Departure planning timelines — is this a do-it-yourself job?
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: working backwards from the intended departure date sets the order: valuations and elections first, asset restructuring next, then the departure-year return and its property schedules.
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.
How far ahead of leaving should departure planning actually start?
Earlier than most people expect, because several of the steps that reduce departure-related tax exposure — realizing certain gains, restructuring how assets are held, settling residency ties — only work if they happen before the departure date, not after. Once residency has actually changed, the planning window for most of these steps has closed.
What order should ties to a country be wound down before leaving?
Residency tests generally look at the whole pattern of ties together, including where you keep a home, where your family lives, and where your economic and social connections sit, so cutting one tie while leaving several others intact rarely resolves the picture on its own. We sequence which ties to address first based on which carry the most weight in your specific case.
Does the planning timeline change for a move through several countries?
Yes, meaningfully. Each country you touch on the way has its own residency rules and its own view of when you started and stopped being resident there, and those views do not always align with each other. A route through an intermediate country needs its own timeline built alongside the final destination's, not treated as incidental to it.
How do I know whether I am a covered expatriate?
Three tests, and one is enough. Net worth of $2,000,000 or more on the day you expatriate. Average annual net income tax above an inflation-adjusted figure for the five preceding years — $206,000 for 2025. Or failure to certify on Form 8854 that you complied with all federal tax obligations for those five years. The third catches people the first two never would, which is why compliance history is the thing to fix before, not after. See covered expatriate testing.
Is there an exit tax when a green card holder leaves the United States?
Only for long-term residents — those who held the green card for long enough to be inside the expatriation regime — and then only if one of the covered expatriate tests is met. The step people skip is the formal one: the status has to be properly ended for tax purposes, and until it is, worldwide filing continues no matter where you live. Abandoning the card and forgetting the tax filing is the common, expensive sequence. See giving up a green card.
