Tax advisors for UK US couples

[royallcannon 0]

Hey all. Just trying to prepare for our 1st year of marraige.

Few things:

Planning to marray January 2017.

He plans to keep his apartment in the UK and rent it out using a property manager.

Do any of you have advice on filing for the years to come.

I have been doing endless research and as we all know the US doesn't always make taxes straight forward.

I also have been unable to find a freaking tax advisor that knows anything if any of you have someone who has helped with a similar situation to mine??

Thank you guys

[Rc123rc 528]

Actually it's not as bad as you think. For 2016 he will file single or head of household is he has a dependent. For 2017, you will file Married filing jointly or Married filing separately. He will report any income he receives on the rental minus expenses just like he would if the apartment was in the United States. There might be someone that will give you a more detailed answer but I don't think you have to worry too much about this.

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

I agree with the above except only you file 2016. Nothing much to worry about until filing season around Feb 2018 (filing for tax year 2017)

When he lives in the US, he has to report any income earned anywhere in the world to the US and no longer UK. He follows US tax laws regarding rental property. A link to IRS on rental property https://www.irs.gov/publications/p527/ so he knows what records to keep during 2017 for claiming expenses, etc when you file jointly.

Edited June 13, 2016 by Nich-Nick

[Rc123rc 528]

Oops... 2016 he does not file anything for U.S taxes. I got ahead of myself there. Everybody files the same as they have been in each country. It changes when your marriage is official.

[Owen_London 65]

Actually it's not as bad as you think. For 2016 he will file single or head of household is he has a dependent. For 2017, you will file Married filing jointly or Married filing separately. He will report any income he receives on the rental minus expenses just like he would if the apartment was in the United States. There might be someone that will give you a more detailed answer but I don't think you have to worry too much about this.

Renting property out is not that simple. There are things that can be expensed against taxes, including depreciation, and the rules about doing so can be complex. My understanding is that renting out property outside the US represents a significant reporting burden. There are many who do it, but equally there are many who are sure that the reporting and organising maintenance from thousands of miles away is simply too much hassle.

There is also the issue of capital gains tax. The rules on capital gains (as would apply to a property) change, depending on whether you've lived in the property as your main home recently or not. It's not something I've ever had to worry about, but he needs to investigate this too before deciding to rent out.

Personally, if I owned a single property in the UK, and I was moving to the US permanently, and not on a temporary working visa, I would sell it.