Are You American Citizen (or Green Card Holder) Living outside the USA?

If you have answered yes to our poll, you may be required to prepare a US Federal Tax Return with the IRS. US tax law states that a US Citizen must declare worldwide income no matter where he or she lives around the world.

EDA Professional Services is a Scottish based accountancy firm that can assist US Citizens with their filing requirements.  We can also help even if you are not based in the UK.

Currently Scotland has different levels of taxation than the rest of the UK.  This means that you can end up paying more tax in Scotland (the higher rate threshold did not increase in Scotland meaning that the 40% rate comes at a smaller level).  As there is no tax treaty with the US and Scotland it may mean that you cannot claim any additional taxes you pay in Scotland as a Foreign Tax Credit on your US Return.

Depending on the level of taxes that may be due to the IRS, you may be required to prepare up to four years tax returns – even if there is no balance due.

If you are a US citizen living in the UK and would like to discuss this, please do not hesitate to contact us at info@edaprof.co.uk. We look forward to hearing from you.

Please note that though this blog specifies the UK where Americans are living, it can also refer to other countries around the world.  The United States has primary taxing rights over (more or less) every country.

Have you filed your US Tax Returns?

Are you an American living outside the USA?

Did you know that US Citizens are still required to file taxes with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in the USA even though they may not receive any income from sources inside the USA.  This is because the US taxes on the basis of citizenship.  The same can apply to Green Card holders who are living outside the USA.

For 2014 the filing thresholds for submitting a US Tax Return are as follows:

Single – $10,150

Married Filing Separately – $3,950

Married Filing Jointly – $20,300

These figures are based on gross income (not the amount that is taken into account after expenses).  An example of Married Filing Separately is when you are an American Citizen who is married to a non-US citizen who is not required to file a US tax return.  You will also see that the filing threshold is much lower for those who are filing married filing separately.

If you are living in the United Kingdom

Normally UK taxes are much higher than the US and you should not have a liability to the USA.  Does this mean you are not required to file a US Return?  Unfortunately it does not!  This is because even though income taxes are much higher in the UK than the US it does not stop you from filing returns.  In fact you must make the claims for Foreign Earned Income Exclusion (FEIE) on the return itself or by claiming Foreign Tax Credits.  There are certain items that are tax efficient in the UK but would be taxable in the USA.  A few examples below are:

ISAs – Tax free interest and dividends are subject to taxes in the USA

Capital Gains – the USA does not have a tax free Annual Allowance which is just over £11,000

Dividend income – taking a basic salary and dividends up to basic rate may not always work if you are a US citizen

There are just some examples there are many more.

If you are above the filing threshold you must file the returns and submit for the last 3 to 4 years with the IRS and letting them know why you had not filed before.

Are you an Accidental American?

What is an accidental American?

If you were born (for example) in the United Kingdom and at least one of your parents was an American citizen of born in the USA, you are by definition an American citizen.  You must inform the embassy in the UK that you are a citizen and informing them of where your parents were born.  It’s your duty to inform them and you should never bury your head in the sand.  Once you have informed them (this process may take a long time) you will be given a social security number which you will need to use when you prepare your US Federal Tax Returns.  If you have never filed with the IRS, you must do this as soon as possible to bring yourself up to date.

You may consider giving up your citizenship.  In order to do this, you will need to be up to date with your US taxes for at least the last 5 years before leaving the US system.

If you are a US citizen living in the UK and would like to discuss this, please do not hesitate to contact us at ustax@edaprof.co.uk. We look forward to hearing from you.

Foreign Bank Account Reporting Forms

Did you know that you have to file details of your Foreign Bank Accounts with the American authorities?

The deadline for submission of the Foreign Bank Account Reporting (FBAR) Forms is 30 June 2015.  This relates that the bank accounts that you have outside the USA during the calendar year ended 31 December 2014.

To decide whether you are required to file an FBAR for 2014 you must check the following:

1.  Have a non-US Bank account or have an interest in a foreign account

2.  The accumulated total of all your accounts is greater than $10,000.  About £6,000 if you are in the UK.

What you need to do is review your bank accounts and look at the highest value of your accounts during the year.  Sometimes you could have 2 bank accounts and transfer money between these accounts (i.e. the same money transferred).  Once the values are converted to US Dollars and is above $10,000 you must file the form with the Department of the Treasury before 30 June.

Failure to file this form can result is serious penalties.

If you have any questions about this form, please do not hesitate to contact us now at info@edaprof.co.uk.

What Is The Effect of Scottish Independence on US Citizens

What would be the tax effect of Scottish Independence on US Citizens?

In order to claim Foreign Tax Credit on your US Federal Tax Return you must be paying taxes in a country that has a Double Taxation Agreement (DTA) with the United States.  Currently, the DTA is with the United Kingdom – not Scotland.  This means that should Scotland choose yes on 18th September, a new DTA would have to be agreed with Scotland.  It would have to be agreed in the interim period.

If no DTA is established until the actual day of independence, it would be possible that an American citizen living in Scotland could pay tax twice on the same income.

At the moment we can only speculate that may happen should the people of Scotland chose to be independent.

US Citizens are taxed on worldwide income no matter where they live.  If you have been living in Scotland and have been receiving income in Scotland (an no income from the USA) you may be required to prepare a US Tax Return.  You can claim the tax deducted from your salary as a Foreign Tax Credit to reduce your liabilities to the IRS.

If you are a US citizen living in Scotland and would like to discuss this, please do not hesitate to contact us at info@edaprof.co.uk.  We look forward to hearing from you.

Taxation of US Citizens in the United Kingdom

If you are a US Citizen (or a Green Card Holder) and that you are living in the United Kingdom, you may be required to still prepare a US tax return with the IRS.  This is because America taxes based on citizenship and not residence.  In addition, you will be required to declare worldwide income on Form 1040.

Depending on the level of tax that you may have to pay to the IRS, you could be have to prepare returns for a number of years if you have never prepared a return since leaving the USA.

If you are a US citizen living in the UK and would like to discuss this, please do not hesitate to contact us at info@edaprof.co.uk. We look forward to hearing from you.