ARTICLE | September 19, 2024

The number of Americans who are voluntarily giving up their citizenship is at a record high and continues to increase each year. If you’ve decided to renounce your citizenship status, follow the five steps below to properly expatriate.

Get a Second Passport

To renounce your U.S. citizenship, you must be a citizen of another country. Having the second passport with you at your renunciation appointment is a common way to support your other nationality. The State Department will deny you the right to renounce your U.S. citizenship if you don’t have a second passport. Ensure that the passport you acquire is directly issued by the government in question, and never be tempted to purchase one off the internet.

Review the Renunciation Forms and Prepare DS-4079

The documents listed below are the ones required by the State Department to process your renunciation. You need to fill out form DS-4079, but do not sign, before your appointment. DS-4080, 4081, 4082 and 4083 are forms that you should review beforehand but complete at the appointment.

Schedule Your Renunciation Appointment

Ideally you should book your appointment at the embassy or consulate in the country (and possibly city) where you plan to live once you renounce your passport. When you book the appointment, make sure to indicate how many people are renouncing U.S. citizenship if it’s more than just yourself. It’s not uncommon for embassies and consulates to be booked several months out, so we recommend calling a few different places to see who can schedule you soonest.

Attend Your Renunciation Appointment

Make sure you take both your passports to your renunciation appointment. Bring your birth certificate, documentation of legal name changes since birth, and the certificate of naturalization from the country of your second passport if you have it.

At your appointment, you’ll complete several copies of each form. We recommend you keep these as organized as possible for your own records. Proofread everything you and the official put on the forms and make sure the signatures are in the right place.

During your appointment, you’ll also be required to pay the $2,350 fee for renouncing your citizenship. We recommend you pay by check, so you have a record of the written check.

At the end of renunciation appointment, you’ll be provided with Form DS-4083, called the CLN for Certificate of Loss of Nationality. This is the one piece of physical proof that you’ve completed the process for renouncing your U.S. citizenship, so you should keep it in a safe place.

File Your Final U.S. Tax Return

After renouncing your U.S. citizenship, you are required to file a final tax return as a U.S. citizen. This return is known as a dual-status tax return, and should be filed by April 15th of the year following your renunciation. Your final tax return consists of four parts:

• • Form 1040: Filed for Jan. 1 through the day you terminated your citizenship. Your income will be reported normally as a U.S. taxpayer, and will reflect both U.S. and non-U.S. sourced income you received during this period.
  • Form 1040NR: Filed for the day after your exit interview through Dec. 31. Your income will be reported like any other nonresident/noncitizen and will only reflect certain U.S. connected income you received from U.S. sources during this time period.
  • Form 8854: The Expatriation Information Statement is the form in which you inform the IRS that you have expatriated. This form is targeted at specific taxpayers who meet certain wealth thresholds based on the fair market value of all your assets as of the day before you renounced. We will help you to determine whether or not you’re required to pay any income tax that is created by terminating citizenship.
  • FinCEN Form 114 (Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts): The Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts will need to be filed if you have foreign bank accounts that existed prior to your expatriation and exceeded $10,000 at any time during the calendar year you’re reporting on. We can help you determine the specific forms you’re required to file, including the FinCen Form 114.

Keep in mind, the IRS issues a quarterly publication of individuals who have chosen to expatriate, listing the names of those individuals who have lost citizenship during the preceding quarter. Your name, as well as your loss of citizenship, will become public knowledge once complete.

While we strive to provide accurate information, regulations and fees can change. Please visit the U.S. Department of State website for the latest information on renouncing citizenship.