Green Card Holders
US tax compliance and planning for permanent residents. One cross-border team handles worldwide income reporting, exit tax strategy, treaty positions, and foreign account filings.
Two returns, one plan.
A green card is a tax status as much as an immigration status. It puts your worldwide income on a US return every year, wherever you actually live, and holding it long enough brings the exit tax into play when you give it up. We manage the full arc: getting the card, holding it abroad, and surrendering it cleanly.
From pre-immigration restructuring to Form 8854, we coordinate your US obligations with your UK position so relief is claimed in the right country and no election backfires.
How we help green card holders
Complete US compliance and cross-border planning for every stage of permanent residency.
US Returns on Worldwide Income
A green card makes you a US tax resident wherever you live. We prepare Form 1040 on your worldwide income (UK salary, rental property, investments) with foreign tax credits applied so you aren't taxed twice.
Exit Tax & Form 8854 Planning
Hold a green card in 8 of the last 15 years and surrendering it can trigger the expatriation regime. We model covered-expatriate status, plan around the exit tax, and prepare Form 8854 correctly.
Treaty Tie-Breaker Filings
Form 8833 treaty positions can treat you as a UK resident for tax purposes, but they carry real risks for your immigration status and can start the expatriation clock. We advise before you elect rather than after.
FBAR & FATCA Reporting
Green card holders must report foreign accounts like any citizen. We prepare FinCEN Form 114 and Form 8938 for your UK bank accounts, ISAs, and pensions, and track the thresholds across both forms.
UK Assets & Pensions on US Returns
UK workplace pensions, SIPPs, ISAs, and property each have their own US treatment. We apply the US/UK treaty to your pensions and flag PFIC exposure in UK funds before it compounds.
Pre-Immigration Planning
The best green card tax planning happens before you get the card. Basis step-ups, gain recognition, restructuring foreign holdings: we position your affairs before US residency begins.
Get your green card tax position reviewed before an election or a surrender decides it for you.
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The card follows you, and so do the filings.
Green card holders abroad get blindsided more than anyone else in cross-border tax: still fully taxable in the US, often years behind on FBARs, and one treaty election away from an accidental expatriation. We keep every piece deliberate.
Surrendering a green card is a tax event. Plan it like one.
For long-term residents, handing back the card without planning can mean a deemed sale of everything you own. With planning (timing the surrender, managing the covered-expatriate tests, certifying compliance), most clients exit without paying the exit tax at all.
Long-Term Resident Clock Tracking
The 8-of-15-year test counts partial years. We track exactly where you stand so a card surrender never triggers the exit tax by surprise.
Covered Expatriate Avoidance
Net worth, average tax liability, and five years of certified compliance: we manage all three tests, including gifting and timing strategies before expatriation.
Form 8833 Risk Analysis
Before any treaty tie-breaker election, we quantify what it saves in tax against what it risks, immigration standing and expatriation treatment included.
Clean Exit Documentation
When surrendering the card is the right move, we sequence Form I-407, the final dual-status return, and Form 8854 so nothing is left dangling.
Why green card holders choose US/UK Cross Border Tax
Both Sides, One Team
US CPAs and UK tax advisers work the same file, so your green card obligations and your UK position are planned together.
Expatriation Fluency
The long-term resident rules, covered-expatriate tests, and Form 8854 mechanics are technical and unforgiving. We work them every week.
Immigration-Aware Advice
Tax elections can undermine a green card. We flag where a treaty position or filing choice could affect your permanent resident status before you sign.
Fixed, Transparent Pricing
Cross-border filing shouldn't mean open-ended hourly billing. We give you a fixed quote up front that covers both jurisdictions.
"I moved back to London years ago and assumed my green card obligations had lapsed with it. They caught me up through streamlined, tracked my long-term resident status, and planned the surrender so the exit tax never touched me."
Green Card Tax Questions
Common questions from permanent residents living inside and outside the US.
Two Tax Systems, One Team
Email Us
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4 Crown Place
London EC2A 4BT
United Kingdom
Manchester
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Brown St, Manchester M2 1DH
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New York, NY 10003
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