Back taxes - bad!

So I have buried my head in the sand and have completely missed filing. (I know, I know.)

The last time I filed was in (gulp) 2010. I have a NY drivers license via my parents' home address. Will I need to complete 2010-16 both federal and state? (Oh, ugh!) Or might it be acceptable to catch up for say, the last three years?

I own my flat in London, have only earned income here in U.K. (below the earned income exclusion), no need for FBAR, and have only a small bank account in the US (for cocktails/shopping -- less than $2k).

I know nothing of tax laws, and would even be willing to pay someone to clean up my mess, if need be, particularly if it were to equal the cost of online tax tool filing. Just fearful of the repercussions, as I need to renew my passport asap!
Bad me, I know!
Any help gratefully received.

The filing deadline for overseas US citizens for 2016 is June 15th so you are not late yet for 2016.

I don't know the rules in NY but do you have a house or apartment there? I would imagine that if you left the state a long time ago then there is no state tax to file. Maintaining a  state drivers license can sometimes cause problems though.

Your filing situation sounds straight forward. The 3 years back filing and the current 2016 year can be done through streamlined filing or you can just back file. You won't owe anything so there are no penalties and you say fbar isn't an issue. If you have a bank account in the US, i would gather any documentation (1099s) from them from the interest paid the last 3 years

Then you file taking the FEIE (i assume you qualify as a bono fide resident), and put in any other income like the US or UK bank interest. your standard deduction and personal exemption should wipe that out.

You could read up on publication 54.

Forms you might need to file are
Form 1040
Schedule B
Form 2555 (this is for the FEIE)
Form 8965 (this is the health coverage exemption)
Form 8833 (possibly if you are part of a work pension scheme)
and maybe form 1116 for foreign tax credits

I am not a tax professional, just someone that has been through the filing experience overseas but renounced now. However if you are filing to renounce, you will need to file 5 back years.

Good luck with it and maybe someone else will chime in with something else.

Just a couple of things to add to Same Boat's excellent reply:

- The US and UK have a Totalization agreement, meaning your UK social security contributions can count for your US future ss benefits. This may help you to claim both US and UK retirement benefits in the future, so this is worth looking into.

- Talk to New York about your situation regarding whether you have to pay state taxes. Different states have different rules, but it may depend on the ties you still have in the state, and whether or when you intend to return to live there in the future.

- if you're not planning to renounce your US citizenship, and you might return to live in the States one day, it may be worth claiming the Foreign Tax Credit instead of the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion, if the UK income tax you've been paying's more than the US income tax you would have owed, as this way you'd start saving up excess US tax credits for future use.

If you need some advice, try consulting some of the online expat tax specialists - google 'online us expat tax services'. The top ones offer great service and value.

Good luck!

Most people in your circumstances would use the IRS streamlined procedures  to catch up.  You probably want to read about these online.

An online tax preparation firm might conceivably be located in China or Russia or store data in an offshore location, so be an unsafe place to send data. If you really need professional advice, there are some excellent US qualified tax advisers located in the UK and regulated in the UK.

The OP can renew her US passport without tax consequences. There's no linkage yet.

The OP should take her time in deciding what to do about this. Only a near future plan to return to the US permanently would require any immediate action.

Hello. Sorry to piggyback. I have lived overseas since 2011. I filed taxes for 2014 but did not do it last year for 2015. I am not filing for 2016 since I am exempt due to earning less than $10,300.

I previously used 1040.com. Is there any way to file for 2015? Everything I'm seeing would only let me file for 2016.

I need to renew my income based student loan repayments, and it has asked about my federal income tax filings for the last two years. I thought it would be best to keep up to date moving forward.

The IRS website has all of the forms one might need for 2015. According to your other postings you formerly lived in Australia. If you had any savings in super, you may need to report these on an FBAR and any income within the super (including PFIC income) as currently US taxable.

You also mentioned that you have a son. Consequently, you'd probably want to file a US income tax return for 2016 to claim any refundable child tax credit from the IRS.

If you needed to file an FBAR, you may want to contemplate when you explain your lateness as to whether any non-filing might be considered wilful or reckless behaviour.

Thank you for the thorough response, Guya.

Yes, I did have super in Australia, but the account was cleared and transferred to a bank account in only my partner's name when we moved to the UK.

I don't believe I have any records of deposits or interest and did not claim it in my 2015 return because I did not know I had to. There is a small chance I may have included it in my total income.

I was not aware I could be awarded child tax credit. Do you have any idea how much it could be for if I earned around $8000 last year?

Thank you all SOOOO much for the exceptionally helpful replies.

As I don't have any real estate in the US (sold my condo in 2010, so -- whew! -- all good there), I'm delighted to hear it should be relatively straightforward.

I had no idea about some of the points you've raised in your responses, which I'll investigate further. So thank you, thank you, thank you!