| Instructions for Form 8854 |
2003 Tax Year |
Specific Instructions
This is archived information that pertains only to the 2003 Tax Year. If you
are looking for information for the current tax year, go to the Tax Prep Help Area.
Enter the complete telephone number, including the country and area codes, at which you can be reached.
Generally, this number is your U.S. social security number. An incorrect or missing identifying number may result in additional
correspondence.
Part I—General Information
The date of your expatriation is either the date that your certificate of naturalization was canceled by a Federal court or
the date that you, with
the intention of relinquishing your citizenship, voluntarily took one of several actions. These actions include:
- Obtaining naturalization in a foreign state,
- Taking an oath, affirmation, or other formal declaration of allegiance to a foreign state,
- Entering or serving in the armed forces of a foreign state engaged in hostilities against the United States, or serving as
a commissioned or
noncommissioned officer in the armed forces of a foreign state,
- Accepting employment with a foreign government if a declaration of allegiance is required in accepting the position or if
you have the
nationality of that foreign state, or
- Making a formal renunciation of nationality before a diplomatic or consular officer of the United States in a foreign state.
For more details about voluntarily relinquishing U.S. citizenship, see 8 United States Code section 1481.
The date of your expatriation is the earliest of:
- The date your green card was rescinded by the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS).
- The date your green card was administratively or judicially determined to have been abandoned. If you filed Form I-407,
Abandonment of Lawful Permanent Resident Status, with the INS, the date of the abandonment of your green card is on line 6(c)
of that
form.
- The first day of the tax year for which you began to be treated as a foreign resident under the provisions of an income tax
treaty and do
not waive the benefits of the treaty.
If you have a P.O. box, enter your box number instead of your street address only if your post office does not deliver mail
to the street address.
Enter the information in the following order: street address, city, province or state, and country. Follow the country's practice
for entering the
postal code. Do not abbreviate the country name.
Show how you became a citizen. For example, if you acquired citizenship at birth, write “At Birth.” If you acquired citizenship through
naturalization, write “Naturalized Citizen.”
List the number of days you were physically present in the United States (including vacation and nonworkdays) in the tax year
you expatriated and
in each of the 2 tax years prior to expatriation.
The applicable threshold amounts are as follows:
The applicable threshold amounts are as follows:
Certain former U.S. citizens and former U.S. LTRs can request a ruling that the avoidance of U.S. taxes was not a principal
purpose of their
expatriation.
If you are a former U.S. citizen, you are generally eligible to request a ruling (within 1 year after the loss of U.S. citizenship)
if:
- You were a citizen of both the United States and a foreign country at birth and you maintained the foreign country citizenship
after you
expatriated or
- You are (or become) a citizen of the country where (a) you were born, (b) one of your parents was born, or
(c) your spouse was born.
If you are a former U.S. LTR, you are generally eligible to request a ruling if you are (or become) a resident fully liable for
income tax in the country where (a) you were born, (b) one of your parents was born, or (c) your spouse was
born. For this purpose, a resident who is not domiciled in a country is not considered a resident fully liable for income
tax in that country if his
or her income is subject to tax in a different manner than the income of a resident who is domiciled in the country.
In addition, a former U.S. citizen or former U.S. LTR who spent no more than 30 days in the United States during each year
of the 10-year period
prior to expatriation or expatriated before reaching age 18½ is also generally eligible to request a ruling. For more details,
see
section 877, section IV of Notice 97-19, and section IV of Notice 98-34, 1998-2 C.B. 29. You can find Notice 98-34 on page
30 of Internal Revenue
Bulletin 1998-27 at www.irs.gov/pub/irs-irbs/irb98-27.pdf.
Be sure to take into account the aggregate fair market value of all your assets, not your net worth. If the aggregate value
exceeds $500,000, you must complete Part II of Form 8854.
Form 8854 is not considered valid unless you sign it. If you have someone else prepare Form 8854, you are still responsible
for its correctness.
Paid preparers.
Generally, anyone you pay to prepare Form 8854 must sign it by hand in the space provided. Signature stamps or labels
cannot be used. The preparer
must give you a copy for your records. Someone who prepares Form 8854 but does not charge you a fee should not sign it.
If you answered “Yes” to the question on line 11 on the front of Form 8854, you must list your assets and liabilities (in U.S. dollars)
immediately prior to your expatriation.
Note:
If there have been significant changes in your assets and liabilities for the period that began 5 years prior to expatriation
and ended on the date
that you file Form 8854, you must attach a statement explaining the changes. Also, attach a similar statement if you expect
significant changes in the
10-year period after expatriation.
List the fair market value of each class of assets and your U.S. adjusted basis in the class of assets. You may use good faith
estimates of fair
market value and basis (formal appraisals are not required).
Subtract the amounts in column (b) from the amounts in column (a) and show the gain or (loss) in column (c). Enter negative
amounts in parentheses.
If you are a former U.S. LTR, it may benefit you to complete column (d). For more details, see section 877(e)(3)(B). Only former U.S.
LTRs should complete column (d).
Enter in column (d) the fair market value of each asset on the date you first became a U.S. resident for tax purposes.
Note:
The date you first became a U.S. resident for tax purposes is not always the same as the date you first became a U.S. lawful permanent
resident. For details on U.S. residency (including the substantial presence test), see Pub. 519, U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens.
List the total value of all your partnership interests. If you hold an interest in one or more partnerships, you must attach
a statement to Form
8854 that lists each partnership separately. Include the employer identification number (EIN), if any, for each partnership.
Describe the assets and
liabilities of each partnership (using the categories on the balance sheet on page 2 of Form 8854) attributable to your interest
in the partnership.
List the total value of all assets held by trusts that, you are considered to own for tax purposes. You must attach a statement
to Form 8854 that
lists each trust separately. Include the EIN (if any) for each trust. Describe the assets and liabilities of each trust (using
the categories on the
balance sheet on page 2 of Form 8854) attributable to your interest in the trust.
Note:
To determine if you are an owner of a trust, see sections 671 through 679.
List the total value of all assets held by nongrantor trusts in which you are considered to have a beneficial interest. You
must attach a statement
to Form 8854 that lists each trust separately. Include the EIN (if any) for each trust. Describe the assets and liabilities
of each trust (using the
categories on the balance sheet on page 2 of Form 8854) attributable to your interest in the trust.
Note:
To determine if you are a beneficiary of a nongrantor trust, you must allocate the property interests of the trust based on
all relevant facts and
circumstances. To determine the value of your beneficial interest, use the valuation principles under section 2512. See section
III of Notice 97-19
for examples of how the property interests of a nongrantor trust should be allocated to the beneficiaries of the trust.
Intangible property includes any of the following items that have substantial value independent of the services of any individual.
- Patent, invention, formula, process, design, pattern, or know-how.
- Copyright, literary, musical, or artistic composition.
- Trademark, trade name, or brand name.
- Franchise, license, or contract.
- Method, program, system, procedure, campaign, survey, study, forecast, estimate, customer list, or technical data.
- Any similar item.
Attach a statement describing and listing the total value of any other assets you have that are not included on lines 1 through
18.
Attach a statement describing and listing the total value of any other liabilities you have that are not included on lines
21 and 22.
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