid replies...this is a busy forum

reading this page: http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/...=97130,00.html

every year of my life I have earned way, way below that threshold. Would I still need to file, seeing as I'm way below the thresholds?

It looks like I meet all the criteria for 'Form 2555-EZ, Foreign Earned Income Exclusion', which looks straight forward. I could fill this in for 2011, but would I need a separate form for every year back to my 18th birthday?

I'm hoping I can get the ball rolling on this as soon as possible, do the interview (touch wood) and atleast some progress will be made by the time the issue of security clearances comes up.

Thanks for the details of accountants. Will they really be willing to give me a quick bit of advice for free?

As for selective service; yep I looked on the site and I'm on there. I don't recall signing up but the date is similar to when I got my US driving license

JAJ

Even if your income is below the foreign earned income threshold, you still have to file. If you're single, under 65, with income less than $9,500 then you may not have to file.
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1040gi.pdf

As far as I know, separate form 1040 and supporting forms are required for each year you are filing. Normally you don't need to go back more than 6 years.


You cannot normally expect professional assistance for free. Start at the IRS website and understanding form 1040 and instructions.
http://www.irs.gov/formspubs/index.html

penguinbar

Pete Newton. www.britishexpatstax.com.

nun

You'll need to file the forms back to 18 or for the last 6 years. Do you have a SSN? You'll need one of those or a Tax Identification Number.

If you have any foreign accounts that are over $10k you'll have to file and FBAR form for those.

If all you have is earned income and it falls below the FEIE then things are pretty easy. But if you have a UK pension plan, a stocks and shares ISA or any unit trusts things will be a bit more complicated.

galego

I have an SSN yes. (Un)fortunately my British account is way off $10k.... I DID have an ISA one year. It was pretty pathetic, way below the threshold and only had it a few months. It's since been closed. Would that cause an issue?

As I'm quite stressed about this I'd like to get it sorted as soon as possible. I'm in the US currently so will try to get through to the IRS on the phone. Luckily in the UK I live in London so will try and get some time off work for a walk up appointment at the IRS office in the embassy. Hopefully taking steps to rectify it will be enough :/

paulpur

if you were under the $10k amount in foreign accounts( non-US accounts) then you wont need to worry about FBAR , so you can just file the tax returns, from what youve wrote so far, i cannot see anything that would indicate that you would owe taxes or have to be worried about fines or anything...from what ive read, the IRS office in the embassy in London are very helpful in these situations

ian-mstm

If I may, I suggest you don't try to contact the IRS while you're in the US. Wait until you're back in London and then make an appointment at the Embassy.

Ian

galego

Really? How come? I appreciate the advice... I'm not sure. As I'm so behind on all this I feel like I get on it as soon as possible rather than leaving it any longer. However I'll be back in the UK in a week, and if it won't cause me any more grief, I suppose I can wait

ian-mstm

Perhaps I'm being too paranoid... but you're a USC currently inside the US. The arms of the IRS can be long and far-reaching - and you're at a disadvantage being out of your element and familiar surroundings. Quite frankly, you're a lesser target when you're not in the US and a few weeks here or there isn't going to make a difference.

Ian

galego

ok thanks. i'll try to call the IRS in London Monday (just to see what I need to to prepare for an appointment) then try a walk-in as soon as I'm back

Brigette

Totally forgot about the exchange rate. Thanks for pointing that out. What was I thinking lol