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[SnowyTater 0]

Guys...like o_O

We just got our NOA2 today so now I'm freaking a bit. So ya'l are all British and my fiance's Scottish. For those of you who have been in the US awhile and working and everything, what the heck do you do to file taxes? o_O

Have been digging around awhile and seeing how long the Green card status can be stretched out, or even dual citizenship set up, etc. And realizing that we know all the things we need to do for the US government but haven't really heard a peep out of the UK government.

So what happens when a Brit comes over here and works all year? I looked it up and I know the US taxes you, but is there some kind of waiver or any sort of communication going on with the UK gov. all this time - do they try to tax you and you have to get a refund, or are there fees or penalties or tedious paperwork or what?

Can I just say: AAHH.

Props to everyone who's made it this far xD

[greeneyedgirlfl 0]

Guys...like o_O

We just got our NOA2 today so now I'm freaking a bit. So ya'l are all British and my fiance's Scottish. For those of you who have been in the US awhile and working and everything, what the heck do you do to file taxes? o_O

Have been digging around awhile and seeing how long the Green card status can be stretched out, or even dual citizenship set up, etc. And realizing that we know all the things we need to do for the US government but haven't really heard a peep out of the UK government.

So what happens when a Brit comes over here and works all year? I looked it up and I know the US taxes you, but is there some kind of waiver or any sort of communication going on with the UK gov. all this time - do they try to tax you and you have to get a refund, or are there fees or penalties or tedious paperwork or what?

Can I just say: AAHH.

Props to everyone who's made it this far xD

Congrats on your approval...was soooo happy when I saw it! About the other, I have NO idea...

[rebeccajo 14]

There are tax treaties between the US and UK that stave off double taxation.

When your guy moves here, he will probably have worked in Scotland, right? You will report that income on IRS Form 2555 as 'foreign earned income' on your US tax return when you file next spring for 2008. You will probably choose to file jointly (married filing jointly). If your combined incomes are under a certain amount, his wages earned in Scotland will not be taxed on your US return - but you still have to show it. The total household wage amount changes each year - I believe it's around $85000.00 this year.

Long story short - if you earn as a couple less than the maximum, his wages will not be subject to US tax. But you have to show them on the return, so it requires an additional form. TurboTax or similar self-help software walks you through this nicely, or you can hire a tax professional to help you.

We found the biggest nuisance about this was converting sterling to dollars for the return. He should start saving his paystubs from January 1, 2008 as the tax year in the UK runs April to April compared to the US method of calendar year - ie he won't get a 'W-2' for 2008 so you have to hand calculate what he earned in calendar year 2008 for US tax purposes.

He will also likely be entitled to a tax refund on his UK wages. He fills out a form with his employer right before he goes to get that money back (or he can visit his Social Security office). If memory serves me it's called a P85 - someone here who has done it more recently can confirm or correct me. And they can mail the money to the US.

Edited March 1, 2008 by rebeccajo

[SnowyTater 0]

Congrats on your approval...was soooo happy when I saw it! About the other, I have NO idea...

Thanks green You guys got yours the fastest I think! You win, you should get cake and a party and things, congratulations to you too

To be honest I feel really BAD about it...it really doesn't make a difference to us. Iain is finishing up school so can't come over until October anyway, so I kind of wish I could...trade places with someone at CSC or someone who's been waiting ages, you know?

Rebeccajo that is an amazingly helpful and thorough post Thanks so much.

But no he's never had a job ever and keeps trying to find one but he's a lazy bum and probably won't have had a job ever when he moves here xD In our defense we're students so meh, but nah that's not what I was worried about with taxes. I'm worried about like...living here, working HERE, how that money is going to be taxed for at least the next three years. From what I found googling around, you can't apply for US citizenship for 3 years after the AOS under K1. Permanent residents are taxed by the US government though, which is fair since you work and live here. But it's just weird that he'll...still I guess officially be a British citizen. I just don't know how that works, if he still has to pay british taxes (please god no) or what sort of hoops we'll have to jump through for that, at least until he gets citizenship.

Or honestly I assumed everyone on these boards was getting US citizenship but now that I've searched a bit it really doesn't seem to be the case You can basically be a permanent resident like...forever, seems like, just renew every ten years.

Problem is, trying to search for info on it yields lots of information on how you're taxed if you're an American living in UK (all the expats), but basically no information the other way around

I keep telling him he needs to transfer all his GBPounds to me though while the exchange rate is so high because it might even out just as soon as Bush is out of office have to squander as much money as we can.

[rebeccajo 14]

UK citizens don't pay tax to the UK unless they are earning the money there. So when your man gets a job here, the only government he will pay taxes to is the US government.

However, should you ever move to the UK and work there, you will owe taxes to the US government on those wages. US citizens are bound for life to pay to their government, no matter where the money is earned.

Which means - if your husband naturalizes and you both return to the UK, you would both owe taxes to the US government. Something to think about for those US/UK couples who are waiting for the UK citizen to naturalize before they return to the UK to live.

[SnowyTater 0]

Yeh...back when we were first deciding who was gonna move where, it did seem like me immigrating to the UK would be harder than him coming here, just because the US is kind of...evil/more stringent/strict/demanding than other countries on these sorts of things, it seemed like Was really quite scary.

Really good to know, he just won't be taxed at all from the UK! Thanks a lot rebeccajo, that's one less thing to worry about. It seems awfully NICE and easygoing of the UK though, I'm slightly suspicious and if it turns out they're really this cool about, I wanna write them a nice letter and send some cookies

Or biscuits...mmm Penguins hobnobs. What could the US POSSIBLY have to offer to make up for what he'll lose!

[gwenneh 7]

They really are that "cool" about it.

[VisaJourneyLady 33]

probably someone will correcet me, but I don't know of any other countries you are taxed on your income by, while not actually living in them to earn that wage. So it's not that the UK is cool, just that the US is Crazy!!!

[rebeccajo 14]

Or biscuits...mmm Penguins hobnobs. What could the US POSSIBLY have to offer to make up for what he'll lose!

You know, we still talk about that angle of things sometimes.

My husband still believes there are more opportunities here - more jobs. He believes it's easier to rise yourself up out of the 'social class' you were born into. As an American, I wonder what it is he sees - the American middle class is disappearing IMO.

At least in the UK you can't become bankrupt and loose your home because of medical bills. If you loose your job, your unemployment doesn't run out at the end of six months. You can take buses, trains and cabs to get to where you need to go - Americans are slaves to cars, the upkeep of them and gasoline that will now end up costing us more than the car itself.

I have a son and so my husband moved to the US. As that child is spreading his wings - I sometimes wonder - would we be happier across the pond?

[TracyTN 237]

That is if you can get a home in the UK in the first place.

[rebeccajo 14]

That is if you can get a home in the UK in the first place.

That's true too.

We had a thread about that recently. Buying a home would be my biggest fear insofar as returning. And while I hate to bring up my 'age', it's a fear for me because we do have some equity in our home, and that equity in dollars wouldn't go very far in sterling. I wouldn't really be keen on being a renter. That's for youngsters..

There were some people in that other thread, though, who felt the cost of housing in the UK was no worse than here. But it was also pointed out that depended on which part of the US one lives in.

[no name 1]

That is if you can get a home in the UK in the first place.

That's true too.

We had a thread about that recently. Buying a home would be my biggest fear insofar as returning. And while I hate to bring up my 'age', it's a fear for me because we do have some equity in our home, and that equity in dollars wouldn't go very far in sterling. I wouldn't really be keen on being a renter. That's for youngsters..

There were some people in that other thread, though, who felt the cost of housing in the UK was no worse than here. But it was also pointed out that depended on which part of the US one lives in.

or what part of the UK.

[SnowyTater 0]

Yeh, I've gotten the impression from Iain that it's just not...really the standard in Scotland for people to buy rather than rent their homes, whereas I've always gotten the impression that here in the US that was what you aimed for. I don't know, I can see that maybe pulling yourself out of the social class you're born into might be harder in the UK. I consider Iain's family to be just...straight out friggin rich, by their habits and spendings and things - they're kind of upper class Edinburghers and my understanding is that other cities like Glasgow and Manchester and Fife and stuff kind of look at Edinburgh as snobs and are more working class, so I don't know how accurate my impressions have been.

The public transportation IS awesome, but if you don't live in a city it's not much help I guess - people still have to drive into work and pay more than us by far for petrol still. Or one day we were going to the um...that Swedish furniture store place, about an hour outside of Edinburgh, on bus, and saw the workers on there who had to ride 1 or 2 + hours back to their houses. They looked pretty miserable. And the trains are VERY expensive to me, too; I positively quivered every time Iain bought us train tickets.

It seems like in Scotland regular things like transport and eating out, maybe groceries, costs pretty high, but then COOL things like anything cultural and tickets and trips are very low, so it makes it look like an awesome kind of bohemian accessible lifestyle. Like being able to get new CDs for 5 pounds at Fopp or some such place, friggin awesome. 3 pound books, unheard of in the US. Concert tickets to really really good bands for 20 pounds, or a megabus journey (tee hee ) to some far off town for like...six pounds, amazing xD Because isn't the UK's minimum wage like 7 pounds or something? So that makes it sound...awesome.

I don't know. This is part of why I think it might be cool if the US tried socialized healthcare, for example. It seems to work well in the UK. They have higher taxes sure, but not THAT much higher, and it just seems worth it to me if it actually worked. But really I think a lot of this stuff comes down to the difference between living in cities and then just random spots, rather than the difference between the two countries. Edinburgh to me in obscure South Carolina suburbia is like Paradise.

And Penguins.

[rebeccajo 14]

That is if you can get a home in the UK in the first place.

That's true too.

We had a thread about that recently. Buying a home would be my biggest fear insofar as returning. And while I hate to bring up my 'age', it's a fear for me because we do have some equity in our home, and that equity in dollars wouldn't go very far in sterling. I wouldn't really be keen on being a renter. That's for youngsters..

There were some people in that other thread, though, who felt the cost of housing in the UK was no worse than here. But it was also pointed out that depended on which part of the US one lives in.

or what part of the UK.

Well....but that's 'equalizing' itself in a scary fashion. Take Northern Ireland, for example, where my husband is from. Up until about two years ago, property was still dirt cheap there - mostly because nobody in their right mind moved into the country.

Once the peace process seemed to be holding, all hell broke loose on the real estate market. When my husband moved from NI in Sept 05, his house (a three bedroom semi in - um - 'bachelor condition') was worth about 35K. His brother's 3 bedroom terrace home (in great condition) valued around 70K.

I'm now told that Wes' house (remodeled as it was after he left) would be worth over 120K. His brother's house - 110K or better.

And all that happened in less than three years.

There's just not a lot of land in the UK but a lot of people who need a roof over their head. I can see why property is so high. Like I said, if we were ever to go back, finding a home we could afford would be my number one fear.

[Trompe le Monde 1,107]

Property is high because credit has been cheap - I predict the global credit crunch is going to send those prices south again.

But the issue is affordability (what you expect to earn versus the cost of a home) - some places in the US are more out of whack in this regard (LA, for example, average house costing $500k and average HH income is $60k) than places in the UK. For many, the cost of housing is less of an issue in terms of a decision to go the other way depending on their circumstances.