[sisg]

Hi there,

I'm a US citizen moving back to the USA from the UK. I was self-employed part-time in the UK between 2016-2017. My earnings totalled up to 3900 pounds which is quite a low amount, so I am curious as to whether I need to file my taxes to the IRS for this time period. I was a student prior to that year, so from my understanding, I don't need to pay taxes up until then. Hope that's correct!

I am moving to the states in July so I'd like to make sure everything is done correctly, as I am hoping to bring my fiancee as well, who is a UK citizen.

I've contacted a couple of accountants, and one suggested I file my taxes the 'quiet' way as it is only one year, rather than Streamlined Filing Producers? I'm not sure whether this would be legal? I'm prepared to do all of the documents myself to keep it as cheap as possible, so any guidance would be much appreciated!

 

[Bevdeforges]

Don't forget about the filing thresholds. For those folks filing as "single" you are not obligated to file if your gross income was less than about $10,000 (it changes each year). Though the threshold is lower for the "self-employed" you can reasonably take the position that, since you were registered and paying into the UK social insurance system, you wouldn't be liable for "self-employment tax" (i.e. US Social Security).

If you need to show that you are tax compliant in order to sponsor your fiancée, you just tell them that your income was less than the threshold amount. And just skip the "self-employed" part. (The definition of "self-employed" varies quite a bit from one country to the next.)

Besides, just because the UK tax year is April to April doesn't mean you can use that for US tax purposes. Your earnings need to be split between 2016 and 2017, meaning that you're even farther under the filing threshold.
Cheers,
Bev

 

[twostep]

There is no such thing as "bringing the fiancée visa".
Getting married in the UK and filing Direct Consular Filing through the US Embassy in London is the least time consuming route. Plenty of posts about this here on the forum, details on the Embassy site and travel.state.gov/uscis.gov.
You will need the tax returns.
July will be pushing it if you start now.

 

[Crawford]

What visa were you on in the UK which allowed you to be self employed?

You said you were a student prior to this self employment.