U.S. citizen abroad and never filed a tax return? Start here.

1Do U.S. citizens living abroad have to file a tax return?

Yes, if their income is over the filing threshold. The U.S. taxes based on citizenship, not where you live, so a U.S. citizen in Toronto, London, Sydney or Bangkok has the same duty to file as someone in Ohio. Most other countries don't work this way, which is exactly why so many people don't know. Self-employed people file once their net self-employment income reaches $400.

Filing isn't the same as owing. Most expats who file owe nothing, because the foreign earned income exclusion or the foreign tax credit takes care of the tax. But those only apply on a filed return. The IRS's page for U.S. citizens and resident aliens abroad sets out the basics.

Not knowing is the most common story we hear.

2What happens if a U.S. citizen abroad never files?

Banks around the world report accounts held by Americans to the IRS under FATCA, so the IRS often knows more than people assume. It rarely starts with a knock on the door. More often, a bank asks you to confirm your citizenship, or a letter arrives. Once the IRS opens an examination, the Streamlined procedures are no longer available.

3Can the U.S. take your passport for not filing?

Not for unfiled returns alone. The law lets the State Department deny or revoke a passport only for "seriously delinquent tax debt": a legally owed federal tax debt over $66,000 for 2026, adjusted each year, where the IRS has filed a lien and your appeal rights have run out, or it has issued a levy.

• Unfiled returns aren't a debt until the IRS assesses tax, for example by preparing a return for you from what it knows.
• FBAR penalties don't count toward the threshold.
• Debts you're paying on time under a payment plan, or through an accepted offer, don't count either.

For most expats, who owe little or no U.S. tax, the passport risk is remote. It's real for people with large assessed debts, which is one more reason to file before the IRS does it for you. The IRS explains the rules on its page about passports and unpaid taxes. Passport problems from tax debt.

4How many years back do you have to file?

Under the Streamlined Foreign Offshore Procedures, the three most recent tax years whose due date has passed, and the six most recent years of FBARs, however long you've been away. If you started today, that would be:

1. 2020FBAR
2. 2021FBAR
3. 2022FBAR
4. 2023Return + FBAR
5. 2024Return + FBAR
6. 2025Return + FBAR

The years-to-file calculator works it out for any date. Other routes differ: voluntary disclosure, for deliberate cases, usually covers six years of returns. If you never needed an FBAR because your accounts stayed under $10,000, you file only the three returns.

5Real scenarios: what catching up looks like

Born abroad. Plenty of people only find out they're American when their bank asks. If you've never had a Social Security number, you'll need one before or alongside the filing. Getting an SSN from abroad. Help for accidental Americans.

Moved abroad 15 years ago. The years before the Streamlined window aren't filed at all, so 15 years of non-filing turns into three returns and six FBARs. If you hold local mutual funds, they're usually PFICs, which need care.

Green card holder. Leaving the U.S. doesn't end the green card for tax purposes. Until it's formally given up, you file like a citizen. Green card holders abroad.

Planning to renounce. To give up citizenship without being treated as a covered expatriate, you certify five years of tax compliance. If you've already renounced without filing, relief for former citizens may forgive the past tax.

6What to do this month: a step-by-step plan

1. Check you need to file. If your income was under the filing threshold and your accounts never added up to more than $10,000, you may not need to file at all. The filing checker and FBAR checker tell you.
2. Don't file anything quietly. Filing just this year, or a few old years on their own, can make things harder. Why a quiet disclosure is risky.
3. Check you qualify for Streamlined. The eligibility check covers the 330-day test and the rest.
4. Sort out your taxpayer ID. An SSN if you're eligible, or an ITIN application to send with the returns.
5. Gather your documents for the three tax years and the six FBAR years (the table below).
6. Have the returns prepared, choosing the exclusion or credit that keeps your U.S. tax lowest, with the FBARs, Form 14653 and your non-willful statement.
7. File and mail. The FBARs go online; the returns and Form 14653 go to the IRS by mail with any tax and interest due. Then file on time every year after.

The first three steps take an evening. Gathering documents usually takes longest, especially old account statements.

7Which documents do you need?

8What does catching up cost?

The IRS charges nothing to use the Streamlined procedures. You pay any U.S. tax actually due for the three years, with interest, and the cost of preparing the filing. Our fee is flat and agreed upfront: $1,399 for three returns, six FBARs and Form 14653, or $1,099 if your accounts never added up to more than $10,000. See all prices.

Families can even come out ahead: the refundable part of the child tax credit can mean money back for recent years. The child tax credit abroad.

Common questions

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