Banking Issues
Please provide information or ask questions about Banking issues in this comment stream.
I will create sub-topic threads as the situation arises, keeping a copy of the comment that starts a legnthy specific discussion on the Banking Issues thread, so the Banking Issues thread will remain the main source for banking information and dicsusion. But sub-topic threads should help people easily find (or avoid, if it doesn’t interest them) detailed information and conversation on specific matters.
Sub-topic Threads:
Problems with Banks After Renunciation
@ Shar,
You can renounce (or apply for a relinquishment-based CLN) if you have not filed taxes. Here’s some information, with source links, relating to that and the relation between DoS and IRS in the context of renunciation/relinquishment: http://isaacbrocksociety.ca/renunciationrelinquishment-interactions-between-department-of-state-and-the-internal-revenue-service/
@Shar
The fee is $2,350 but there is no requirement to be in tax compliance. Filing for 5 years is something you do as part of the process of making a formal expatriation from the US tax system. People like yourself who were never in the US tax system too begin will often choose to ignore these filings.
The only good reason for you to renounce, given how easy it is to conceal your US citizenship from Canadian banks, is to protect your executor and heirs from any US tax complications when setting your estate. How can I say this politely… if you would struggle to pay the renunciation fee then estate planning is probably not a huge concern.
@Ron Henderson – thanks – very true! Other than my condo (which the bank really owns and I may never pay it off as it is a 20 year mortgage and I am pushing 60 years old!), I have no real assets (other than life insurance which I think get negotiated directly with my life insurance company and my now adult kids)…
I think I will continue to fly below the radar and hope for the best
@pacifica777 – thanks for the link with details on renouncing citizenship.
I will study this further to at least know my options and correct information…
@shar
The first time I ever answered “no” to “the question” was about 30 years ago when I was applying for an account at a firm I really wanted an account with. As my finger hovered over the “yes” button I suddenly got this gut feeling that no good could possibly come from answering in the affirmative so I pressed “no” instead. It was only later that I discovered they actually had a policy of not accepting US citizen applicants. This was long before FATCA. I still have my account with that outfit.
I thought it was unfair that I was going to be denied opportunities afforded to everybody else merely because of US citizenship. They weren’t the slightest bit worried whether I was a Canadian citizen, whether I had a criminal conviction, whether I had a warrant out for my arrest, or whether I was an international terrorist. Nope, no questions about that sort of stuff. They only thing they were worried about was whether I was a US citizen. That’s why I have no qualms about a little white lie to partially offset this great injustice.
Since then, I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve answered “no” on a bank form and once that info is entered into the bank’s system you’ll never hear anything further. You’ve managed to fly under the radar for 58 years and I’m sure you’ll have many more years of trouble free flight.