dual citizen (US/Canada) returning to US but has not filed US returns

QUESTION:

Hi:

My Wife a US Citizen, is a Dual Citizen, and we are returning to the USA soon, She has filed Canadian Taxes every year while in Canada, and is upto date.

She has made no income from the US during that time. (Except for the last two Years)
She has been receiving her SSN Benifit approx $3900. per year).

We recently started reading on line where she should have been filing a US Tax form, we had been advise that we did not have to by varoius accountants that did our taxes..
over the years..

Help  what do we do now ???

Please respond

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david ingram replies:

Your wife should file her current return plus back taxes for six years. If you go to www.cetna.com and read the October 1995 newsletter in the top left hand box, it will tell her what her duties as a US citizen were to the IRS al these years.  If she reads the US Canada Taxation section in the second box down on the right hand side, it will tell her what forms to file.

The penalty for failure to file the 5471 form (if she owns 5% or more shares in a Canadian company) has increased from $1,000 every thrity days to $10,000 every 30 days. AND, there is a new form number 8891 which needs to be filled out to report RRSP accounts.

We would be happy to look after them for you if needed.  As you have discovered less than 1 out of a 1,000 Canadian tax people has any real understanding of the American system.

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