For those looking to learn more about the history, law and implications of renunciation, we have amassed a comprehensive range of resources. Each has been curated and read by an expert with first-hand knowledge of the process, and is designed to ensure you only have to visit our site when in search of further reading.
All documents required by Department of State during expatriation process
[For reference: Guide for embassy staff regarding renunciation, from the Department of State’s Foreign Affairs Manual]
Laws, court cases and Congressional reports relating to expatriation
- 1868 Statute of Congress declaring expatriation to be a natural and inherent right of all citizens. CHAP. CCXLIX – An Act concerning the Rights of American Citizens in foreign States (begins near bottom of first page).
- 1924 US Supreme Court decision that the US may tax the foreign-source income of a US citizen domiciled in a foreign country. Cook v. Tait, 1924.
- 1968 US . Supreme Court decision that a US citizen’s nationality cannot be revoked without his consent. Afroyim v. Rusk, 1968.
- 1980 US Supreme Court decision that citizenship cannot be revoked without a clear preponderance of evidence that the citizen intended to renounce his citizenship. Vance v. Terrazas, 1980.
- 1986 Law amending the Immigration and Nationality Act to establish that relinquishment of citizenship must be voluntary and intentional. 8 USC § 1481.
- 1996 Law to “close the billionaires’ loophole” by strengthening existing regulations about expatriation: presumption that principal motivation of renunciation for individuals meeting economic thresholds is tax avoidance, stipulation that renunciant remains taxable until he officially informs IRS, etc. 1996 HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996), H.R. 3103, 104th Cong. (Tax on renunciants begins on page 158).
- 2003 Congressional review of the effect of the 1996 expatriation law. Many details on process of renunciation, number of renunciations accepted, problems of enforcement, data issues between Department of State and IRS numbers, IRS private rulings relating to expatriation, etc. Joint Committee on Taxation, JCS-2-03.
- 2008 Law establishing for the first time in US history an ‘exit tax’ on expatriation. 2008 HEART (Heroes Earning Assistance and Relief Tax Act of 2008) Act, H.R. 6081, 110th Cong. (Expatriation tax begins on page 16.)
IRS information
- Guidance for Expatriates (A 65-page guide to how the IRS interprets the exit tax provision of the 2008 HEART law. Clarifies issues relating to the mark-to-market calculations, deferred compensation/tax-deferred accounts, nongrantor trusts. Note that although the law applies to individuals who expatriated on or after June 18, 2008, the regulations issued based on this IRS guidance apply definitively only to individuals who expatriated on or after October 15, 2009).
- Form W-8CE, Notice of Expatriation and Waiver of Treat Benefits. (The form to be given to payers to inform them that you have renounced citizenship, are a “covered expatriate”, and that they must withhold 30% of payments made to you).
IRS Proposed Regulations on Covered Gift and Covered Bequest Rules (Section 2801), which applies a US gift tax or US estate tax on US tax resident donees who get gifts or bequests from a covered expatriate. These Proposed Regulations have lingered for years and as of mid-2020 nothing has changed to make them final regulations.