Best postage method for paper filing an IRS form from the UK

IRS form 709 (Gift Tax reporting) can't be filed electronically, so I need to send them a paper copy. I'm worried about it going astray and never knowing that it has.

What postage method(s) have you used when filing paper forms from the UK? I've read up on the Private Delivery Service option (https://www.irs.gov/filing/private-delivery-services-pds), but there's a bewildering number of options (not all of which are available in the UK) and prices seem to start at the £50 mark!

You have no deadline to meet so I would send it tracked via the Post Office. It will get to the USA, New York, I think, in about 48 hours then you can sign up for email updates from USPS for a couple of weeks or more while it bounces around lots of places before arriving. You then have proof of delivery and it is easy and relatively cheap. I’ve done this method many times.

I've used Fedex in the past for paper reporting - generally gets to Austin TX in 24 hours with an IRS signature receipt - then it can take months to be processed (the downside of paper filing).

If you do use Fedex, you can save money by using one of the consolidators such as Parcel2Go or Parcel Monkey - generally less than £30.

I've used Fedex in the past for paper reporting - generally gets to Austin TX in 24 hours with an IRS signature receipt - then it can take months to be processed (the downside of paper filing).

If you do use Fedex, you can save money by using one of the consolidators such as Parcel2Go or Parcel Monkey - generally less than £30.

For sure if speed is important then FedEx is much faster.

Thanks all.

You have no deadline to meet so I would send it tracked via the Post Office.

I think you mean I'm a mile ahead of the deadline, rather than there is no deadline, so just for prosperity & people finding the thread via  / Google: the deadline for form 709 is April 15th the year after the gift is made. Interestingly, it's the only form I've encountered so far that also has a limit on the earliest you can file (you can't file the moment you have all the numbers, you have to wait until Jan 1st the year after the gift is made).

My concern isn't that time the snail mail will take, it's the possibility of it getting lost in the post. The late fine is 5% per month (max 25%).

[In what I see as a wonderful piece of bureaucracy, if they don't receive it on time, I can always paper-file form 8892 to request a 6 month extension :-). I don't know if there is form to request an extension of form 8892 should it also go astray though...]

I wasn't aware Royal Mail tracking worked internationally (I thought it stopped at the UK border and become ... "aspirational" after that :-)). Thanks, I'll give Royal Mail International Tracking a try (£6.90 if <=20g, £7.75 <=100g)

I’ve used MBE who deal with all the major couriers. Detail oriented receipt to include signature. I wouldn’t use Royal Mail for something like this, as it’s not a full end to end international service.

I’ve used MBE who deal with all the major couriers. Detail oriented receipt to include signature. I wouldn’t use Royal Mail for something like this, as it’s not a full end to end international service.

Given Royal Mail's well documented challenges at the moment - even delivering in the UK is fraught with delays. For the peace of mind, I'd recommend forking out a few extra pounds for courier tracking.

Even though the IRS took 7 months after receiving my return, they did acknowledge the date of receipt from fedex.

In the end, I went with Royal Mail International Tracked. I paid online and printed the provided label/custom form at home and dropped it off at my local post office on Feb 16th. It arrived in the US on Feb 22nd and the IRS on Mar 13th. So 25 days. Cost was £7.75. Both the Royal Mail and USPS's tracking site showed UK and US transit information, but the information was more detailed on the site in which the step occurred.

Also, found this chestnut I found interesting:
https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/us-citizens-and-resident-aliens-abroad-where-and-when-to-file-and-pay

Revenue Ruling 2002-23, 2002-18 IRB 811 provides that federal tax returns mailed by taxpayers in foreign countries will be accepted as timely filed if they bear an official postmark dated on or before midnight of the last date prescribed for filing, including any extension of time for such filing.

Note: This text officially relates to federal income tax, not gift tax (or forms filed with the treasury rather than the IRS).

Great info DaveB, thanks for the followup post to let us know how it all went.