Green card holders abroad: still taxed like a citizen
A green card makes you a U.S. tax resident, and moving abroad doesn't change that. Until your status formally ends, you file U.S. returns and FBARs like any American, wherever you live.
The short version
- With a green card, the IRS taxes you on your worldwide income, even while you live abroad.
- For tax, the status ends only when it's formally given up or ended, usually with Form I-407. An expired card doesn't end it.
- If you've held it in 8 of the last 15 years, giving it up brings in the exit tax rules.
- Green card holders can use the Streamlined procedures and the foreign earned income exclusion.
1Why you still file
The IRS treats lawful permanent residents as U.S. residents for tax, from the day the green card is issued until the status ends. That means a return on your worldwide income, FBARs and the other forms, just like a citizen.
You can use the foreign earned income exclusion through the 330-day test. The bona fide residence test is open to green card holders who are citizens of a country with a U.S. tax treaty.
2How it ends for tax
A long time abroad can lead immigration officials to treat the card as abandoned. For tax, though, you stay a resident until the status is formally given up or ended: by filing Form I-407 with USCIS or a U.S. consulate, or by a final administrative or court decision.
In the year it ends, you file a dual-status return: a resident for part of the year and a nonresident for the rest.
An expired card isn't an ended status.
3Long-term residents and the exit tax
If you held your green card in at least 8 of the last 15 years, you're a long-term resident, and any part of a year counts as a year. Ending your status then counts as expatriation: you file Form 8854, and you're a covered expatriate, subject to the exit tax, if any one of these applies:
- Your net worth is $2 million or more.
- Your average U.S. income tax over the last five years is above $211,000 a year (for 2026).
- You can't certify five years of U.S. tax compliance on Form 8854.
These are the same tests as for citizens who renounce. Our exit tax check runs through them.
4The treaty question
Some green card holders abroad use a tax treaty's tie-breaker rule to be taxed as a resident of their new country, filing Form 8833. That can work, but for a long-term resident it counts as giving up the green card for tax, which can trigger the exit tax rules. It can also be read as a sign you've abandoned the card for immigration. Get advice before doing it.
5Catching up
The Streamlined procedures are open to green card holders, with the same non-residency test as citizens: in one of the last three years, no U.S. abode and 330 full days outside the U.S. The other routes are compared in IRS tax amnesty options for expats.
Catching up first matters if you plan to give up the card, since the exit tax's compliance test needs five years of certified compliance.
Common questions
My green card expired years ago. Am I still a U.S. tax resident?
Usually, yes. The card's expiry date doesn't end permanent resident status. It ends when it's formally given up or ended.
I haven't been to the U.S. in years. Do I still need to file?
Yes, until the status formally ends, the usual filing rules apply to you.
Can I just file Form I-407 and stop?
It ends your status from then on, but past years still need to be filed. If you're a long-term resident, Form 8854 goes in for the year it ends.
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Reviewed by Lewis Grunfeld, CPA. Based on IRS Publications 519 and 54 and Rev. Proc. 2025-32. General information, not advice for your specific situation.