US retirement account help needed

I used to use TaxAct but stopped when we moved over here. I have since tried to log into my account, but they keep asking for a US phone number/address. How did you get around that? Or should I just register to a different email account and start from scratch? I contacted them by email on Monday, but no one has responded.

I basically 'faked it' - you'll see in another post - there's a workaround for payment also. I used my UK telephone numbers without the leading 0 and was careful not to tick the text box - ended up getting the required codes by e-mail.

I basically 'faked it' - you'll see in another post - there's a workaround for payment also. I used my UK telephone numbers without the leading 0 and was careful not to tick the text box - ended up getting the required codes by e-mail.

I have a US bank account, so payment isn't a problem. I used one of the tips in that other thread to establish a US phone number (where have you been all my life, Talkatone?!?!). Thank you VERY much.

Imagine for a moment. You have; (to pick a number) $250,000 in the account. The custodian then forces you to ‘close out’ the account. The IRS will treat the entire distribution as taxable AND want the 10% penalty. The results would be financial suicide. You may wish to take instalment over, say 10 years, or prolong to maximise other income, whilst keeping tax liability low. Even if you take instalment now and take a 10% hit, you can work the numbers.

Working 16 years your husband has well over 40 quarters. As suggested contact the SSA for an understanding of amounts. From there you can work out benefits at various years and the dreaded WEP, although that’s a whole new can or worms.

As for TaxAct... You need a U.S. billing address or use the work around mentioned. I have a U.S. number and billing address associated with my debit card, (you can change mailing address with many banks-to receive cards). The ‘Fake’ option is ingenious, at the end of the day we just want to file our taxes...

WEP can of worms? I'm afraid to ask.

I do have a US bank account with an associated US address and a debit card, so I should be okay in that department. The idea of efiling my taxes has me actually EXCITED to do them this year. I managed to screw something up last year (I'll blame pandemic brain fart along with TERRIBLE postal service--I filed in July 2020 and didn't get the rejection notice until JANUARY 2021), so they are still unresolved/unfiled at this point. I have to keep calling the IRS every two weeks to find out when they have been officially accepted.

Um...am I the only person who noticed this line....

After being gone a year he would have abandoned his status and is no longer a valid green card holder .....but you saying he lived there for 15 years in the US  before he left would have made him a long term resident and he should have abandoned his status and filled out form 8856 before he left to end his tax obligations to the US .......

I honestly don't know if we did this. I am still a US citizen and was under the impression that we would still have a US tax obligation because we are married.

Have you or your husband been filing US tax returns for him since he left the states ...or were you just filing tax returns for yourself ?

Have you or your husband been filing US tax returns for him since he left the states ...or were you just filing tax returns for yourself ?

For both of us.

Oh ok, that’s good.... I think....usually once your gone for a year from the states as a green card holder you’ve been considered that you’ve abandoned your status and no longer a valid green card holder unless you’ve somehow extended it....

I’m not a professional...I just know that I officially abandoned my green card last year and this year have to fill out the final forms and do my final taxes to officially end my tax obligations to the US....Because I lived in the states for 17 1/2 years I was considered a long term resident it’s like they consider me a “citizen “for tax purposes and I basically have to renounce my citizenship to end my tax obligations to them.

You saying he’s been gone that long and still considered having a valid green card just doesn’t seem right....I know you can extend an extra year so you can be gone 2 years and not lose your status under certain conditions ....but paperwork needs to be filed for that...

Something just doesn’t seem right ...... and might be something you need to look into .....

 

Oh ok, that’s good.... I think....usually once your gone for a year from the states as a green card holder you’ve been considered that you’ve abandoned your status and no longer a valid green card holder unless you’ve somehow extended it....

I’m not a professional...I just know that I officially abandoned my green card last year and this year have to fill out the final forms and do my final taxes to officially end my tax obligations to the US....Because I lived in the states for 17 1/2 years I was considered a long term resident it’s like they consider me a “citizen “for tax purposes and I basically have to renounce my citizenship to end my tax obligations to them.

You saying he’s been gone that long and still considered having a valid green card just doesn’t seem right....I know you can extend an extra year so you can be gone 2 years and not lose your status under certain conditions ....but paperwork needs to be filed for that...

Something just doesn’t seem right ...... and might be something you need to look into .....
 

It is being investigated...by him. He knows he has to do something about it, but he's not sure what. His status may have just lapsed without him doing anything. He hasn't fully looked into that yet, but if he has to renounce it, I don't think he'll care. We don't ever plan to go back to work there. We haven't been back since leaving in 2015, so he hasn't tried to use his green card to go in or out of the US. (Which is probably the only time he would have hoped to use it.)

However, would that have an impact on his eligibility in terms of Social Security (at time of retirement)?

Honestly, everyone here has be great. Can I ask if any of you have recommendations for a tax advisor who specialises in this area??

Having a Green card or not has no impact at all on him being eligible for SS when he is ready to start drawing it.  WEP (Windfall Elimination Provision) is what it is, and will reduce a person's pension up to about $500/month if they have other pensions that were earned on contributions from wages that did not pay into Social Security.  When he applies for SS he will be asked what other pensions he is receiving or will expect to receive and that includes the UK equivalent to SS, the Old Age Pension (OAP).   If he has been making voluntary contributions then the OAP from those years is excluded.  In my case I have 2 private UK pensions so OAP doesn't come into the WEP calculation as they will "WEP" me to the max based on those private pensions.

Having a Green card or not has no impact at all on him being eligible for SS when he is ready to start drawing it.  WEP (Windfall Elimination Provision) is what it is, and will reduce a person's pension up to about $500/month if they have other pensions that were earned on contributions from wages that did not pay into Social Security.  When he applies for SS he will be asked what other pensions he is receiving or will expect to receive and that includes the UK equivalent to SS, the Old Age Pension (OAP).   If he has been making voluntary contributions then the OAP from those years is excluded.  In my case I have 2 private UK pensions so OAP doesn't come into the WEP calculation as they will "WEP" me to the max based on those private pensions.

He has a few UK pensions and was/has been making voluntary contributions to them in two stages: first contributions went in before he came over to the US (in 1999) and then a second wave resumed when he started working again in the UK (2018). I think we'll be okay here.

I guess I was worried that if he officially renounced his citizenship he might not be entitled to his SS payments. I am relieved that won't be the case.

Like I said...I’m not a professional...just know what I researched for myself...

If your a green card holder for 8 years or less...then you’d just turn in your green card, Abandon your status, fill in your final taxes, pack your bags, wave, leave the states and have no further tax obligations....

Once over 8 years your considered a long term resident and basically a “citizen” where taxes are concerned and the US taxes you on citizenship and not on residency....

I left the states December 31, 2020 and arrived in Canada January 1 for 40 days before I moved to Scotland .  On January 8 I went to the US/ Canada border crossing near me and went into the US border customs and officially turned in my green card....which means I filled in the Official paperwork saying I was of sound mind and wasn’t being coerced into doing it...and Officially Abandoned my green card.  They sent the paperwork in and in April I received a letter dated in March acknowledging they had received it and i was no longer a green card holder....they also tell you to keep the letter and travel with it if you return to the states so that if you get hassled trying to enter the states that you can show that you willingly gave up your greencard....

Turning in greencard just lets immigration know you’ve ended your status....has nothing to do with Uncle Sam.....that’s a different can of worms.

So, because I had no US income for 2020... I need to fill out a 1040 NR form for my taxes this year....and form 8854 to end my tax obligations to the US.....what is form 8854 you ask..... well, it’s basically a form you fill out when you expatriate from the states showing your world wide net worth on the day you leave the states and you also have to show that you’ve been tax compliant for the last 5 years and  filed your tax returns and payed your taxes.  Uncle Sam figures if you’ve lived in the states for over 8 years and amassed any wealth it’s because you lived there and he wants his piece of it and will charge an exit tax if he can.  Now, you have to have over 2 million in assets before he charges an exit tax....which I certainly don’t have....lol.....but form 8854 asks you to list everything you own, any pensions you will eventually get....and stocks, iras ....so you basically have to show your net worth on the day you left the states and they will determine if you need to pay an exit tax....

Once the final tax year is filed and form 8854 submitted....that should officially end any tax obligations to the US and you have expatriated....

But these forms have to be filed in a timely manor or else your talking fines.....

Once all this is done...I should still be able so collect SS because I paid into it enough and even though I am no longer a green card holder I should still be eligible to collect it ....

Like I said... I just researched for my situation...yours is completely different....and if  you’ve been filling out taxes for him each year and declaring his UK income to the US.... that’s a different can of worms

He has a few UK pensions and was/has been making voluntary contributions to them in two stages: first contributions went in before he came over to the US (in 1999) and then a second wave resumed when he started working again in the UK (2018). I think we'll be okay here.

I guess I was worried that if he officially renounced his citizenship he might not be entitled to his SS payments. I am relieved that won't be the case.

If these are work-based traditional pensions then they will be counted in the WEP calculation if his voluntary contributions will have been before UK tax (they usually are).  I should have been more clear in my post above, that when I said voluntary contributions I was talking about the OAP where voluntary National Insurance contributions can be made to increase the OAP, but these contributions are paid for with after-tax money, and not part of his job.