Long Term Residents and Expatriation

 

Long Term Resident (LTR) – is a Legal Permanent Resident (LPR) who has been an Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR) or Green Card Holder for at least 8 of the last 15 years.

However, to be a Long-Term Resident, the person is not required to live in the U.S. but the LTR is given the privilege to do so should they wish.

Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR) – is given the privilege to permanently reside in the United State, in accordance to the U.S. immigration laws.

 

You cannot be classified as a Lawful Permanent Resident if you:

• Commenced to be treated as a resident of a foreign country under a tax treaty.
• Profited from benefits of such treaty applicable to foreign residents
• Notified the IRS of such a position on a Form 8833 attached to a timely filed income tax return.

If a U.S. Person who is currently an LTR were to commence to be treated as a resident of another foreign treaty country, they will then be classified and treated as an expatriate.

 

Important notes on filing Form 8833

It would be incorrect to believe that filing a Form 8833 will automatically prevent them from being treated as a U.S Person. If the person has already met the time requirements (8 out of 15 years) to be considered an LTR, then by filing the 8833, it will be considered the expatriating act.

For this reason, to avoid serious tax consequences, it is extremely important and necessary to plan your expatriation correctly.

We have experienced tax advisors on our team who can help you prepare for your expatriation. 

 

If you would like to discuss this further, please contact us.