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faut_reflechir | 4 years ago

I did the tax forms myself when living abroad, precisely because I didn't earn enough income to afford the $1000 cost (in fact, it was perhaps twice this, in Switzerland, based on my cursory Googling at the time). It routinely took over a week of working days, which was only possible because I had a sympathetic boss and generous vacation time.

It's also quite stressful, since there are many ambiguous questions, most of the proprietary tax software is ill-equipped to consider the situation of an American living abroad, and a wrong answer can subject you to audit.

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Svip|4 years ago

What are the consequences to not filing? My wife is a US citizen, and she hasn't filed for two years. I've met other US citizens that don't file either. So far I have not heard of any issues relating to not filing.

001Diana|4 years ago

The issue is that the US can determine she didn’t file, file for her, and assess fines/tax. Once that gets to $50k she can’t renew her passport, and can no longer enter or leave the US as the law states she can’t use her foreign passport if a US citizen. If she lives in a country that assists the IRS with collection, they can reach in and take it. They have all her bank details from FBAR filing.

asguy|4 years ago

I know a US citizen who hasn’t filed in 34 years. I wonder what the penalty would look like if she ever takes a job in the US again.