Accidental american starting to file tax

Yeah, I'm assuming my case would be complex enough also...I forgot to mention a Stakeholder pension in addition to the above. At least I don't own a property or have a mortgage, but I'm (optimistically) hoping that my salary may exceed $100k one day. I have no idea whether my aggregate total tax liability in the last 5y will exceed $25,000, but I would doubt it.

From my perspective it seems like a very expensive accounting exercise without benefit to myself or the US government. I think it's worth paying the renunciation fee however, provided that won't instantly catapult me into the immediate attention of the IRS...

Finally, they asked me to fill in a form W-9, which is an IRS form and I can only assume went straight to the IRS.

The bank was most likely already sending your account information to the IRS without the W-9. Even a whiff that you were American is enough for them to (eagerly) send the info to the IRS, but without the W-9 they didn't have a corresponding SSN to send with it. Now they do, which makes identification easier.

The question is whatever will they do with all that information. There were 900,000 accounts forwarded to the IRS in 2018 from Canada alone, and 800,000 from Australia. We don't know how many were sent from the UK since, unlike Canada and Australia, the UK Gov't refuses to respond to a freedom of information request.

From my perspective it seems like a very expensive accounting exercise without benefit to myself or the US government.

The Relief Procedures is a very strange programme indeed. But, it keeps the accountants very happy. By the way, the number of Enrolled Agents has increased by 50% in the last few years, so it must have become a lucrative situation.

The EU response to the Relief Procedures programme:

In September the IRS announced it was giving a tax break to some American expats looking to renounce their citizenship. The Council of the EU said it was a “a step in the right direction,” but argued accidental Americans were still confronted with big upfront costs.

“This procedure is lengthy, costly and complex. The renunciation fee alone amounts to $2,350, on top of which the costs of filing tax returns and any tax liabilities would be added,” the EU letter said.

“We would therefore propose to lower the cost of renunciation, to simplify the [tax] filing procedure and not require it for all cases.”

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/dec/12/eu-joins-fight-against-us-tax-on-accidental-americans

“We would therefore propose to lower the cost of renunciation, to simplify the [tax] filing procedure and not require it for all cases.”[/i]

You might even hope that the renunciation fee would somehow be reflective of the process cost even? Rather that a prohibitive measure...
Maybe I should wait too see if they drop it in response, but maybe not!

You might even hope that the renunciation fee would somehow be reflective of the process cost even? Rather that a prohibitive measure...
Maybe I should wait too see if they drop it in response, but maybe not!

It's most unlikely the IRS/US Congress would pay any attention to comments from the EU concerning US taxation,..... unless they were accompanied by some solid threat of financial retaliation.

I wondered what views others might have on the relative merits of a) renunciation without tax reporting vs b) continued non-reporting. Aside from the obvious fee, particularly for someone with no plans to move to the US ever (and indeed could countenance never travelling there).

I wondered what views others might have on the relative merits of a) renunciation without tax reporting vs b) continued non-reporting. Aside from the obvious fee, particularly for someone with no plans to move to the US ever (and indeed could countenance never travelling there).

Put simply, how to proceed is a very personal decision only you can make.

Continued non-reporting leaves you with a US passport, renunciation leaves you with no reporting requirements going forward. Neither absolves reporting obligations from the past, but it is up to you to decide if that will be a worry for you or not.

Not to endorse these two sites or any of the comments, but here are some random thoughts:
https://www.quora.com/I-am-a-US-citizen-who-has-never-lived-in-the-US-and-never-paid-US-taxes-I-have-been-working-for-15-years-Am-I-just-putting-off-a-very-big-bill

http://isaacbrocksociety.ca/just-say-no-not-renouncingrelinquishing-nor-complying/

 

Just for reference. I have decided to forget about the whole thing. If I ever hear anything from the IRS or decide to start a business, I'll probably come into compliance. Till then, I have enough things on my mind to worry about a calamity which may never come. The real financial calamity is due early next year. I hear babies are expensive