How much do you really end up paying in US taxes?

How much do you really end up paying in US taxes?  I understand that it will depend on how much you make, but it isn't as high as when you live in the States, right?

Are you talking about when you file your tax return? It's unlikely you will pay any if you earn less than $99,000 in a year.

Is that married-filing single or married-filing joint (if I get my husband an ITIN)? 

How much do you really end up paying in US taxes?  I understand that it will depend on how much you make, but it isn't as high as when you live in the States, right?

If you're talking only of US taxes, it's more than likely the US tax bill will be considerably less if you're living and paying tax in the UK versus living in the US. Although there are no hard and fast rules.

If you're talking worldwide tax paid (to both the US and the UK) the sum total of all taxes paid on a given amount of income will more than likely be higher than if you were living in the US and only paying taxes in the US on the same amount of income.

Everything depends on the type and amount of income.

Someone with only $95,000 earned income in the UK with an additional $5,000 of interest from a regular high street savings account filing MFS will likely pay no tax to the US.

Someone with only $12,000 unearned income in the UK with an additional $2,000 of interest from a cash ISA account filing MFS will likely pay a small amount of tax to the US.    

Thanks for the answers.  I know I'll be paying taxes in the UK and to the US on earned income.  I just wanted assurance that it wouldn't be the same tax rate as if I lived in the US.  The likely hood of me earning anywhere near $99,000 is pretty low. 

But I should definitely file MFS? 

Will I get 1099s from UK bank accounts?  What if they are joint accounts?

MFS is simpler than MFJ for most folks in your situation, but is not always the best option. It depends on your individual circumstances. You can switch between MFS and MFJ from year to year depending on which works out better.

You won't get 1099s from UK bank accounts, so you'll have to use your bank statements instead to compute how much interest you earned and how much UK tax was deducted. The sterling figures will then have to be converted into dollars of course. None of this is too tricky, just requires decent record keeping.

You won't get 1099s from UK bank accounts, so you'll have to use your bank statements instead to compute how much interest you earned and how much UK tax was deducted. The sterling figures will then have to be converted into dollars of course. None of this is too tricky, just requires decent record keeping.

When you do your US tax return then create a 1099-INT for each bank and enter the interest in $ as if you had received a 1099-INT from the bank.

Each year the IRS publishes an official average exchange rate for instances like this where one is receiving regular foreign income such as monthly interest from a bank account.


http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/International-Taxpayers/Yearly-Average-Currency-Exchange-Rates

You can switch between MFS and MFJ from year to year depending on which works out better.

It's my understanding if you wish to do this, according to IRS regulations, you must make a written election if the spouse is an NRA. The spouse is then treated as a US resident in all subsequent years. If you always file MFJ, no problem, but if you file MFS in any subsequent year, then the NRA spouse is required to file MFS with the IRS for that year also.