Dual citizen - American tax and english tax?

[OddSockMonkey]

Hi, my partner has dual nationality with UK and USA, this is due to being born in US and having UK parents. My partner predominantly grew up in the US until age 12 and UK since then, does she need to pay US tax alongside UK tax or submit a US return, when we marry (currently engaged) will i subsequently need to submit a return? Could my partner be made to pay both UK and US tax? Really worried if we ignore the issue we may end up owing fines and backtax, just wondering what the legal stance is

she has a US passport but it has recently expired if that is relevant

If we or just my partner have US tax implication can anybody recommend a lawyer that specialises in this? thanks for any advice :)

I think she needs to take professional advice about this before you get married. If you are bringing assets into the marriage they could be considered to be half hers once you are married and that could have tax repercussions. Has she not been filing US tax returns up until now? She might already be facing a fine if not as I’m pretty sure America citizens have to file even if they don’t earn enough to pay tax.

I’m not a dual American citizen btw so my observations are based on the whinging of a friend who is an American living in Europe married to an Austrian.

She will have to submit a US tax return. However, that doesn't necessarily mean she will have to pay US tax as well as UK tax. There is a Foreign Earned Income Exclusion which may mean she doesn't have to pay anything. She needs professional advice.

You are not a US citizen. Marrying your partner will not change that. You will not therefore be liable for US taxes. If you get a green card or get yourself naturalised you will be liable for US tax but not otherwise.

Thank you for your replies, she hasn’t paid any tax yet as has been doing a medical related degree until now so not been employed, should she have been filing tax returns from 18 even though her income is nil?

I work in tax and whenever we have a US dual national that lives in the UK since childhood it always rings alarm bells.

Due to tax reliefs its unlikely she may have to pay additional US tax, however normally they still have to file an annual return and not doing so can be hideous to sort out.

Find her a tax advisor to sit down and go through what she needs to do. US filing obligations are not a matter to be ignored.

The reason that marriage changes things even if you are not a US citizen is that the US generally considers all the assets of the marriage to be half hers. They will probably ask her about your assets to which she can say that she doesn't know and you won't tell her, but visible assets such as a house might trigger some tax. I'm not sure exactly how that works but I do know that my US friend and her DH rented rather than buying for a US tax-related reason.