Covered expatriate testing — do I need an adviser, or can I do it alone?
Some of it, yes — and we will say so on the call if that is the honest answer. The parts that are worth paying for are the ones where a missed election, a missed deadline or an unverified threshold costs more than the fee: the tests are applied at expatriation: average annual income tax over prior years, net worth on the date, and certification of compliance for the preceding years.
What if I have already filed and got it wrong?
That is a common starting point. We re-derive the position, identify whether an amendment or a disclosure route is the right vehicle, and tell you which one preserves the relief that is still available. The order matters more than the speed.
How long will it take?
It depends on the documents rather than on us. Once the pack is complete most filings turn around inside a fortnight; anything that needs a certificate from a tax authority runs on that authority's timetable, which we tell you at the start rather than at the end.
What determines whether someone is treated as a covered expatriate?
US rules apply a small set of tests when a citizen or long-term resident gives up that status: an average tax liability test measured over prior filings, a net worth test, and a certification test confirming past tax compliance. Meeting any one of them can trigger covered expatriate treatment, which changes how the exit is taxed. We review each test against your specific facts before any filing decision is made.
Can advance planning change which test someone actually fails?
In some cases, yes. Net worth and prior tax liability are both facts that can shift depending on timing and how assets are held or reported before the expatriation date, and the certification test depends on your compliance history being in order beforehand. Planning ahead of the decision to expatriate gives more room to address this than reviewing it after the fact.
Does covered expatriate status affect assets left behind, not just future income?
It can. Covered expatriate treatment generally involves a deemed disposition of worldwide assets on the expatriation date, meaning unrealized gains may be recognized even though nothing was actually sold. Certain deferred compensation and trust interests are treated under their own separate rules instead. We map out which category each asset falls into before the expatriation date is set.
Is there a California exit tax?
A wealth-and-departure tax has been proposed in California more than once and has not been enacted. What does exist is enforcement of the ordinary rules, which reaches further than people expect: California taxes its residents on everything and taxes non-residents on California-source income, so trailing items from work done there remain taxable, and a change of residence is tested against a long list of factors rather than a moving date. See state residency and domicile.
Do I have to declare my dual citizenship?
A tax return does not generally ask you to declare which passports you hold; it asks about residence, and in the US case it applies to citizens by definition. What does ask is your bank. Account-opening self-certification under FATCA and the Common Reporting Standard asks which countries you are a tax resident or citizen of, and the answer is reported onward to the tax authority. So the practical answer is that the information arrives either way. See FATCA reporting.
