On 13 Sept 2023 U.S. Representatives Don Beyer and Dina Titus tabled the introduction of the Tax Simplification for Americans Abroad Act. This legislation seeks to help American taxpayers living in Ireland comply with their U.S. tax obligations.
The Act envisages the creation of a short-form certification for Americans living in Ireland if they:
- Owe no U.S. tax (after taking exclusions and tax credits allowed under U.S. law and tax treaties), and
- Earn below $400,000 annually
- thus eliminating a multitude of the forms and schedules Americans (and green card holders) living in Ireland are required to file with the IRS each year under U.S. tax law.
Through this bill, the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion would expand to include additional types of income that are earned overseas, like pensions and distributions from retirements funds. The duplicative and burdensome forms under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) and the Bank Secrecy Act (FBAR) that taxpayers file would be consolidated, so filing these forms would be easier for Americans living in Ireland.
“Ordinary Americans living in Ireland are often overlooked when U.S. tax policy is written, which can make it extremely difficult and expensive for them to navigate the tax system,” said Rep. Don Beyer. “I saw a record-breaking number of Americans renounce their citizenship when I served as the U.S. Ambassador to Switzerland, and the needless complexity of the U.S. tax code was often cited as a reason. This bill would help ordinary Americans fulfill their obligations without having to retain an expensive accountant to certify that they owe no U.S. taxes, and remove some of the frustrations faced by Americans living in Ireland who just want to follow the law.”
This bill – although unlikely to be enacted – would be a huge step for all the Americans living in Ireland who struggle filing their tax returns making it much easier for them to meet their obligations. The proposals represent some common-sense options for Americans living in Ireland.
To learn more see www.ustax.cpa – based in Ranelagh, Dublin 6. Contact us for a free consultation.
Links
https://beyer.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=5981
For a copy of the bill:
Chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://beyer.house.gov/uploadedfiles/americans_abroad.pdf
Generally
If your foreign (that is non-US) financial (including bank) accounts exceeded $10,000 (cumulatively) at any point during a year then you should also have filed a FinCen114 (commonly called FBAR) form for each non-US bank account for the year. There are very steep fines if you have missed this.
Akso