Never Filed Taxes as an Expat in the United States? Here’s What to Do

For many non-US citizens, not filing US taxes is more about confusion than an intentional decision to avoid tax obligations. The rules can be difficult to navigate in the first few years because visa status, days of presence in the United States, and different income sources all affect how and where your income is taxed.

In many cases, past compliance gaps can be resolved if they are addressed properly. A key starting point is establishing your tax residency status, which determines what income you must report and which tax forms apply to you.

Who Is Considered an Expat Living in the United States?

For purposes of this guide, “expat” refers to non-US citizens living in the United States who may have US tax obligations, including:

• Non-US citizens in the United States for work, school, or family reasons
• Visa holders such as H-1B, L-1, O-1, F-1 (including OPT), J-1, TN, and E-2
• Recent arrivals who begin earning US-source income soon after entering the country
• Green card holders

Important note: most green card holders are treated as US tax residents for federal tax purposes from the time they become lawful permanent residents, even if they arrived recently. This status affects your reporting obligations and filing requirements.

Do Expats Living in the US Need to File Taxes?

In many situations, yes, but the answer varies by individual circumstances. Whether you must file generally depends on several key factors, including:

• Your tax residency status (whether you are a resident alien or a nonresident alien for US tax purposes)
• Your income level (the IRS sets filing thresholds that vary by filing status, age, and tax year)
• The type and source of your income (for example, wages, self-employment income, scholarship or fellowship income, and investment income)

US citizenship and US tax residency are not the same. A non-US citizen can qualify as a US tax resident under IRS rules. US citizens living abroad are subject to different tax rules, which are covered in a separate article.

Resident Alien vs Nonresident Alien: Why Your Status Matters

Resident alien and nonresident alien are IRS tax categories and do not describe your “immigration status.

The IRS uses two primary tests to determine whether a non-citizen is a US tax resident: the green card test and the substantial presence test (SPT). The SPT counts your days in the United States over a three-year period using a day-count formula. If you meet the test, you are generally considered a US resident for tax purposes, with limited exceptions.

First-year residency can be tricky. If you arrive mid-year, you may be nonresident for part of the year and resident for the rest, which creates a “dual-status” year. Some individuals may also use a first-year choice. This allows them to elect US resident status for part of the year. These rules affect which tax return you file and which income you must report on it.

Common problems when your tax residency status is misclassified include:

• Filing Form 1040 when Form 1040-NR was required, or filing Form 1040-NR when Form 1040 should have been used.
• Reporting worldwide income when you were a nonresident, or failing to report worldwide income when you were a resident.
• Claiming credits or filing statuses that are not allowed for your actual tax residency status.

What Happens If You Don’t File Taxes While Living in the USA?

If required tax returns are not filed, the IRS treats the situation differently depending on whether the issue is filing or payment. Interest may also apply to unpaid tax and related penalties.

There are two separate issues the IRS looks at:

• Failure to file: you did not submit a required tax return. The penalty is generally 5% of unpaid tax per month, up to a maximum of 25%.
• Failure to pay: you filed (or should have filed) but did not pay the tax due. The penalty is generally 0.5% per month, also capped at 25%.

If you owe tax, filing still matters: payment does not always have to be made all at once, and most payment options are available only after a return is submitted.

The IRS often has information about your income through forms like W-2s and 1099s filed by employers, banks, and platforms. So a missing return may not go unnoticed indefinitely, especially if you had wages or US-source income.

State taxes are a separate layer that people overlook. Many states have their own filing rules, deadlines, penalties, and residency concepts. Even if your federal situation is simple, state exposure can create surprises when you move, change jobs, or try to claim a refund.

How Many Years Can You Go Without Filing Taxes in the USA?

If you do not file a valid return, the IRS statute of limitations for assessing tax generally does not begin. This means the IRS has much more time to assess tax for an unfiled year than it would for a year where a return was filed. Filing starts the clock on the assessment period and creates a clear compliance record for that year.

When people try to get compliant, the IRS often focuses on getting the most recent unfiled years submitted. In practice, a common range is the last 3 to 6 years, based on your situation and whether enforcement has already started. This is an administrative practice, not a legal rule that eliminates older filing obligations.

Two important scenarios:

• Refund years: If you are due a refund, waiting can cost you. Refund claims have time limits, and missing the window can mean the money is gone even if you overpaid. In most cases, the IRS only allows refunds to be claimed within 3 years of the original filing deadline.
• Balance-due years: If you owe, waiting usually increases the total because penalties and interest can keep adding up. 

What If You’ve Never Filed US Taxes Before?

If you have never filed US taxes, especially after arriving mid-year, working multiple jobs, or assuming payroll withholding covered everything, it is easy to land in this situation. 

Many situations can be corrected by submitting the required past-due returns in an organized way. There is no single amnesty program that automatically fixes non-filing for everyone. What matters is using the correct return for each year based on your tax status and income.

Many of the amnesty programs discussed online are designed for US taxpayers with foreign income or assets, often focusing on US citizens and green card holders living abroad. These programs generally do not apply when the only issue is missing US domestic wage returns as a non-US citizen living in the United States, although resident aliens and other US taxpayers may still qualify for certain compliance programs.

Acting sooner preserves more options for resolving past non-filing. For example, if refunds are available, strict timelines for refund claims make it especially important not to wait.

Which Tax Forms Are Commonly Involved for Expats in the US?

Some of the forms that commonly show up include:

• Form 1040: used by US tax residents, including resident aliens.
• Form 1040-NR: used by nonresident aliens who have US income that is subject to US tax.
• W-2: reports wages paid by an employer and taxes withheld.
• 1099 forms: report items such as nonemployee pay, bank interest, dividends, certain platform income, and other US-source payments.

If you are treated as a US tax resident and hold foreign financial accounts, separate reporting rules may apply. FBAR (Foreign Bank Account Report) filing can be required when the total value of foreign financial accounts exceeds $10,000 during the year, even if no tax is owed.

SSN vs. ITIN: if you have a Social Security number (SSN), you generally use it as your taxpayer identification number on your return. If you do not have an SSN but you have a federal tax filing or reporting requirement, you may need an ITIN (Individual Taxpayer Identification Number). The IRS allows eligible filers to apply for an ITIN regardless of immigration status, as long as they follow the IRS application process.

How to Get Back on Track: A Practical Step-by-Step Approach

1. Determine your correct residency status: Use the IRS rules (green card test, substantial presence test, and any first-year or dual-status rules that apply).
2. Identify missing tax years: List each year you lived in the US and whether you had income. The income you must report is determined by your tax residency status.
3. File the correct federal forms: File Form 1040, Form 1040-NR, or a dual-status return as required for each year.
4. Address state tax exposure: Map where you lived and worked by date. States can have different residency rules and sourcing rules, especially if you moved.
5. Resolve penalties or notices, if any: If you already received IRS or state notices, respond based on what they are asking for. Penalty and interest rules differ depending on whether the issue is filing late or paying late. If the IRS contacts you first, response options may be more limited and deadlines tighter.

Should You Handle This Yourself or Get Professional Help?

Handling this yourself may be appropriate if your situation is simple and limited in scope. Professional help is often a better choice when your situation is more complex. For example: first-year or dual-status years, travel days that affect residency, working in more than one state, or filing under the wrong status in the past. Self-employment income, foreign income while treated as a US tax resident, and missing tax forms also increase risk.

With late filing, the challenge is rarely the math. The real issue is getting the status right, applying the correct rules to each year, and submitting the correct forms from the start.

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