The State Department justifies the new $2,350 user fee for renunciation by saying “Hey, it’s a lotta work. It’s intense. You have to pay me more.” Here is a recent email I received from someone who just went through the process in London. This person was underwhelmed by the State Department’s “intense” interviews:
I had my renunciation interview on 14 August, at which time they took $450 off me. When I applied for this interview no mention was made of the planned increase in charges, which could have meant, should my interview have been delayed by 3 weeks, that the fee would have been five times as much. (Even though I am now retired, and have never earned a salary which attracted tax, I am confident that renunciation would be financially worth while within a few years, even at the higher cost, thanks to the expense of preparing US tax forms and the opportunity cost of foregoing tax efficient investments in the UK.)
Emphasis added. My correspondent understands something that the IRS and State Department have yet to grasp. The email continues:
Also, despite what the State Department says, I did not have “two intensive interviews”, unless two interviews at a window open to view of all waiting in the Passport Section at the London Embassy count. These were to make sure, first, that everything was correct on the (many) forms I had sent in, and, second, that I understood the seriousness of the step I was taking and finally to swear/affirm my renunciation. I thought it was all rather less intensive than it should have been, considering the seriousness with which I had approached it.
Phil Hodgen
Philip D. W. Hodgen is the principal attorney of HodgenLaw PC, an international tax law firm based in Pasadena, California. He earned his undergraduate degree from Claremont McKenna College and his law degree from the School of Law at the University of California, Los Angeles. He then went on to earn a Master of Laws degree with a specialty in taxation from the University of San Diego School of Law. Admitted to the California bar in 1982, Phil spent nine years in law firms and with a large U.S. bank before starting his own firm in 1991.
Phil is a past chair of the International Tax Committee of the State Bar of California's Tax Section and was a member of the Executive Committee of the State Bar of California's Tax Section for 2004-2007. Phil frequently speaks on a variety of international tax, trust and estate topics to attorneys, accountants, and real estate professionals.
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15 Comments
Which Embassy or Consulate was this? Name ’em and shame ’em.
My renunciation interview was very intense, with an aggressive consular official demanding three times to know why I was renouncing my U.S. citizenship, unsatisfied with my first two answers. I had stated on my form that I wished to provide no written statement. I felt I was coerced and pressured into making an oral statement. I was warned by a friend who previously renounced that this would be the case. I was under the impression that the official was either 1) trying to impress upon me the seriousness of my decision (as if the $2,350 fee and the entire process was not enough to make that impression) or 2) trying to trip me up with an answer, i.e. taxation related, that would prevent me from entering the U.S. or disqualify me from exercising my right of renunciation. I found him to be a bully. After three questions in an aggressive tone, he finally seemed satisfied with my perfunctory answer. I wanted to wring his neck.
@G,
Thanks for the comment. So for a few months — until you get the CLN — you are a stateless person. Someone needs to start a club for people who have this status. This would be quite an exclusive club. 🙂
P
Yes, the fee stands even if they don’t approve it. I also paid by credit card on 10th September.
It was easier than I thought and I stupidly gave them far too much data on my life in this country (so I can expect their tax office to start threatening me if the CLN is approved. Having no US financial connexions at all and having not set foot there in 23 years they shouldn’t be able to do much to me anyhow.
FATCA has caused problems with 2 of my banks so far – both HSBC group – banks want W9s no matter the account balance is under US$2 in one and 1500USD in the other. No mention is made of what documents can be given if have renounced but don’t have a CLN & foreign passport yet (cause I can’t apply for nationality until I receive the CLN back – Taiwan law have to be stateless first before can apply).
@Sally, Phil
But what if you pay cash ( 2350 in single dollar bills) and the dont’ approve your renunciation. Do the ask you to come back in and collect the money?
I, too, had only one appointment and was in an out of the Frankfurt consulate in less than an hour. Most of the time was spent waiting.
To be frank, I find a country that only deals with its own citizens from behind very thick bulletproof rather insulting.
The paperwork had been prepared beforehand, via e-mail correspondence.
The interview part was about 5 minutes, during which the official checked whether it was voluntary and asked if I had been coerced. I said “no” to that, even though I consider FATCA to be coercion. (I thought that discussion would be a waste of time…) The oath and signatures part was perhaps another 5 minutes.
And yes you can pay the fee via credit card. They sent me a credit card form that I had to fill out bring when I renounced. They cashed it the day after my renunciation was approved, about 2 weeks after my visit to the consulate. Apparently there is no fee if they don’t approve the renunciation…
@tdott, this is a great suggestion. The Isaac Brock site has a lot of immensely practical information.
The reason I asked the questions about the fee is because I live on very little and I have no tax liability in doing this so this is why I asked
I have two questions. If you go and relinquish do they then wave the new fee or no matter which way you do it relinquish or renounce the new fee applies?
Also how does one relinquish then, do you just walk in and give the consulate/embassy a written oath of allegiance to another country and your written relinquish and that’s it?
I renounced in 2013. First I had sent a letter with information on my US citizenship etc and then I had 1 appointment to renounce. It was not “intense” I handed over various signed forms, affirmed an oath, paid the $450 and got a receipt – very handy since it took over 8 months for the CLN to arrive. All together it took perhaps 1 hour, most of which was waiting time after I had handed over the forms.
If the $2350 doesn’t stem the tide of renunciations, it wouldn’t surprise anyone more punitive measures will follow.
Prediction – $2350 although a rip off will not stem the tide and renunciations will continue to rise. If you don’t have the cash (or all of it) and want to be free of the US tax system
As distasteful has this suggestion is the US Embassy accepts credit cards for other types of payments so at least if someone is skin they can turn the $2350 into a $55 a month payment. It’s not clear if the renunciation fee is payable by credit card.
If this is the case, is $55 a month going to put a determined hacked off US citizen off? No just putting people in debt for political reasons to punish people who want to head for the door.
When I renounced 2 years ago in Frankfurt, Germany, I only had 1 appointment. The very first thing I was asked to do was go to the cashier and pay the $450. Once I went through security, I was there for less than an hour, most of which I spent alone staring at the bulletproof-glass window behind which the consul was later to appear. All the forms had been filled out by the consulate staff in advance. It was certainly not an interview in any shape or form; just the standard yes/no questions, raise your right hand, sign here, sign there, have a nice day.
I don’t feel comfortable saying what I would expect for the new $2350 fee on a public forum. 😉
For $2300 I’d expect a limo to bring me over to Grosvenor Square, and a specialised fast track window with ‘Renunciations’ signposted on top.
With all the ill will and resentment this causes, the US will pay many many times over in ways that they can’t measure.
The whole thing is bloody ridiculous.
Mine were short and businesslike as well. Renunciation, unless you show signs of not understanding what you are doing, or being coerced by another person, is really a very simple process (relinquishment takes more judgement from consular officers.)
The whole conversation, summarized:
– It says here you want to renouce your U.S. citizenship.
Yes.
– Prove that you’re a U.S. citizen.
(hands over U.S. passport)
– Are you a citizen of another country?
Yes. (hands over Canadian passport.
– Do you understand that renouncing involves a permanent loss of your U.S. citizenship?
Yes. That’s the point.
– Do you have any questions?
Nope.
– Do you you want to make any kind of statement?
Nope.
– Okay, read carefully and sign at the bottom. After that, go to the cashier’s window.
For $2,300, though, I’d expect a day-long exploration of the meaning and philosophy of citizenship, with a nice lunch thrown in. 🙂
Comments are closed.
Tax laws change over time, and the information in this post above may be less accurate today than it was at the time of the last revision. This post is not tax advice for your specific situation. Please contact an international tax professional to get personalized advice for your situation.
Which Embassy or Consulate was this? Name ’em and shame ’em.
My renunciation interview was very intense, with an aggressive consular official demanding three times to know why I was renouncing my U.S. citizenship, unsatisfied with my first two answers. I had stated on my form that I wished to provide no written statement. I felt I was coerced and pressured into making an oral statement. I was warned by a friend who previously renounced that this would be the case. I was under the impression that the official was either 1) trying to impress upon me the seriousness of my decision (as if the $2,350 fee and the entire process was not enough to make that impression) or 2) trying to trip me up with an answer, i.e. taxation related, that would prevent me from entering the U.S. or disqualify me from exercising my right of renunciation. I found him to be a bully. After three questions in an aggressive tone, he finally seemed satisfied with my perfunctory answer. I wanted to wring his neck.
@G,
Thanks for the comment. So for a few months — until you get the CLN — you are a stateless person. Someone needs to start a club for people who have this status. This would be quite an exclusive club. 🙂
P
Yes, the fee stands even if they don’t approve it. I also paid by credit card on 10th September.
It was easier than I thought and I stupidly gave them far too much data on my life in this country (so I can expect their tax office to start threatening me if the CLN is approved. Having no US financial connexions at all and having not set foot there in 23 years they shouldn’t be able to do much to me anyhow.
FATCA has caused problems with 2 of my banks so far – both HSBC group – banks want W9s no matter the account balance is under US$2 in one and 1500USD in the other. No mention is made of what documents can be given if have renounced but don’t have a CLN & foreign passport yet (cause I can’t apply for nationality until I receive the CLN back – Taiwan law have to be stateless first before can apply).
@Sally, Phil
But what if you pay cash ( 2350 in single dollar bills) and the dont’ approve your renunciation. Do the ask you to come back in and collect the money?
I, too, had only one appointment and was in an out of the Frankfurt consulate in less than an hour. Most of the time was spent waiting.
To be frank, I find a country that only deals with its own citizens from behind very thick bulletproof rather insulting.
The paperwork had been prepared beforehand, via e-mail correspondence.
The interview part was about 5 minutes, during which the official checked whether it was voluntary and asked if I had been coerced. I said “no” to that, even though I consider FATCA to be coercion. (I thought that discussion would be a waste of time…) The oath and signatures part was perhaps another 5 minutes.
And yes you can pay the fee via credit card. They sent me a credit card form that I had to fill out bring when I renounced. They cashed it the day after my renunciation was approved, about 2 weeks after my visit to the consulate. Apparently there is no fee if they don’t approve the renunciation…
@tdott, this is a great suggestion. The Isaac Brock site has a lot of immensely practical information.
@Nenari
I suggest asking your relinquishment questions here:
http://isaacbrocksociety.ca/relinquishment/
The reason I asked the questions about the fee is because I live on very little and I have no tax liability in doing this so this is why I asked
I have two questions. If you go and relinquish do they then wave the new fee or no matter which way you do it relinquish or renounce the new fee applies?
Also how does one relinquish then, do you just walk in and give the consulate/embassy a written oath of allegiance to another country and your written relinquish and that’s it?
I renounced in 2013. First I had sent a letter with information on my US citizenship etc and then I had 1 appointment to renounce. It was not “intense” I handed over various signed forms, affirmed an oath, paid the $450 and got a receipt – very handy since it took over 8 months for the CLN to arrive. All together it took perhaps 1 hour, most of which was waiting time after I had handed over the forms.
If the $2350 doesn’t stem the tide of renunciations, it wouldn’t surprise anyone more punitive measures will follow.
Prediction – $2350 although a rip off will not stem the tide and renunciations will continue to rise. If you don’t have the cash (or all of it) and want to be free of the US tax system
As distasteful has this suggestion is the US Embassy accepts credit cards for other types of payments so at least if someone is skin they can turn the $2350 into a $55 a month payment. It’s not clear if the renunciation fee is payable by credit card.
If this is the case, is $55 a month going to put a determined hacked off US citizen off? No just putting people in debt for political reasons to punish people who want to head for the door.
When I renounced 2 years ago in Frankfurt, Germany, I only had 1 appointment. The very first thing I was asked to do was go to the cashier and pay the $450. Once I went through security, I was there for less than an hour, most of which I spent alone staring at the bulletproof-glass window behind which the consul was later to appear. All the forms had been filled out by the consulate staff in advance. It was certainly not an interview in any shape or form; just the standard yes/no questions, raise your right hand, sign here, sign there, have a nice day.
I don’t feel comfortable saying what I would expect for the new $2350 fee on a public forum. 😉
For $2300 I’d expect a limo to bring me over to Grosvenor Square, and a specialised fast track window with ‘Renunciations’ signposted on top.
With all the ill will and resentment this causes, the US will pay many many times over in ways that they can’t measure.
The whole thing is bloody ridiculous.
Mine were short and businesslike as well. Renunciation, unless you show signs of not understanding what you are doing, or being coerced by another person, is really a very simple process (relinquishment takes more judgement from consular officers.)
The whole conversation, summarized:
– It says here you want to renouce your U.S. citizenship.
Yes.
– Prove that you’re a U.S. citizen.
(hands over U.S. passport)
– Are you a citizen of another country?
Yes. (hands over Canadian passport.
– Do you understand that renouncing involves a permanent loss of your U.S. citizenship?
Yes. That’s the point.
– Do you have any questions?
Nope.
– Do you you want to make any kind of statement?
Nope.
– Okay, read carefully and sign at the bottom. After that, go to the cashier’s window.
For $2,300, though, I’d expect a day-long exploration of the meaning and philosophy of citizenship, with a nice lunch thrown in. 🙂