Living abroad and never filed U.S. returns? The foreign streamlined procedures accept original returns for three years with no offshore penalty.
Americans abroad who did not know they had to file, or filed without reporting foreign accounts, catch up with three years of returns, six years of FBARs, and a certification of non-willfulness. No penalty applies, and after the foreign earned income exclusion or foreign tax credit most owe little or no U.S. tax. The residency test is strict and counted in days; the certification is sworn. Both are handled by an attorney.
The non-residency test
You meet the test if, in at least one of the three most recent tax years, you had no U.S. abode and were physically outside the United States for at least 330 full days. Green card holders and citizens qualify the same way. Days count precisely: a summer in the United States can cost a year of eligibility, and which year you use changes which returns are filed.
The failure must also have been non-willful, and you cannot be under IRS examination. Original never-filed returns are accepted, which is the main difference from the domestic procedures.
Results depend on the facts of each matter and are not a prediction of the outcome in your case.
Foreign accounts: what to review and when.
How the engagement works
Residency and willfulness review
An attorney confirms the 330-day test year by year and reviews the facts of the failure, under privilege.
Returns and FBARs
Three years of U.S. returns with the exclusion or credit applied, and six years of FBARs, prepared by our accounting team under the attorney’s engagement. Foreign pensions, funds, and companies are reported on the forms that go with them.
Certification and filing
Form 14653 is drafted as a narrative that explains the failure and why it was non-willful, then the package is submitted. If the IRS follows up, the same attorney answers.
Most expats who use these procedures owe no U.S. tax once the exclusion or credit is applied; the cost is the preparation. Read the full guide to the foreign procedures.
Questions people ask first
Usually less than you fear. Non-filing by Americans abroad who did not know is exactly what the foreign procedures were built for, and the result is often zero U.S. tax and no penalty. The mistake to avoid is filing quietly or certifying non-willfulness without having the facts reviewed.
The three most recent years for which the due date has passed, and six years of FBARs. Which year satisfies the residency test determines the rest; the attorney maps it before anything is prepared.
Often not. The foreign earned income exclusion removes an inflation-adjusted amount of wages (over 130,000 dollars for 2025) and the foreign tax credit offsets tax paid abroad. Investment income and foreign pensions can create some tax, and foreign mutual funds bring PFIC reporting with them.
Days in the United States count against the 330. If no year in the last three qualifies, the domestic procedures apply instead, with a 5 percent penalty. The test is applied year by year, so a single qualifying year is enough.
Frequently, yes: on the FBAR and Form 8938, and some are foreign trusts reportable on Form 3520. This surprises many expats and is one of the reasons the reconstruction is done by people who handle these forms regularly.
Schedule a confidential consultation
Bring the account statements and the returns you have. The attorney tells you which program fits, what it costs, and what to do first, whether or not you hire the firm.
