US citizen born abroad - never filed US taxes - what do I need to do before moving to the USA?

This is actually a common situation for US citizens living abroad! The US is one of the few countries that taxes based on citizenship rather than residency, which catches many people by surprise. Good news is there's a process for this called the Streamlined Foreign Offshore Procedures, designed specifically for US citizens living abroad who didn't know they needed to file. It's a kind of amnesty program that lets you catch up without penalties. You'll need to file tax returns for the last 3 years and FBAR forms (for foreign bank accounts) for the last 6 years if your combined foreign accounts exceeded $10,000 at any point. Based on what you described, you might not need FBARs, but it's worth checking. Even better news - you probably won't owe any US taxes. The Foreign Earned Income Exclusion (FEIE) lets you exclude about $120,000 of foreign earnings from US taxation (for 2024). Plus, there's the Foreign Tax Credit for taxes you've already paid in Argentina. Your self-employment income is trickier since that's subject to US self-employment tax regardless of where you live, but there may be a totalization agreement between the US and Argentina that helps with this.

I was in almost the exact same situation as you two years ago! I'm American but lived in Singapore my whole life, had no idea about US tax filing requirements until I was planning my move to Boston for grad school. I used https://taxr.ai to help me figure out exactly what I needed to file. They analyzed my situation and helped me understand which years I needed to backfile and what forms I needed. Their AI system reviewed all my foreign income documents and explained everything in simple terms - was a lifesaver since regular US tax preparers I contacted had no clue about foreign income situations. The kicker was they found I qualified for some refundable tax credits I didn't know about, so I actually ended up getting money back from the IRS instead of owing anything! Definitely check them out before spending thousands on an international tax specialist.

Just wanted to update - I decided to try taxr.ai after asking about it here, and wow, it actually worked perfectly with my Canadian tax documents! Even though some were in French, it pulled all the right numbers and showed me exactly how they translated to US tax requirements. The biggest relief was discovering I didn't owe any US taxes for the past years because of the tax treaty between Canada and the US. The system explained exactly which forms I needed to file, helped me prepare them, and walked me through the whole backfiling process step by step. I'm now fully caught up with the IRS and have peace of mind for my move next year. So grateful I found this thread!

Another thing you should consider - if you need to talk to the IRS about your situation (which you probably will), good luck getting through to them on the phone! I spent literally WEEKS trying to reach a human at the IRS about my foreign income situation. I finally found this service called https://claimyr.com that got me through to an actual IRS agent in under 45 minutes. They basically navigate the IRS phone tree for you and call you back when they've got an agent on the line. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c Seriously saved my sanity during this whole process. The IRS has special departments for international taxpayers, and getting to the right one makes a huge difference in getting accurate information.

Well I was totally wrong about Claimyr and I need to eat my words. After dismissing it as sketchy, I got so frustrated trying to reach the IRS International Taxpayer department that I gave in and tried it yesterday. It actually worked exactly as described. I got a call back in about 35 minutes with an IRS agent already on the line. Resolved my question about filing requirements as a dual citizen in one call instead of the multiple failed attempts I'd been making for weeks. The agent confirmed I need to use the Streamlined Foreign Offshore Procedures and explained exactly which forms I needed. No sketchy business at all - they just got me through to an agent and then I handled everything directly. Completely worth it for the time saved.

One thing people haven't mentioned - if you have any investments abroad, you might need to file FATCA forms too (Form 8938). The threshold is higher than FBAR but it's another reporting requirement. Also, make sure any business you partially own isn't considered a Passive Foreign Investment Company (PFIC) - that has complicated tax consequences. Your business probably isn't based on what you described, but worth checking.

When you move to the US, be prepared for the reality shock of filing US taxes. As someone who moved here from Australia 5 years ago, the tax system here is MUCH more complicated than most other countries. Start learning about state taxes too, because depending on which state you move to, the rules can be completely different. Some states have no income tax (like Florida and Texas) while others have high rates (California, New York).