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Part 7 – Why 2015 is a good year for many #Americansabroad to relinquish US citizenship – It's the "Exchange Rate"

The purpose of my series of posts on the S. 877A “Exit Tax” has been to explain how the tax actually works. I have provided actual examples. The results have been enlightening and have demonstrated how arbitrary the results have been. In “Part 5” of this series you will find the actual examples and draft tax returns. I provided examples of how much the S. 877A “Exit Tax” could be. The examples were based on one consistent set of financial circumstances and demonstrated how that one set of financial circumstances would apply to five different people. We learned that there were wide variations in the amount of the “Exit Tax” payable. A person who was a “dual citizen” from birth may have paid on “Exit Tax” of $0.00. A person who was born ONLY a U.S. citizen might have paid as much as $365,000. (All amounts are in U.S. dollars.) But, wait the person was born a dual Canadian citizen, but was living in the UK when he renounced would pay an “Exit Tax” of $365,000.
Refreshing your memory
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These visual reminders strongly suggest that …


As one commenter observed:

I find this to be a very important study. The inclusion of sample completed Forms 8854 and 1040s is really helpful to understanding how the exit tax can affect people differently. The unfairness of the exit tax under 877A and its dependence on accidents of birth, over which a person has no control, is breathtaking. The article makes a convincing case for calling the exit tax “evil”.

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