US expat tax and FBAR: Discussion thread (Ask your questions) Part Two
Please ask your questions here about US Expat tax and FBAR.
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Hi
Facts:
I have been living outside the United States for several years.
I received my certificate for loss of nationality form the US Embassy on July 3rd 2017.
I have been filing my FBARS and Taxes regularly with the IRS.
I opened a new bank account in my home country on Aug 2nd 2017 after the date I received my Loss of certificate of nationality from the US Embassy in my home country.
Question:
Q1. When I file my FBARS for 2017 do I have to file the FBAR for the bank account I opened in my home country after the date I received my certificate of loss of nationality from the US Embassy.
Q2. On my bank accounts which I had opened in my home country when I was a US Citizen do I have to file the FBARS until the date I received my certificate of Loss of nationality which was July 3rd 2017 or do I still I have file FBARS until Dec 301st 2017?
Q1: No.
Q2: Up until your renunciation date.
Not the date you received the CLN. Use the date you renounced.
Hi, everyone.
I am in a massive panic. I just received a letter from the IRS that makes no sense. I expatriated in 2017, so I filed the 1040/1040NR dual return and sent them to Austin, TX. I have sent in tax returns for several years now to be 5 years compliant and never heard back from the IRS before, so WHY NOW?!?!?! The letter says they received my form 1040, they are working on my account, and that they require an additional sixty days to send me a complete response on what action they are taking on my account. WHAT THE @?!%? DOES THAT MEAN?!?!?! What action?!
Also confusing is that they say they received my correspondence on February 12, 2018 and I know that is impossible; I have the receipt from my local post office that I sent the documents on February 12, and then I have the registered mail return stub that shows the IRS in Austin signed for receipt on February 27.
Is it normal to all of a sudden, out of the blue, hear from the IRS after they haven’t cared about me in years? Is it because of my final filing?
I’m having heart failure here….. major panic and fear of audit…. What is happening? Anyone else have this happen?
Deep breath – remember you’re not a US citizen and there’s nothing the IRS can do to you.
If I’m not mistaken, posting date is taken as date received. The reference to the date probably isn’t sinister.
Thanks, Plaxy.
Weirdly, the letter was posted from Tallinn, Estonia.
Could be some sort of scam if that’s the case.
As plaxty says, don’t panic. It could just be a letter to let you know they’re still processing your final returns, nothing more. Until you have something definite, try and stay calm. Difficult I know, but without any further info there’s not a lot you can do anyway.
If you do get a follow-up, whether it’s to say you owe something or there’s nothing to pay, I’d double check by calling the IRS just in case if the postmark is from the same place.
They do that, apparently – send bulk loads of letters to overseas taxpayers, to a third-party somewhere in a completely different country, and the third-party then mails the letters. Penny-pinching.
It gets a little stranger.
On my 2017 filings, I filled in my current address, and yet they sent their letter to my previous address (from 2 years ago). It had to be forwarded to me by the Austrian Post. It’s all a bit mysterious.
Honestly, it doesn’t seem mysterious to me. It’s a holding letter – designed to fend off refund-expecters. The IRS system is being reprogrammed to try to cope with the world’s worst tax “reform.” Even though no one has decided what the rules are. In the meantime it’s spitting out acknowledgment letters. File and forget.
Ah, well, I was just starting to relax about my final reporting, and all the stress I went through several weeks ago about it, when this letter showed up. I am baffled as to why they would send me anything. Technically, I was below the filing threshold for the 1040; I only filed as part of the expatriation requirements with the dual-return. I made no claim to any refund, and even if I was entitled, I wouldn’t want it because I have nothing to do with the US.
They don’t know that, though, until they get around to looking at your return. So far it has probably only been going through automated processing. The logical thing for them to do would be to triage the returns, perhaps prioritising overseas returns claiming refunds and sending the holding letters to those not claiming refunds.
They have a bit of a blurb about letters at https://www.irs.gov/individuals/understanding-your-irs-notice-or-letter
No need to worry – you’ve paid $2350 not to have to worry, so enjoy the freedom. 🙂
If the letter was posted from Estonia it’s a scam. Sort of like a spear phishing attack on e mail.
Why would a scammer post a letter from Estonia pretending to be the IRS notifying a US tax filer of a delay in processing?
@petlover
I have never heard the IRS inform anyone they need extra time to review anything, they just ask questions when they are ready. It sounds like a scam to me and they may be gearing up to ask you bank detail questions etc.
I would try not to worry, remember you are free.
@petlover
I found someone else who suspects an Estonian scammer..
https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/comments/6yzrmb/does_irs_print_the_full_ssn_in_mail/
https://www.irs.gov/individuals/understanding-your-irs-notice-or-letter
@ Petlover
After final filing, my husband got a “thank you for your return” letter from the IRS which said if an adjustment was needed they’d send a separate notice. There was a voucher at the end to send them an inquiry and another to send them a payment. We didn’t have an inquiry and we certainly had no payment for them so we just filed the letter away. That was 4 years ago … not a peep since. It was startling to get something from the IRS after years of sending our forms into what we considered to be a black hole. Your Estonia stamp is weird but since we live in Canada I’m pretty sure our envelope, had we saved it, would have come directly from the USA. I think you shouldn’t worry too much about this.
One more thing, the letter provided a phone number (NOT toll free) and a Philadelphia address to use if we had questions so I’m pretty sure it was legit.
@ plaxy and Petlover
I googled Irs letters from Estonia
Nothing found except a suspected scam.
I suggest petlover calls the IRS and asks if they mail from there.
To the best of my knowledge, no expatriate here has reported being informed by the irs of a delay processing their return.
I’d say the sensible thing to do is nothing. Certainly not contact the IRS. What on earth for?
@ Norman Diamond
“Yeah, I would have told him to multiply with himself.”
You made me spit fruit smoothie onto the keyboard. 🙂
Oops wrong thread for that comment … sorry. Too many windows open and clumsy fingers.
Interesting opinions.
The letter seems legit. All my info is correct except that they used my old address. SSN is right.
I am just worried about what action they could possibly take with my account.
Definitely not going to reach out to them and open a can of worms, though. If they want me, they are going to have to initiate contact.
@plaxy
“Why? ”
There is no harm in calling the irs and asking a simple question as to their mailing sources.
It would also serve to guard against scammers asking for more info.
Doing nothing and waiting is an option but knowing the source may put petlovers mind at rest.
I have recived irs mailings from the UK and from Jersey but Estonia is a new one!
“worried about what action they could possibly take with my account.”
They’ll want to complete the processing and record your changed status, I should think. (e.g., NRA, not covered).