US Tax specialists in London/South East? (Preparing I684)

[Snorbs 0]

Hi All,

I hope this is the right section to post this. I was wondering if any of you have any recommendations for US tax preparers in London? I have not filed filed since moving to the UK in 2006, now that I have petitioned for my UK spouse to move to the US, I need to file back taxes ASAP!

Does anyone have any experience with this? Am wondering if it's even worth paying someone. I'd be filing married but not jointly, as my husband has no SSN and has never lived in the US. I've not earned more than £35k in one year, which I believe is under the threshold, and I have no properties, savings accounts etc..... I think I'd essentially be paying someone to fill in 0's on a form. That said, I need proof that I will have filed all back taxes for my I-864 I'll need to complete in support of my husbands visa application. I thought perhaps by paying someone to prepare my taxes for me, I could get proof that I have filed, quicker? Wishful thinking?

Any comments/advice appreciated. And yes, I am now aware that it would have been much easier if I'd have just filed every year since moving...sigh..the things they don't tell you when you move away at 22. Lesson learned.

Thanks again.

[elmcitymaven 9,712]

Hi All,

I hope this is the right section to post this. I was wondering if any of you have any recommendations for US tax preparers in London? I have not filed filed since moving to the UK in 2006, now that I have petitioned for my UK spouse to move to the US, I need to file back taxes ASAP!

Does anyone have any experience with this? Am wondering if it's even worth paying someone. I'd be filing married but not jointly, as my husband has no SSN and has never lived in the US. I've not earned more than £35k in one year, which I believe is under the threshold, and I have no properties, savings accounts etc..... I think I'd essentially be paying someone to fill in 0's on a form. That said, I need proof that I will have filed all back taxes for my I-864 I'll need to complete in support of my husbands visa application. I thought perhaps by paying someone to prepare my taxes for me, I could get proof that I have filed, quicker? Wishful thinking?

Any comments/advice appreciated. And yes, I am now aware that it would have been much easier if I'd have just filed every year since moving...sigh..the things they don't tell you when you move away at 22. Lesson learned.

Thanks again.

I did it back in 2007 -- I'd spent 12 years in the UK and never filed a return. (Also a victim of the things they don't tell you when you're 22.) It really isn't that complicated, especially given your situation (no properties, savings accounts, earnings well below the level at which the exemption cuts off). I filed for three years, which was what the IRS branch in London told me was sufficient for the purposes of the I-864. It may be that you need fewer now, since things have changed slightly for DCF since 2007 (I assume you're filing DCF). I did it all myself Easter weekend 2007, and it couldn't have taken me more than four or five hours to do three years' worth.

Let me see what I can dig up from my old posts on here so I don't need to rewrite everything, but you might start by assembling your paystubs for the years you need to back file. Since the US financial year runs January-December and the UK's runs April-April, there's a bit of funny arithmetic you need to do to allocate the income correctly. Using paystubs makes this MUCH easier. And yes, file married filing separately. Makes things a lot easier and quicker. Just write "NRA" (for Non-Resident Alien) in the space for his SSN on the 1040EZ.

[elmcitymaven 9,712]

Durrr, I meant 1040, not 1040EZ. You'll need to also file a Form 2555EZ, which is for your for excluding your foreign income, along with your 1040.

I just checked, and the IRS office in London is still open! If you can make a visit there, they will take your returns over the counter and stamp them for you to use with your I-864 at the interview. It's just as good as sending them off to be filed, and certainly quicker. They do walk-in assistance Tuesday-Thursday. I visited them when I was doing this, and they were very helpful. More info here: http://www.irs.gov/uac/Contact-My-Local-Office-Internationally

It really isn't that hard, it's just boring and irritating. Feel free to ask me more questions. Or do an advanced search for the term "IRS" under my username.

[Snorbs 0]

Hi Maven,

Thank you so much for your reply, the information you have provided has been really helpful, especially this information about taking the returns to the counter at the IRS office. I never even considered doing this, and I work in Central London, so this would be perfect. I'll definitely be looking into it.

So grateful for this website and all the lovely, helpful members!

Durrr, I meant 1040, not 1040EZ. You'll need to also file a Form 2555EZ, which is for your for excluding your foreign income, along with your 1040.

I just checked, and the IRS office in London is still open! If you can make a visit there, they will take your returns over the counter and stamp them for you to use with your I-864 at the interview. It's just as good as sending them off to be filed, and certainly quicker. They do walk-in assistance Tuesday-Thursday. I visited them when I was doing this, and they were very helpful. More info here: http://www.irs.gov/uac/Contact-My-Local-Office-Internationally

It really isn't that hard, it's just boring and irritating. Feel free to ask me more questions. Or do an advanced search for the term "IRS" under my username.

[Snorbs 0]

Just wanted to follow up and say that I filed 8 years of taxes yesterday at the Embassy in London, and it was not as difficult as I thought it would be.

Also, as mentioned in this thread, the IRS office was extremely helpful, I brought copies of each year's paperwork with me, which they stamped as received, so I could include this with my husband's AOS for the IR-1 visa. I went at 12pm on a Wednesday to the walk -in service and after scaling the fortress of the embassy and walking by about 15 people with machine guns (I am really going to have to get used to seeing more guns if I am moving back to the states, it totally freaks me out now) , I walked straight into the IRS section, waited about 5 minutes, and left my paperwork with them. I didn't actually owe any tax, and the guy at the help desk said I didn't actually have to filed for all previous years, but I wanted to have it all down and recorded before I move back.

Extremely grateful to the knowledgeable people on this board, who helped me put off something I'd been procrastinating on for years! Now I don't have to worry about filing until 2014!

If anyone else is in a similar situation, I am happy to answer questions and pay forward all of the help I've received here.