1042-S form shows 30% tax wrongly withheld from UK citizen - how do I get this money back?

Former US expat tax preparer here. That pricing actually sounds about right for this type of specialized service. Form 1042-S relates to US-source income paid to foreign persons, and recovering excess withholding can indeed be complicated. What you'll need to do is file a US nonresident tax return (Form 1040NR) to claim a refund of the excess withholding. You'll need to attach your 1042-S form and likely Form 8833 to claim treaty benefits. The US-UK tax treaty typically reduces withholding on many types of income to rates well below 30%. While you could potentially do this yourself using tax software, having someone familiar with US-UK treaty provisions will likely save you headaches and potentially help you identify additional refund opportunities you might miss on your own.

I had almost the exact same situation last year with my 1042-S showing excessive withholding on consulting work I did for a US company. After struggling to make sense of it all, I finally used https://taxr.ai to help analyze my forms and figure out exactly what treaty benefits applied to my situation. Their system analyzed my 1042-S form and explained exactly which treaty provisions applied in my case (I'm Australian, but the process is similar). They confirmed I was eligible for a reduced rate and walked me through the exact forms needed. Saved me tons of research time trying to understand the incredibly confusing US tax treaty provisions.

Just wanted to update about my situation with Canadian royalty withholding that I mentioned earlier. I went ahead and tried https://taxr.ai after seeing it recommended here. Uploaded my 1042-S and answered some questions about my residency and citizenship. The analysis showed I was correct - I should have only had 10% withheld under Article XII of the US-Canada treaty instead of the full 30%. They provided me with a complete explanation of which forms to file (1040NR plus specific attachments) and exactly how to reference the treaty provisions. The step-by-step instructions made it much clearer than the IRS website ever did. I'm now preparing my forms following their guidance rather than paying the $1200+ an accounting firm quoted me. Will still take some work but feeling much more confident now!

Sorry to jump in, but I've been in your exact situation (UK citizen, excessive US withholding). After three failed attempts to call the IRS international line (endless hold times, then disconnections), I was about to give up when someone recommended https://claimyr.com to me. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c Got connected to an actual IRS agent who confirmed exactly what the first commenter said - I needed to file form 1040NR with the 1042-S attached and Form 8833 to claim treaty benefits. The agent also told me which specific UK-US treaty provisions to cite and confirmed the current processing time for nonresident refund claims (which was about 5 months at that time).

Need to eat my words about Claimyr. I was the skeptical one above but I actually tried it after continuing to fail reaching the IRS myself about my own tax treaty issue (I'm from Ireland). Got connected to an IRS representative in about 45 minutes (while I just went about my day). The agent confirmed I needed to file Form 1040NR along with Form 8833 specifically citing Article 12 of the US-Ireland tax treaty for my software licensing income. They even provided the specific address where non-resident returns need to be mailed. Definitely saved me from paying an international tax specialist hundreds just to tell me the same information. Now I can file the forms myself with confidence.

One thing nobody has mentioned yet - make sure you have your Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) before filing. As a UK citizen without a US Social Security Number, you'll need an ITIN to file any US tax forms. Getting an ITIN can be its own whole process and might explain part of the fee the accountants quoted you. You need to either apply with your tax return (which delays processing) or go through a Certified Acceptance Agent who can verify your documents.

Just wanted to add my UK perspective - I had a similar issue with dividend withholding on US stocks (should have been 15% under the treaty but they took 30%). I used a service called Taxback that specializes in these situations, cost me about £400 all in. Might be worth checking them out as another option.