US tax return as a dual national

Wh1skeyjack

Hi all,
I was at the US embassy today getting a passport for my son (my mother's American and I married an American) and the official there told me that I needed to file a tax return to the IRS, and should have been doing so all along! I'm a dual national, have both Irish and US passports, and have lived in Ireland my entire life except for a few years in the UK. Has anyone any experience with this scenario? A quick Google reveals that earnings of up to $91,500 is exempt. Unfortunately (or fortunately as the case may be) I'd be over this threshold, and it would be quite galling to have to pay the government in Ireland half my salary as it is and have the US government looking for their pound of flesh as well.....
Any opinions gratefully received!

nompere

The double tax treaty will help you - if you pay some US tax you will probably be entitled to some credit here, though you might fall foul of the four year rule.

It's unusual for someone without significant US earnings to have much tax to pay - Irish tax rates are generally higher so Irish income rarely gives a US tax liability.

You'll probably need professional help.

Wh1skeyjack

nompere wrote: »

The double tax treaty will help you - if you pay some US tax you will probably be entitled to some credit here, though you might fall foul of the four year rule.

It's unusual for someone without significant US earnings to have much tax to pay - Irish tax rates are generally higher so Irish income rarely gives a US tax liability.

You'll probably need professional help.

Thanks for the response. Does anyone here know of an accountant that would specialise in such work?

summereire

I'm in a very similar situation, having Irish/US dual citizenship and having just found out that IRS returns need to be submitted.

I get the exemption of the first XX amount of thousands but despite lots of Googling and reading the State Department, IRS and Irish Revenue websites I'm still very unclear about what happens over the threshold?

Is there a relief against double taxation over the threshold, is one countries tax off-set against the other, in which case if Ireland's tax rate is higher and I pay tax here as I live here and hardly ever go to the US, then I won't owe the IRS anything regardless of how much I earn up to any amount?

Another thing that I'm particularly curious about, and haven't found any clarification on so far, is if I buy or sell property here in Ireland - do the IRS have any interest in that? Is there Capital Acquisitions Tax or Capital Gains Tax due to the US even though the property is in Ireland?

I appreciate that I'll need some professional advice probably, but I like to do my research before I speak to the professional so I can ask the right questions. Any ideas on these points, or references to any resources, is VERY much appreciated!

Wisco

Turbo Tax is handy software to help you do your US taxes. I have a pretty basic situation so don't need much help, and therefore I'm not sure how good it is for complex situations (property sales, etc). Hope it can help you a bit though.

srsly78

This is why people renounce their us citizenship! Even if you live permanently abroad they still expect you to file tax returns.

summereire

Yeah, I'm surprised there is such little specific information online. There must be a lot of people with dual Irish / US citizenship in this position.

From what I can see online, they admit themselves that a lot of people don't know they're supposed to be filing and are lenient about it.

I'll keep searching and if I find any more resources on how it works, particularly for higher earners and for capital/property taxes, and will post back here - please do the same if you have any resources or insights!