update from the IRS

[raquelita]

excerpt from an article directed at Americans in Canada but relevant for us too:

. . .On a related issue, we have heard that when entering the US, US immigration officers are requesting that travelers born in the US are asked for a US passport for their entry. We believe that a significant number of US born citizens are also citizens of their adopted countries and may well have been using their other passports when travelling to the States. If the request to use a US passport when entering becomes a requirement, then it is possible that, in order to request or renew your US passport, you will have also to have had to file all delinquent US tax returns.

Finally, starting in 2014 (moved from 2013), foreign financial institutions will be required by the US government under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FACTA) to report information regarding accounts of US citizens to the IRS. This law requires foreign financial institutions (FFIs) of broad scope - banks, stock brokers, hedge funds, pension funds, insurance companies, trusts - to report directly to the IRS all clients who are U.S. persons. The penalties to the institution are steep and there is no clear idea of what foreign banking institutions will do with their US clients. Some banks are considering refusing their services to US citizens.

Take a look at the form that is in draft form now at http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-dft/f8938--dft.pdf You will have to file it for fiscal year 2011 reporting purposes. Read What American Citizens Abroad (www.aca.ch) is saying about FATCA and the need to have it repealed.

DAC is considering action to repeal FATCA or to raise the FACTA reporting ceiling [currently $10,000] to an amount over $250,000 of assets.