Category Archives: Relinquishment of US citizenship

Double Taxation Of Americans Abroad Is Because Of Citizenship Based Double Tax Residency

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What Is Meant By The Double Taxation Of Americans Abroad?

On February 12, 2025 I hosted an “X Spaces“. The intended purpose was to discuss Professor Avi-Yonah’s new paper “Should The United States Abandon Citizenship-based Taxation”? The paper is clearly in support of the continuation of U.S. citizenship taxation. The paper is here:

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You can listen to the discussion here:

At the end of the discussion we focused on the question of:

Q. What is meant by ending double taxation?

I suggested that the answer is:

A. Double taxation is the result of double tax residency. For U.S. citizens “double tax residency” is caused by U.S. citizenship taxation. It is ended by severing citizenship from tax residency.

Two previous discussions about ending Citizenship-based “double taxation”

I have included the “slides” that were prepared for each of these presentations. They (in my opinion) do a good job in explaining what citizenship taxation really is and what is required to end it.

Enjoy (or not).

July 10, 2024 – What is REAL(ly) Residency Taxation?

Here are the slides for the presentation:

RBT 2

July 12, 2024 – Republicans Overseas Tax Proposal

Here are the slides for the presentation:

Severing citizenship from tax residency 3

In conclusion …

I believe that these two presentaions (along with the slides) will assist in understanding:

1. What the double taxation of Americans abroad actually is; and

2. How the double taxation of Americans abroad can (and must) be ended.

John Richardson – Follow me X.com @ExpatriationLaw

Extreme Caution Should Be Exercised In Applying For Non-Renunciation “Relinquishments” Of U.S. Citizenship

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January 25, 2025

Keeping this short, sweet and to the point:

I recommend NOT applying for Certificates Of Loss Of Nationality (“CLNs”) based on a past relinquishing act. Past relinquishing acts include ANY form of relinquishment that is not a present day “renunciation” of U.S. citizenship. (See the appendix to this post.)

If you need help with this problem feel free to reach out to me.

This recommendation is based on experiences in Canada:

– knowing several cases where the Consular appointments documenting the past relinquishing act took place almost two years ago. The individuals have still, despite repeated inquiries, NOT had a response from the State Department! To be clear, two of these were based on naturalizations as Canadian citizens after June 16, 2008 (meaning they were clearly subject to U.S. taxation up to the date of the appointment and were in fact tax compliant!)

– the new rules (using a new DS-4079) which took effect on November 1, 2024 make it VERY clear that the State Department is reviewing the evidence of voluntariness and intent to relinquish U.S. citizenship. The voluntariness and intent must be proven at the moment of the expatriating act!

– I know people who submitted applications to renounce U.S. citizenship (in Canada) prior to November 1, 2024 (and therefore prior to the beginning of the new DS-4079), who are awaiting appointments to renounce. They have subsequently received messages asking them (in anticipation of their renunciation appointments) to complete the new DS-4079. The message to them also included the statement that:

The Department of State will only have a legal basis to approve a CLN in your name if the preponderance of evidence shows that you voluntarily performed a potentially expatriating act with the intent to relinquish U.S. nationality.

Notice that the burden of proof is on the person seeking the CLN. The State Department decides what it takes to satisfy the “preponderance of the evidence” standard. This is a difficult burden to meet when the relinquishing act was many years ago. It appears that the facts of “NOT exercising any rights of U.S. citizenship” (after the relinquishing act) are insufficient to meet the evidentiary standard.

For many years I was able to assist (many) people in getting CLNs based on “relinquishing acts in the past”. The law has not changed. What appears to have changed is what the State Department will accept as evidence of meeting the “burden of proof” of voluntariness and intent. The shift in the State Department attitude appears to have started about two years ago. It is clearly expressed in the new DS-4079. I have been warning people about this for the last year or so. I strongly suggest that people exercise extreme caution in applying for CLNs based on relinquishing acts in the past. This is particularly true for those who need a CLN relatively quickly.

Bottom line: You should renounce!

At this point my suggestion is (assuming you qualify):

Renounce and use the 2019 “IRS Relief Procedures For Former Citizens“. Current information on the “Relief Procedures For Former Citizens” program is here.

If you need help, feel free to contact me.

John Richardson – Follow me on X.com @ExpatriationLaw

Appendix – 349(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.

What follows is the statute governing relinquishment of U.S. citizenship. I have added “JR Commentary in italics“.

Notice that paragraph (b) describes the “burden of proof”.

I suggest using (5) renunciation as your method of relinquishment. The other options are now presenting hurdles that are difficult to meett.

§1481. Loss of nationality by native-born or naturalized citizen; voluntary action; burden of proof; presumptions

(a) A person who is a national of the United States whether by birth or naturalization, shall lose his nationality by voluntarily performing any of the following acts with the intention of relinquishing United States nationality–

JR Commentary: The general test is that the expatriating act must be or have been performed voluntarily and with the intention of relinquishing U.S. citizenship.

(1) obtaining naturalization in a foreign state upon his own application or upon an application filed by a duly authorized agent, after having attained the age of eighteen years; or

JR Commentary: This is a past relinquishing act. I know of people who have relied on this and are having difficulty getting CLNs.

(2) taking an oath or making an affirmation or other formal declaration of allegiance to a foreign state or a political subdivision thereof, after having attained the age of eighteen years; or

JR Commentary: This is a past relinquishing act. I know of people who have relied on this and are having difficulty getting CLNs.

(3) entering, or serving in, the armed forces of a foreign state if (A) such armed forces are engaged in hostilities against the United States, or (B) such persons serve as a commissioned or non-commissioned officer; or

JR Commentary: Again, only in the most extraordinary circumstances will this succeed.

(4)(A) accepting, serving in, or performing the duties of any office, post, or employment under the government of a foreign state or a political subdivision thereof, after attaining the age of eighteen years if he has or acquires the nationality of such foreign state; or (B) accepting, serving in, or performing the duties of any office, post, or employment under the government of a foreign state or a political subdivision thereof, after attaining the age of eighteen years for which office, post, or employment an oath, affirmation, or declaration of allegiance is required; or

JR Commentary: This depends on the nature of the work for the foreign government. Only specific kinds of employment have a chance of success (and even then there is the problem of proof).

(5) making a formal renunciation of nationality before a diplomatic or consular officer of the United States in a foreign state, in such form as may be prescribed by the Secretary of State; or

JR Commentary: So far I have never had a renunciation, at the Consulate rejected. If you want a CLN quickly this is the way to go.

(6) making in the United States a formal written renunciation of nationality in such form as may be prescribed by, and before such officer as may be designated by, the Attorney General, whenever the United States shall be in a state of war and the Attorney General shall approve such renunciation as not contrary to the interests of national defense; or

(7) committing any act of treason against, or attempting by force to overthrow, or bearing arms against, the United States, violating or conspiring to violate any of the provisions of section 2383 of title 18, or willfully performing any act in violation of section 2385 of title 18, or violating section 2384 of title 18 by engaging in a conspiracy to overthrow, put down, or to destroy by force the Government of the United States, or to levy war against them, if and when he is convicted thereof by a court martial or by a court of competent jurisdiction.

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(b) Whenever the loss of United States nationality is put in issue in any action or proceeding commenced on or after September 26, 1961 under, or by virtue of, the provisions of this chapter or any other Act, the burden shall be upon the person or party claiming that such loss occurred, to establish such claim by a preponderance of the evidence. Any person who commits or performs, or who has committed or performed, any act of expatriation under the provisions of this chapter or any other Act shall be presumed to have done so voluntarily, but such presumption may be rebutted upon a showing, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the act or acts committed or performed were not done voluntarily.

JR Commentary: It appears that the focus of the State Department is now squarely on whether the individual seeking the CLN has met this burden of proof.

(June 27, 1952, ch. 477, title III, ch. 3, §349, 66 Stat. 267 ; Sept. 3, 1954, ch. 1256, §2, 68 Stat. 1146 ; Pub. L. 87–301, §19, Sept. 26, 1961, 75 Stat. 656 ; Pub. L. 94–412, title V, §501(a), Sept. 14, 1976, 90 Stat. 1258 ; Pub. L. 95–432, §§2, 4, Oct. 10, 1978, 92 Stat. 1046 ; Pub. L. 97–116, §18(k)(2), (q), Dec. 29, 1981, 95 Stat. 1620 , 1621; Pub. L. 99–653, §§18, 19, Nov. 14, 1986, 100 Stat. 3658 ; Pub. L. 100–525, §§8(m), (n), 9(hh), Oct. 24, 1988, 102 Stat. 2618 , 2622.)

https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title8-section1481&num=0&edition=prelim

State Department Announces Intention To Reduce Fee To Issue Certificates Of Loss Of Nationality From $2350 To $450

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Introduction And General Context

On Friday January 6, 2023 the State Department announced its intention to reduce the administrative fee for issuing CLNs (“Certificates Of Loss Of Nationality”) for US citizenship relinquishments from the current $2350 to $450. Notably in 2015 the State Department increased the fee from $450 to $2350.

The precise language found in the Declaration of Assistant Secretary For Consular Affairs Reena Bitter was:

3. Under 31 U.S.C. 9701, 22 U.S.C. § 4219, and Executive Order 10718, the Department has the authority to establish fees to be charged for official services provided by U.S. embassies and consulates. The Department intends to pursue rulemaking to reduce the fee for processing CLN requests from the current amount of $2350 to the previous fee of $450, as set in 75 FR 36522 on June 28, 2010. The Department will consider any necessary changes to this fee, as appropriate, in a future rulemaking.

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The reduction was announced in conjunction with a lawsuit launched by the Association Of Accidental Americans arguing that the $2350 renunciation fee is unconstitutional. The announcement and general context is described in the article at the American Expat Finance News Journal.

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Those wishing to better understand the lawsuit might be interested in a 2020 podcast I did with the lawyer Marc Zell.

Should you delay your renunciation until the new fee is in effect?

On January 9, 2023 there was a live hearing in Washington, DC exploring issues related to the lawsuit. During the hearing the Judge questioned the State Department lawyer about the plans to reduce the fee from $2350 to $450. It is apparent that:

1. There is no clear date on which the reduced fee will take effect.

2. There is no evidence that those who paid $2350 will be entitled to any kind of refund.

In many countries the waiting list to renounce or relinquish US citizenship continues to be long. Some of those waiting are dangerously close to being “covered expatriates” (based on the net worth test). “Covered expatriates” are generally subject to the 877A expatriation tax rules.

In most cases, those seeking to renounce US citizenship are probably best to avail themselves of the opportunity to renounce regardless of the fee on their renunciation date.

John Richardson – Follow me on Twitter @Expatriationlaw

New Location: John Richardson – Information Session – London, UK – Thursday Oct. 13/22 – 19:30 – 21:30

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John Richardson – Information Session – London, UK – Thursday Oct. 13/22 – 19:30 – 21:30

What: John Richardson informal information and discussion session for those impacted by US extraterritorial overreach

When: Thursday October 13, 2022 – 19:30 – 21:30

Where: Sutton Arms – Wine Room
6 Carthusian Street, London, EC1M 6EB

Cost: No charge for the session. You may wish to purchase a beverage at the location.

How to get there: There is a map at the bottom of the home page of the Sutton Arms Site:

https://www.sutton-arms.co.uk/

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To Renounce US Citizenship Or Not To Renounce – That Is The Question

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In May of 2021 John Richardson participated in this podcast with 4 The Now Media.

It has become increasingly difficult for US citizens living outside the United States to comply with the US tax and regulatory regime. Unfortunately Americans abroad are being constructively forced to renounce US citizenship.

People are NOT renouncing US citizenship because they want to! They are renouncing because they have to!

The following podcast discusses many of the issues surrounding the renunciation decision. The discussion includes a discussion of several profiles, the applicability of the 877A Exit Tax and the dual citizenship from birth exemption.

Follow me on Twitter @Expatriationlaw

A Simple Regulatory Fix For The FATCA problems of Accidental Americans and other dual citizens from birth

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Update – Podcast July 17, 2022

Prologue

It is clear that the US extraterritorial tax regime, which imposes taxation on the non-US source income of US citizens living outside the United States, is an outrageous violation of the sovereignty of other nations. It is also an extreme injustice inflicted on US citizens living outside the United States. The US has successfully exported the extraterritorial tax regime to the world through a combination of (1) The US Internal Revenue Code (2) the FATCA IGAs (hunting down US citizens) and (3) the saving clause in US tax treaties (Country X agrees that the US can impose tax on any individual who has been identified as a US citizen and is tax resident of Country X). To understand the interplay between (1), (2) and (3) above see the following article I wrote for the American Expat Finance News Journal.

The three groups most visibly impacted by the US Extraterritorial tax regime (in different ways) and its enforcement outside the United States include:

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FinCEN Changes FBAR Deadline Again AND AGAIN

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Republished with permission. This post was written by Helen Burggraf and originally appeared on October 16, 2020 on the American Expat Financial News Journal website.

Another Update October 19, 2020 – The Filing Deadline Is Now October 31, 2020

And back to the original post …

The U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network has quietly removed from its website its surprise announcement, posted just two days ago, that the final deadline for Foreign Bank Account Report (FBAR) filings had been moved to Dec. 31, from Oct. 15 (yesterday).

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2016: Evolution of process of relinquishing US citizenship in Canada – Form 4079 no longer used

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Attention!! The following post no longer describes the renunciation/relinquishment process. Effective November 1, 2024 the process has been updated.

Full details are available here and here.

I am leaving the following post from 2016 up only for historical context.

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From 2016 – A snapshot in time …

In the last year I have written the following three posts about the evolution of the process of “formal expatriation” (NOT the do it yourself version AKA – simply “delete US citizenship“).
This is the fourth post. This post confirms that the the process in Canada no longer includes Form 4079. Instead a questionnaire has been included as a possible substitute for Form 4079. It appears that those who are applying for “back dated relinquishments” should use the questionnaire to document the basis for the claim.
The first three posts have been:

1. July 10, 2015 -Thoughts on: Major updates to Foreign Affairs Manual on U.S. citizenship renunciation procedures – Relinquishment fee moving from no charge to $2350, phasing out Form 4079, no lawyers allowed at appointments

2. November 4, 2015 – State Department Phasing Out Form 4079 for relinquishments of U.S. citizenship – A review the role played by Form 4079 in different U.S. consulates around the world.

3. February 17, 2016 – New instructions to book Canada appointments to relinquish or renounce US citizenship – describing the new centralized process for relinquishment U.S. citizenship in Canada

Today’s (May 26, 2016) post confirms that Form 4079 appears to have been eliminated in Canada. What is expected now?. You being the relinquishment process (which includes renunciation) in Canada (different countries have different rules) by emailing: CanadaCLNinquires@state.gov. You will then receive a reply email which provides instructions.

That is the contents of the automated reply which provides direction and guidance – Here is the questionnaire that is attached to the email:
Questionnaire from CanadaCLNInquiries
As of May 26, 2016 the reply email includes:
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Could The 2015 Obama budget proposal for "dual citizens" have been implemented without Congressional approval?

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Note: This post was originally written in 2015. Parts of this post have been updated in January of 2021. (The original post is here.) The changes reflect the evolution of my thinking. I now believe that Treasury could (or could have) accomplished much of this proposal through Treasury regulations.

Part 1 – The Obama 2015 Budget Proposal – Change you can believe in?

This was the subject of significant discussion at the Isaac Brock Society. It was also the subject of an insightful blog post by U.S. Tax Lawyer Virginia La Torre Jeker.

It is possible that (at long last) the U.S. government is beginning to recognize that there is a difference between “technical citizenship” and a voluntary U.S. connection indicative of “substantive citizenship” that might (but is not required to) justify taxation of U.S. citizens abroad in the 21st century.

The relevant provision (page 282) includes:

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