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美国国税局针对放弃美国国籍人士出台税责补救程序
美国国税局针对放弃美国国籍人士出台税责补救程序
On September 6, 2019, the United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced new procedures for certain US citizens or individuals to become compliant with their US income tax and reporting obligations if they relinquished or plan to relinquish their US citizenship. Qualifying taxpayers under these new procedures will not be liable for any unpaid taxes, interest and/or penalties for the five years prior to expatriation plus the year of expatriation, and can avoid being taxed as "covered expatriates" under the punitive provisions section 877A of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC).
2019年9月6日，美国国税局针对部分已放弃美国国籍的个人或计划放弃美国国籍的公民出台了新的税责补救程序，旨在为该群体提供纠正其美国所得税和申报不合规情形的途径。符合该等程序要求的纳税人无需缴纳弃籍当年及之前五年所欠税款、税收利息和/或罚金，且可避免被认定为《美国国内税收法典》第877A条惩罚性条款下的"相关弃籍人员"。
The new procedures can provide substantial relief for future expatriates who were tax-noncompliant in the past or expatriated individuals who failed or were unable to certify that they were compliant for the five years preceding expatriation (as required by IRS Form 8854 the Initial and Annual Expatriation Statement). These expatriates would have been considered "covered expatriates" and subject to the harsh tax treatment of IRC §877A but for this new relief.
新程序为未来计划弃籍但存在税务不合规情形、和已弃籍但未能或无法（按照国税局8854表格《初次及年度弃籍声明表》的要求）出具其弃籍之前五年内税务合规证明的人士提供了实质性的补救措施。新程序出台之前，该类弃籍人士本会被视作"相关弃籍人员"，面临《美国国内税收法典》第877A条下严苛的税务处理。
These procedures are only available to a taxpayer who:
新程序仅适用于符合以下条件的纳税人：
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relinquished citizenship after March 18, 2010 or intends to relinquish his/her US citizenship;
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于2010年3月18日之后放弃美国国籍或计划放弃美国国籍；
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has no filing history as a US citizen or resident;
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从未曾以美国公民或居民身份进行税务申报；
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has a net worth of less than $2 million (importantly, at the time of expatriation and at the time of making their submission under these procedures);
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个人净值低于200万美元（重要的是，需在弃籍时以及按新程序提交申请时两个时间点都满足该净值条件）；
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has incurred an aggregate tax liability of $25,000 or less for the taxable year of expatriation and the five prior years (after application of all applicable deductions, exclusions, exemptions and credits, including foreign tax credits, but excluding the application of §877A and excluding any penalties and interest); and
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于弃籍当年以及弃籍之前五年纳税年度内的累计税收责任不超过25,000美元（适用所有相关扣除项目、免税额度、税收豁免及税收抵扣（包括外国税收抵扣）后的应纳税额为准，但不包括适用《美国国内税收法典》第877A条后的金额以及任何罚金和税收利息）；以及
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failed to comply with tax reporting or payment requirements only due to non-willful conduct (e.g. conduct due to negligence, inadvertence, or mistake or conduct that is the result of a good faith misunderstanding of the requirements of the law).
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其报税纳税不合规情形是"非故意"的（例如，因过失、疏忽或认知错误导致的不合规情形，以及因对法律要求的善意误解导致的不合规情形）。
The relief procedures are not available to taxpayers who have filed US tax returns as a US citizen or resident, which generally refers to those who have filed Form 1040, not including filing Form 1040NR, U.S. Nonresident Alien Income Tax Return, under the good faith that the taxpayer was a nonresident alien. This constraint significantly limits the application of the procedures. Consequently, those who were unaware of their US citizenship status (e.g. US citizens born outside the United States to U.S. citizen parents) and the associated US tax obligations will be the primary targeted group of these new procedures.
新的税责补救程序不适用于曾以美国公民或居民身份提交过报税表的纳税人——通常是指曾提交1040表格的纳税人，但不包括曾善意认为自己是非居民外国人而提交1040NR表格（《美国非居民外国人所得税表》）的纳税人。这一规定相当程度上限制了新程序的适用范围。因此，未曾意识到自己拥有美国公民身份（例如出生于美国境外但父母是美国公民）和其相关美国纳税义务的个人将会是此次税责补救程序的主要目标人群。
To be eligible for the relief, the qualified taxpayer must submit:
申请税责补救，适格纳税人应当提交如下税务材料：
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all required federal tax returns for the preceding five years, including all required information returns, and
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弃籍之前五年内所有应当提交的报税表，包括所有应提交的税务资料申报表，以及
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all required federal tax returns and schedules, including Form 8854, Initial and Annual Expatriation Statement, for the year of expatriation.
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弃籍当年所有应提交的报税表和税务资料申报表，包括8854表格（《初次及年度弃籍声明表》）。
Since it is likely under the above scenario that the qualified taxpayer generally may not have a social security number, the IRS does not require an SSN for the taxpayer to make a submission under the procedures.
鉴于符合上述情形的纳税人通常可能没有社保号，国税局并不要求无社保号的纳税人在按照新程序递交申请时提供社保号。
The IRS noted that the procedures do not have a specific termination date, and it will inform taxpayers prior to terminating them. In view of the uncertain timeline, eligible taxpayers are advised to seek professional guidance and assistance to apply for the procedures in a timely fashion. If one is ineligible for relief under these procedures, there still exist a number of options for coming into compliance under US tax law. Last, substantial attention must be paid to the qualification requirement that the failure to be compliant be non-willful, as that term has been expanded upon in US tax law and can be a trap for the unwary.
国税局指出，该新程序没有固定的终止期，但会在终止之前通知纳税人。鉴于该期限的不确定性，我们建议符合要求的纳税人尽早寻求专业指导及协助完成新程序下的税责补救申请。即便新程序对纳税人不适用，税法下仍有其它税务合规化的途径。最后，纳税人应当尤其注意新程序下过去不合规情形必须为"非故意"的适格条件；该术语在美国税法下有特别的外延涵义，不可按常规理解，需谨慎考量评估。