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Moving abroad brings a duty many Americans only discover later: US tax returns do not stop at the border.
For unfiled returns, the statute of limitations generally remains open. Foreign banks may report your accounts to the US every year and may also request evidence of prior tax filings. And the moment you draw on your 401k or claim Social Security, agencies may look for prior tax filings.
Catching up is simpler and less costly than most people fear, and many expats who catch up ultimately owe little or no additional US tax. This is the exact situation Taxbrella was built for: a steady hand, at the ready. This guide walks you through the process, step by step.
The US taxes by citizenship, not by address. Eritrea is the only other country in the world that does this. The question is not where you live. It is how much you earned.
For the 2025 tax year, a single filer under 65 must file once worldwide income passes $15,750. If you are married to a non-American and file separately, the threshold is five dollars. Yes, five dollars. Self-employed? Filing is required once net profit passes $400.
The Foreign Earned Income Exclusion protects the first $130,000 of your 2025 salary. The Foreign Tax Credit turns tax paid in your country of residence into credit against your US bill. For residents of high-tax countries such as the Netherlands, Germany, or the UK, the outcome is usually zero.
Below the filing threshold? A simple protective return can still be wise. You can file one at no cost through IRS Free File. It closes the year and starts the audit clock.
Under FATCA, many foreign financial institutions report information on US account holders under FATCA to the US Treasury. Disclosure of each account, each balance maintained becomes crucial. Some banks turn American customers away rather than carry that burden. Staying quiet does not make you invisible. It makes you a person with bank activity and no tax returns.
And the weather is changing. On July 1, 2026, the IRS removed the Delinquent FBAR Submission Procedures from its website without announcement. Those procedures had provided a penalty-free route for late FBAR submissions when income had already been properly reported. The options available today are not guaranteed to remain available tomorrow.
The main shelter remains open, and it is a proven one. The IRS calls it the Streamlined Filing Compliance Procedures: one structured project, and you are fully caught up. Here is what it requires.
1. Confirm that you qualify. Your delay must be non-willful, meaning you did not skip filing on purpose. You must not be under an IRS audit. The procedures are generally intended as a one-time path back into compliance.
2. File your last three years of tax returns. Filing in 2026 means tax years 2023, 2024, and 2025.
3. File your last six years of FBARs. An FBAR is a report of your foreign accounts, required whenever they total more than $10,000 at any point in a year, even for a single day. It goes to FinCEN, not the IRS, and no tax is due on it.
4. Complete Form 14653. This is your signed statement that the delay was an honest mistake. Pay any tax due, plus interest. Penalty-free means zero penalties, not zero interest. Interest accrues from each return's original April 15 due date.
The program has no formal deadline. However, the best time to use the Streamlined Procedures is as soon as possible, ideally before the IRS identifies the issue first. As the July 1, 2026 removal of the Delinquent FBAR Submission Procedures demonstrated, IRS compliance programs can change without notice. For full details, the IRS publishes its own Streamlined Procedures FAQ for taxpayers abroad.
Collect these first, and the rest of the process becomes far easier.
1. Your Social Security number, or your ITIN if you have one.
2. Income statements for the last three years: payslips, annual statements, or P60.
3. The highest balance of every foreign account for each of the last six years. Estimate high if you are unsure. Over-reporting on an FBAR carries no penalty.
4. Your local tax returns for those years, if you filed them.
5. If you are self-employed: income and expenses per year, including loss years. Losses on file can offset future income.
A practical note from our head of tax: Documents mailed to the IRS count as filed on the day you mail them. Send with tracking and keep the receipt.
The forms are public, but a storm is easier to cross with someone dependable holding the umbrella. This is what you receive with Taxbrella:
• The full streamlined package: three returns, six FBARs, and the Form 14653 certification, prepared for you.
• IRS Enrolled Agents and CPAs with more than 30 years of hands-on expat experience. A review of your local tax returns against your US ones, so both countries tell the same story.
• High-tech systems, high-touch service. Create a free account, answer a plain-English questionnaire, upload your documents. You only pay when you decide to file.
• If the IRS sends a letter about a return we prepared, we answer it. That is included.
Create a free Taxbrella account and review your options before you commit to anything.
People who catch up report the same two things. They owed far less than they feared, and in most cases nothing.
Three years of returns, six FBARs, one form. That is the entire project. Handle it yourself with the links above, or let Taxbrella hold the umbrella while you return to your life abroad. We're there when you need us. Rain or shine, we've got you covered.
