Streamlined Foreign Offshore Procedures: the penalty-free way back, if you qualify

1Who qualifies for the Streamlined Foreign Offshore Procedures?

You can generally use the Streamlined Foreign Offshore Procedures if all of these are true. They come from the IRS's own rules for U.S. taxpayers residing outside the United States.

• You're an individual (or the estate of one): a U.S. citizen, a green card holder, or someone who met the substantial presence test.
• You meet the non-residency test for at least one of the last three years. It's explained, with examples, below.
• You didn't file, or didn't report foreign income, and may also have missed FBARs or international information returns like Forms 8938, 5471 or 3520.
• Your conduct was non-willful. Negligence, inadvertence, mistakes and good-faith misunderstandings of the law all count.
• The IRS hasn't started a civil examination of any of your returns, and you're not under criminal investigation.
• You have a valid taxpayer ID: a Social Security number, or an ITIN if you're not eligible for one. If you don't have either yet, an ITIN application can go in with the package.

2What is the 330-day non-residency test?

For U.S. citizens and green card holders, you meet the test if, in any one or more of the three most recent years whose tax return due date has passed, you:

• Didn't have a U.S. abode, meaning your home base wasn't in the U.S., and
• Were physically outside the U.S. for at least 330 full days.

A "full day" is a whole day, midnight to midnight. The days you fly to or from the U.S. usually don't count as full days outside it, so count carefully if you travel a lot. The 330 days don't need to be in a row.

Your abode is where your life is centered: your home, work and family. The IRS says that a temporary stay in the U.S., or keeping a house there, doesn't on its own mean your abode is in the U.S. If you're married and file jointly, both spouses need to meet the test. Non-citizens without a green card have a different test: they qualify for a year in which they didn't meet the substantial presence test.

Three examples, for someone filing in late 2026, when the years checked are 2023, 2024 and 2025:

Alex only needs one year, and 2025 works. But with one day to spare, a travel calendar and passport stamps matter: if one of those days was a travel day, Alex falls short. Jordan can't use the foreign procedures for any of the three years, so the Streamlined Domestic Offshore Procedures may fit instead, if Jordan filed U.S. returns.

Lived abroad the whole time? You almost certainly meet this part.

3Which years do you file?

You file the three most recent tax years whose return due date has passed, and the six most recent years whose FBAR due date has passed. If you started today, that would be:

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

Years before that aren't part of the filing, even if you've been away for decades. The exact years depend on the date you file and whether you extended your latest return. Our years-to-file calculator works it out for any date.

4What does "non-willful" mean?

The IRS defines non-willful conduct as conduct due to negligence, inadvertence or mistake, or the result of a good-faith misunderstanding of the law. It's the heart of the procedures: you certify it, under penalty of perjury, on Form 14653.

The statement on Form 14653 has to give specific reasons, in your own words: when you moved, what you understood about U.S. taxes, who you asked, and what you did when you found out. Here's an example of the level of detail it needs.

This is the part of the filing we spend the most time on with you. How the IRS tells willful from non-willful.

5How do you file? A step-by-step checklist

1. Confirm you qualify: the non-residency test in at least one year, non-willful conduct, and no IRS examination under way.
2. Sort out your taxpayer ID. You need a Social Security number, or an ITIN application to send with the returns if you're not eligible for one. Getting an SSN from abroad.
3. Gather your documents for the three tax years and the six FBAR years (the table below).
4. Prepare three tax returns: Form 1040 for years you didn't file, or Form 1040-X for years you filed but left something out. Each includes the forms your situation needs, like Form 2555 or Form 1116, and any information returns such as Form 8938, 5471, 3520 or 8621.
5. Mark each return. "Streamlined Foreign Offshore" goes in red at the top of the first page of each return and information return.
6. File six FBARs online through FinCEN's BSA E-Filing System. For the late-filing reason, choose "Other" and enter "Streamlined Filing Compliance Procedures".
7. Sign Form 14653 with your statement of facts. The original signed form goes in the package, and a copy is attached to each return. What the form asks.
8. Pay the tax and interest shown on the returns, with your taxpayer ID on any check.
9. Mail the package. The returns, Form 14653 and payment go on paper to the IRS's Streamlined unit in Austin, Texas. The IRS doesn't accept them electronically.
10. Keep copies of everything, and file on time every year from then on.

Can't find everything? That's normal. Banks and tax authorities can usually provide old records, and reasonable estimates are sometimes acceptable for FBAR balances.

6How long does it take?

Most of the time goes into gathering documents, especially old account statements. After that, the work runs in a set order:

1. Documents. You collect statements and local returns; we tell you exactly what's needed.
2. Preparation. We prepare the three returns, six FBARs and Form 14653, and write the statement with you.
3. Your review. You read everything, ask questions, and approve it.
4. Filing. We e-file the FBARs once you've signed the FinCEN Form 114a, and you print, sign and mail the package.
5. IRS processing. The IRS doesn't confirm receipt or send an acceptance letter. Processing can take months, and you'll only hear from them if something needs attention or a refund is due.

There's no deadline to use the procedures, but the IRS can end them at any time, and they stop being available once the IRS contacts you about an examination. Where things stand in 2026.

7What do the Streamlined Foreign Offshore Procedures cost?

The IRS charges nothing to use the procedures. You pay any tax actually due for the three years, with interest, and the cost of preparing the package. For many expats the tax is small or zero, thanks to the foreign earned income exclusion and foreign tax credit.

Our fee is flat and agreed upfront in writing: $1,399 for the full package with FBARs, or $1,099 if your accounts never added up to more than $10,000. Extras are priced per year, only if your situation needs them. See all prices.

8What penalties does it waive?

If you qualify and follow the procedures, the IRS doesn't charge:

• Failure-to-file or failure-to-pay penalties
• Accuracy-related penalties
• Information return penalties, for example on Forms 8938, 5471 or 3520
• FBAR penalties

Even if the returns are later selected for audit, those penalties stay off unless the IRS finds the original non-compliance was fraudulent. You do pay any tax actually owed for the three years, plus interest. What FBAR penalties could otherwise be.

Filing the same years on your own, outside the procedures, waives none of these. See quiet disclosure vs. Streamlined, side by side.

9SFOP vs. SDOP: which one is yours?

The Streamlined procedures come in two versions. Where you've lived in the last three years decides which one you use.

If you've moved back recently, check the foreign version first: one qualifying year abroad is enough, and it saves the 5%. Work out the domestic 5% with the SDOP penalty calculator.

10What happens after you file?

There's no formal acceptance letter. The IRS processes the returns like other returns and sends notices only if something needs attention. Returns filed under Streamlined aren't automatically audited, but can be selected like any return.

From then on you file every year as normal, and the procedures can't be used a second time. What happens after you file Streamlined.

Common questions

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