Question regarding late filing of form 8854

Forum|Forum|1 year ago
July 28, 2024
2 replies
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Assume the following imagined situation:

1. The I-407 was filed on 10/30/2010 but no f8854 was filed for that year

2. In August of 2024 it was discovered that a f8854 should have been filed in 2010

3. A f8854 is in preparation to be filed on 8/20/2024

For this scenario the instruction for Form 8854 of 2018 is relevant.

More specifically the section “Expatriation After June 16, 2008” is relevant.

Below are my questions:

1. Net worth needs to be calculated on the date of expatriation. What is the date of expatriation?

Is it the date when the I-407 was filed (10/30/2010)? Or is the date when the initial f8854 will be filed (8/20/2024)?

2. The instructions say:

Attach your initial Form 8854 to your income tax return (Form 1040 or Form 1040NR) for the year that includes your expatriation date, and file your return by the due date of your tax return (including extensions).

Again, what is the expatriation date? And to what year of tax return does the f8854 need to be attached? 2010 or 2024?

3. Also in Part V, Schedule A and B the expatriation date determines what data needs to be entered into the form 8854. Again. What is the expatriation date?

Please somebody explain.

Not A Product Question

Best answer by pk12_2

@Wallaby given your situation of

(a) having filed I-407 correctly and intime and missing to file form 8854 and because so many years have passed, I would file form 8854 as Initial and final , with a note explaining the reason for missing the original filing back along with your tax return for the year of filing I-407.

( b) or call IRS or visit the IRS office ( generally there is one in the embassy of US in each country ) and ask for help for this oversight.

Note that there is always a risk that IRS would take the position that while you had abandoned Resident status ( from an immigration standpoint ) you still remained a Resident for Tax purposes , implying that they have right to tax your world income. I don't believe they would especially if your current tax home is in a country with a Tax treaty with US.

Personally I prefer option (b) if possible first and then follow up with option (a) or whatever the IRS suggests.

Is there more I can do for you ?

I am sorry I could not provide a lot of good news on this.

M-MTax

Not sure anyone here can answer your question but you should see a tax pro for this and one experienced in expats. This is complicated stuff.

pk12_2

Employee

@Wallaby , without adding my own take on this , may I refer you to the instructions for the form 8854 , which clearly stipulates / answers your questions ( as posted here ).

Here is the reference to this :

Instructions for Form 8854 (2023) | Internal Revenue Service (irs.gov)

If thereafter you still have questions on this , please welcome to add to this post.

WallabyAuthor

Thanks for your reply.

I read i8854 (2023). The expatriation date is the date the I-407 was filed.

I have a couple more questions.

1. f8854 (2023) seems not to be the right form to file f8854 for somebody who expatriated in 2010.

I believe f8854 (2018) needs to be filed. Is that correct?

2. In i8854 (2023 and 2018) it says:

"Attach your initial Form 8854 to your income tax return (Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR) for the year that includes your expatriation date, and file your return by the due date of your tax return (including extensions). "

Question: Applied to the example, does that mean one needs to attach f1040 from 2010 to f8854 and file in 2024?