Check your eligibility
The Streamlined Foreign Offshore Procedures have four core eligibility tests. If you pass all four, Streamlined is likely your path. Our partner firm will confirm and quote your specific case.
The four qualifying tests
To file under the Streamlined Procedures, you must satisfy the following criteria:
Filing Obligation
You must have a US tax filing obligation as a US citizen, green-card holder, or tax resident, and have failed to file required returns, pay taxes owed, or file FBAR disclosures.
Guidance: Most expats who haven't filed US taxes in several years fall into this category. If you hold a US passport, green card, or dual citizenship, and haven't filed tax returns or FBAR reports, you meet this requirement.
Non-Willful Conduct
Your past failure to file must have been non-willful, meaning it was due to a genuine misunderstanding or lack of knowledge regarding US tax laws, without intent to hide assets.
Guidance: Non-willful simply means you did not intentionally avoid US taxes to hide income. For example, if you assumed paying tax in your current country was enough, or did not realize US citizens abroad are taxed globally, you meet the non-willful standard.
Foreign Presence
You must have been physically residing outside the United States for at least 330 full days in at least one of the three most recent tax years for which a return is due.
Guidance: This is an objective rule. Out of the last 3 tax years, there must be at least one year where you spent less than 35 days physically inside the United States. Brief visits for vacation, business, or family count towards those 35 days.
No US Abode
You must not have maintained a primary place of abode (such as a permanent residential home or primary personal connections) inside the United States during that 330-day period.
Guidance: An "abode" refers to your primary residence and center of domestic life. If you reside and work abroad, owning an investment property in the US, renting a US home to tenants, or maintaining a mailing address at a relative's house does not constitute a US abode.
If all four criteria describe your situation, fill out the secure intake form below. Our partner firm will review your facts and email you within two Asia business days, usually with a short Tax Questionnaire to capture a snapshot of your situation, which sets the basis for a customized, flat-fee scope of work.
If one or more of these rules seems ambiguous in your case, you should still request an assessment and describe your situation in the text field. Expat tax compliance frequently turns on specific, subjective facts, and a direct review is the most reliable way to establish your options.
Request a personalized assessment
Provide your details below to request a confidential evaluation from our partner firm, Capital Tax Limited.