Moving from US to UK, how do we do our first tax filing??

Please help!!!

Hi, I've been reading all the forums/IRS & HMRC websites out there for the last month and my head is spinning from the complexity of US/UK combined tax filings  I wanted to post in case someone might be able to shed some light on our situation.

I'm a green card holder (for 3 years) and a UK citizen. My wife is an American citizen. We are living in NY and will be permanently moving to the UK on 1Jul23. I plan to abandon my green card after we relocate. We both left our US jobs earlier this year and are not currently working. We don't expect to immediately work in the UK, so we assume no employment income the rest of 2023. However, we have meaningful dividend and interest income throughout the year before and after the move. I also have some K1s that are US based.

We are trying to understand what the tax filing timeline and process is in both countries to avoid any penalties or double taxation from a cash flow perspective, if possible.

This is our current understanding of what the timing/process is:

We both individually need to do quarterly estimated tax payment to the IRS on 15Apr23, 15Jun23, 15Sep23 and 1Jan24 using 2023 full year income. What I read suggests no tax needs to be paid to HMRC during 2023. Is this correct? I expect we need to pay HMRC for tax period 1Jul23 - 31Mar24 by 31Dec24.  We will both file individually with the IRS for 2023 tax year by 15Apr24 without any foreign tax credit.  However, after we've made the payment to HMRC by 31Dec2024, we will have paid double tax (to the US and UK for period 1Jul23 - 31Dec23).  For Tax year 2024, I will file with the IRS in 2024 with the income associated from the K-1's (US based) but nothing else. My wife will do the same but with worldwide income. We will then also need to individually file an amended 2023 tax return with the IRS to claim the credit for the foreign taxes I paid in 2024. Is this accurate?
 
Follow up questions on the above:
(a) When can I file an amended 2023 IRS tax return for the foreign taxes paid to the HMRC?  If I  made payment to the HMRC for 2023/24 tax year on 31May24, can I file an amended 2023 IRS tax return immediately or do I need to have filed a 2024 tax return with the IRS?
(b) Is there any way to not double pay from a cash flow perspective?


We relocate on 1Jul23. Do I need to notify IRS? I read that I have to schedule an in-person meeting with and IRS agent and get a Departing Alien Clearance (Sailing Permit) by filing form 1040-C or 2063. Is this necessary?

Can anyone help or point us in the right direction...?
Much appreciated!!

You say a couple of times about you and your wife filing singly in the USA.  You can't do that, regardless of where you live.  You can either file as MFJ or MFS (Married filing jointly or married filing separately), you simply cannot say you are single to the IRS when you are in fact married. (Note that MFS is quite different to filing as Single).

I don't know the answers to your questions, I think you probably need to use a dual qualified tax accountant for the first year or 2.

Some useful links here
https://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?topic=97064.0

Thank you for your quick message. When I said filing individually I meant married filing separately, you are right. I have reached out to dual qualified accountants and am waiting to hear back. I just wanted to ask some of the questions I had here in case anyone had any answers.

My wife and I are both dual citizens so I can't speak from experience but I think I can answer your last 2 questions.

Follow up questions on the above:
(a) When can I file an amended 2023 IRS tax return for the foreign taxes paid to the HMRC?  If I  made payment to the HMRC for 2023/24 tax year on 31May24, can I file an amended 2023 IRS tax return immediately or do I need to have filed a 2024 tax return with the IRS? You won't need to file your 2023 IRS return until June 15 2024 because you get an automatic extension, by which time you will have a good estimate of your UK taxes and even paid estimated UK taxes so you can claim foreign taxes and mark the box "Accrued" on the form 1116
(b) Is there any way to not double pay from a cash flow perspective? You may end up doing so the first year and getting a big refund but after that you will have a good handle on how much tax you will pay in each country and what the foreign tax credit will be so you can adjust your withholdings appropriately