Streamlined Foreign Offshore Procedures.
The IRS amnesty route for Americans abroad who didn't know they had to file: three years of returns, six years of FBARs, a sworn statement that the failure was non-willful — and no penalties.
Amnesty with a deadline you can't see
Streamlined is only open before the IRS contacts you, and FATCA means UK banks are already reporting US-person accounts. The certification on Form 14653 is the heart of the package — a factual narrative of why you didn't file, signed under penalty of perjury, worth drafting with care.
- Foreign route: no US abode and 330 days abroad in one of the last three years
- All penalties waived on the Foreign route; the Domestic route charges 5% of the highest aggregate value
- Most submissions owe little or nothing in actual tax
Last reviewed . Thresholds and rates change annually — check figures against the current tax year before relying on them.
Years behind?
This is the route back. One fixed fee covers the whole package.