Seahorse1234

I am more than willing to pay the taxes on the interest earned in the UK. No CPA I have spoken to advised me of this and like I said was never provided with any documents from Lloyds...I basically just got a basic monthly statement stating my interest in credits, not actually pound amounts...very confusing. I have been a US citizen since I was a teenager, so I'm only familiar with US banking who provide good information to their clients

theOAP

Glasgow Girl

The financial institutions have criteria which determine what data they must report to the IRS. In your case since you are not a US citizen, it is likely that the trigger will be when you register your USA based address. They typically report this data once a year, a few months after the close of the year, so they are unlikely to be sending prior year information unless the IRS does an investigation and asks for it, which is only going to happen if they audit you for any reason. The following is not a personal comment directed at you, but since you are not the only one reading this thread, let me add that if this prior year data is not openly and honestly declared then you are subject to crippling financial consequences and possibly prosecution. And, since European governments also share data, it is available to them through other means..

In your case since you just became an LPR you will only have to declare current year data for each calendar year going forward starting when you file your 2018 tax returns and FBARs. Only when you sell your investments will you need to go back with the historic data.

If you do not have the original paperwork, try to reconstruct the data as best you can. Hopefully you can remember the year and approximate amount that you invested, and/or if it was a monthly subscription. I would use Jan 1st of that year as the original purchase date (as you are erring in favor of the IRS). Then add on any monthly subscriptions based on the 1st of each month as the purchase date. You can identify the share price on those dates using the funds historical data which you can find on a number of different web sites. That would enable you to approximate the number of shares that were owned on each date. Using the historical fund data you can identify what dividends/distributions were paid and on what dates and add that to your data. This is time consuming but you can create a spreadsheet to make it manageable. Google the funds names and multiple resources will show up. Some are better than others but the best ones will show historical prices and dividends for 10 years or the life of the fund. It is work but it is doable. This should give you a reasonable basis to support your forms and any possible audit. Any supporting bank statements, cancelled checks, etc showing the transfer of money to the fund managers will help support your data. Most banks can provide statements going back 7 years or more if you ask for them (there may be a fee).

The IRS may or may not accept what you have done, if they do not you will have to pay tax on the entire sale amount. That will be tough to argue as your should have kept that data for the European tax system anyway. When you file the forms I would have your accountant file a statement stating that you have completed this information to the best of your ability. They are not going to prosecute you for being open, reasonable and honest.

It sounds like you are really digging into this and trying to sort though it. Keep going, it is stressful and gut wrenching, but dealing with it sooner than later is the best thing to do. I suspect there are at least tens of thousands of people in the same situation, maybe even hundreds of thousands from all countries. You are not the only one who does not have every shred of paperwork required. Be reasonable, open and honest, and make a full statement of the situation and you will be fine.

adamas

As a LPR and not a USC, would they imprison me for tax frauds or just deport me? Could they freeze all my money?

Thinking about the risks in the worse case scenario...I am just kidding anyway.

The amount of work is overwhelming for me. I have about 15 potential PFICs. I am having free consultations next week with a few different CPAs specialized in expats tax services, to get some quotes for my situation. I expect a ridiculous bill from them, $2000 or $3000, but for my peace of mind and future I think it's sadly necessary. Then time to move on and hope to make better returns in the US market than in Europe with my money.

Silvergirl