US departure, without the full-service bill

Save $10,000s
in professional fees.
Get clarity for $497.

Stop paying accountants and lawyers premium hourly rates to organize paperwork you can prepare efficiently. ExitUSA walks you through the facts the IRS actually looks at — citizenship, green-card status, days of presence, net worth, five years of compliance — organizes your evidence, compiles a departure file, and puts it in front of an experienced reviewer before you file your final return and Form 8854.

Guided preparation / Expatriation file compiled / Human legal review
Your next chapter, organisedExample
My departure file🔒
🇺🇸 United States🇦🇪 Dubai

One move. One organised file.

Your documents, without the guesswork.
Example checklist3 of 4 added
🏠
New-country leaseA home for your next chapter
🪪
Residence documentYour status abroad
🏦
Bank statementYour everyday financial ties
🚗
Driver's licenceAdd it when available
PENDING
Know what you have. See what's next.Less scattered paperwork. More room for what's next.
Built around your move

Where are you headed?

🇦🇪 Dubai (UAE)🇲🇹 Malta🇨🇾 Cyprus🇬🇧 UK (non-dom / FIG)🇵🇦 Panama🇵🇾 Paraguay
Need a new residence too?

Leaving the United States is one step.
Establishing somewhere new is the next.

Exit Global can help evaluate practical residency pathways in Dubai, Malta, Cyprus and UK and beyond. Some routes can be completed relatively quickly depending on your circumstances. Each destination has its own site — click through.

Immigration eligibility, processing times and government requirements vary by route and applicant.

An independent preparation tool. Not affiliated with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Private beta. Not an IRS filing service.
The $497 guided departure package

Do the simple work once.
Pay experts for judgment — not administration.

Traditional full-service expatriation engagements get expensive when accountants, lawyers and appraisers each bill hourly for gathering the same facts. Software handles the organization and drafting; experts handle the parts that require judgment.

$497Prepared departure file + written review
Start the process →
01

Start the process

Tell us where you are moving, when you are leaving and the basic facts of your US departure.

02

Upload your documents

Add evidence of your new life abroad and the US ties you have changed, ended or retained.

03

Answer the questionnaire

Work through structured questions covering your status (citizen, green-card holder or other), days of presence, five years of filings, net worth, retirement accounts, deferred compensation and the other facts the IRS weighs.

04

We compile your departure file

The software organizes your answers and evidence into a structured file: which of the three US tax-status tests apply to you, whether you would be a covered expatriate under IRC §877A, your mark-to-market exposure, and what your departure-year return looks like.

05

Expert review + written evaluation

Our team reviews the file and evidence, provides a written evaluation of your position and flags what to fix before you renounce, abandon a green card or file.

06

You decide how to proceed

You receive the prepared file and review. You decide whether to expatriate, stay a US filer abroad, or obtain specialist advice first.

No open-ended hourly meter.

The core guided preparation and review is $497. Complex tax, valuation or specialist work is scoped and quoted separately, only if your situation requires it.

Your information is sensitive. We treat it that way.

Documents are stored privately when you explicitly save them. We use restricted access and do not sell or share your information.

01 / Understand the rules

Leaving the US does not end US tax.
Here is what actually does.

The United States taxes its citizens and green-card holders on worldwide income wherever they live. Moving abroad changes nothing by itself. For a citizen, 'exit' means formally renouncing before a consular officer; for a green-card holder it means abandoning the card; for everyone else it means failing the substantial presence test. Each route has its own forms, its own deadlines and — for some — an exit tax.

Who the IRS taxes

Citizenship, green card, or substantial presence.

You are a US taxpayer on worldwide income if you are a US citizen, if you hold a green card at any time in the year (you stay resident until you abandon it in writing to USCIS or it is terminated administratively or by a federal court — living abroad or letting the card expire does not end it), or if you meet the substantial presence test: at least 31 days in the current year and 183 days counting all days this year, one-third of last year's and one-sixth of the year before.

Only the third group can 'leave' by simply leaving. A non-citizen, non-green-card holder who was present fewer than 183 days, kept a tax home abroad and had a closer connection to that country files Form 8840 to claim the closer-connection exception.

IRS: substantial presence test ↗
Expatriation

For citizens and long-term residents, the exit is IRC §877A and Form 8854.

A citizen who renounces, or a long-term resident — a green-card holder in at least 8 of the last 15 tax years — who gives up the card, is an expatriate. Every expatriate files Form 8854. You are a covered expatriate, and the exit tax applies, if any one of three tests is met: net worth of $2 million or more on the expatriation date; average annual net income tax over the prior five years above $206,000 (2025) or $211,000 (2026); or failure to certify five years of full US tax compliance.

The third test catches people with modest wealth who simply have not filed. Getting five clean years on the record before the consular appointment is usually the most important step in the whole exit.

IRS: expatriation tax ↗
No ruling, no certificate

The IRS does not issue residency opinions. The State Department issues the document that matters.

There is no IRS form that confirms you have stopped being a US taxpayer. For a citizen, the operative document is the Certificate of Loss of Nationality approved by the Department of State after you take the oath of renunciation in person at a US embassy or consulate abroad (forms DS-4079, DS-4080 and DS-4081). The fee for processing the request was cut from $2,350 to $450 by a final rule effective 13 April 2026. For a green-card holder, it is Form I-407, filed with USCIS at no fee — and DHS reports every I-407 to the IRS.

Former citizens who never filed can use the IRS Relief Procedures for Certain Former Citizens if they relinquished after 18 March 2010, have net worth under $2,000,000, owe $25,000 or less in total tax across the six years at issue, and were non-willful. It is not available to green-card holders.

State Department: relinquishing US nationality abroad ↗
The departure year

A dual-status return, with Form 8854 attached.

The year your US status ends is a dual-status year: resident (or citizen) up to the expatriation date, nonresident after. If you are a nonresident on 31 December you file Form 1040-NR marked 'Dual-Status Return' with a Form 1040 statement for the resident period — no standard deduction, and generally no joint return. Expatriates attach the initial Form 8854 to that return and send a copy to the IRS in Austin, by the return's due date including extensions.

Citizens and resident aliens abroad get an automatic two-month extension to 15 June, but interest runs from 15 April. Non-citizens without a green card may also need a departing-alien clearance (Form 1040-C or Form 2063) before they leave, applied for no earlier than 30 days and at least two weeks before departure.

IRS: taxation of dual-status individuals ↗
Why this matters

A flight changes
your location.
The facts tell the rest.

US federal tax turns on status, not on where you live. Citizens and green-card holders report worldwide income until they formally expatriate; nonresident aliens report US-source income only. But the facts of your life still decide a great deal: whether you qualify for the foreign earned income exclusion, whether a non-citizen has a closer connection abroad, whether your state lets go of you, and — for a covered expatriate — what your net worth is on the day before you leave.

Read the IRS guidance for citizens and residents abroad ↗

Where is your home?

Your tax home must be in a foreign country to claim the foreign earned income exclusion, and a retained US home is the first thing a state residency audit looks at.

Where is your family?

A spouse or dependants still in the US shape the closer-connection analysis for non-citizens, joint-filing choices in the dual-status year, and your state domicile.

What does daily life look like?

Days in each country, employer, bank and brokerage accounts, retirement plans, driver's license and voter registration all feed the substantial presence test, Form 8840, the FEIE tests and your net-worth statement.

02 / A simple way forward

From scattered documents
to a clear next step.

You don't need everything on day one. Start with what you know and keep track of the gaps.

01

Tell the story of your move

Choose your destination and record the key facts, dates and US ties.

02

Build your document file

Keep new-country evidence and changes to US ties in separate, labelled sections.

03

Get reviewed before you file

Our team reviews your departure file and evidence, provides an advisory opinion and recommends revisions before you renounce, abandon your green card or file Form 8854.

Guided preparation. Human review.

You do the groundwork.
Our team reviews the final file.

You should not have to start from a blank page, or pay a professional to chase every document. Build the file yourself; have it reviewed before you rely on it.

A reviewed departure file

Our team reviews your status under each test, your covered-expatriate position, your supporting documents and departure narrative, provides an advisory opinion and recommends revisions.

A human review of the facts and evidence, not just a completed checklist.

Less administration. Lower preparation costs.

You gather documents and answer the guided questions. We focus professional time on reviewing your prepared file rather than assembling it from scratch.

Designed to cost less than having a firm manage every preparation task.

Specialists for the complex parts

Have a company, trust, IRA or 401(k), stock options, private-company shares or real estate? We can connect you with CPAs, enrolled agents, attorneys and appraisers for the pieces that need them.

The right specialist for the work your situation actually requires.

A more focused way to get there

Do not pay full-service rates
for paperwork you can organise.

Complex, full-service US expatriations can run into tens of thousands of dollars in combined accounting, legal and valuation fees once the covered-expatriate tests, a mark-to-market calculation, retirement accounts and a trust or company are in play.

This refers to broader, multi-specialist engagements, not departure-file preparation alone. Actual fees and savings vary.

Beyond the status question

The §877A exit tax,
without the guesswork.

If you are a covered expatriate, all your property is treated as sold at fair market value on the day before your expatriation date. The net gain is reduced by an exclusion of $890,000 for 2025 and $910,000 for 2026, and the rest is taxed in your dual-status return. You can irrevocably elect to defer the tax property-by-property until you actually sell, with interest, a bond or other security, and a waiver of treaty rights. IRAs, 529 plans, HSAs and similar accounts are not marked to market — their entire balance is treated as distributed the day before you expatriate. Pensions and 401(k)s are either withheld at 30% as you draw them (if you give the payor Form W-8CE and waive treaty benefits) or their present value is taxed up front. And a covered expatriate leaves a tail: US-citizen or resident recipients of gifts or bequests from you pay a 40% tax under §2801 on Form 708, above a $19,000 annual threshold. Each of these is a decision, and each needs a number behind it.

IRS: Form 8854 instructions ↗
CPA / EA

Tax analysis and filings

A CPA or Enrolled Agent with expatriation experience can model your covered-expatriate tests, the mark-to-market calculation, the deferral election, your dual-status return and Form 8854.

TAX ATTORNEY / APPRAISER

Structure and valuations

A tax attorney can advise on trusts, §2801 exposure and the consular process; a qualified appraiser can support the fair market value of private-company shares, real estate and other assets in your net-worth statement.

Prepare it yourself. Get it reviewed. Bring in specialists when needed.

Start my guided departure →

Team review is a separate, agreed professional engagement. Our advisory opinion is not a determination by the IRS.

03 / Know what to gather

Two sides of the move.
One practical checklist.

These are suggested evidence categories, not a universal IRS document requirement. Include what's relevant to your situation.

Your new country

Establishing your life abroad

  • Lease or proof of housingNames, address, dates and the living arrangement.
  • New driver's licenceIf issued and applicable to your situation.
  • Residence or immigration documentThe visa or permit that applies to your status — and whether it is permanent.
  • Local bank statementEvidence of an account in your new country.
Other useful context: employment, utilities, health coverage and travel records.
United States

Documenting what changed

  • Five years of filed returns and FBARsYou cannot certify compliance on Form 8854 without them. Confirm every return, FBAR and Form 8938 for the five years before your expatriation date is on file.
  • Consular appointment or Form I-407Citizens: book the renunciation interview abroad and gather DS-4079, DS-4080 and DS-4081 and the $450 fee. Green-card holders: file Form I-407 with USCIS and keep the receipt.
  • Retirement accounts and deferred compensationList every IRA, 401(k), pension, 529 and HSA with balances as at the day before expatriation; give Form W-8CE to payors of eligible deferred compensation.
  • Social Security and MedicareGive the SSA your foreign address and answer its questionnaires; understand that Medicare generally does not cover care outside the US.
  • State ties, banks and brokeragesChange your driver's license, voter registration and mailing address; ask each bank and brokerage what it will do with a non-US address before you leave, and update to Form W-8BEN once you are a nonresident.
Keeping a US bank or brokerage account does not by itself keep you a US taxpayer. Once you are a nonresident, US-source dividends and other income from what you keep are reported on Form 1040-NR, and the account should hold a Form W-8BEN rather than a W-9. See the IRS dual-status rules ↗
Still waiting on a document? Mark it pending and keep going.

Your file grows as your move does.

Start my departure file — $497 →
04 / When you're ready

You prepare here.
You file with the IRS — and act with State or USCIS.

Unlike most countries, the United States has a formal act that ends your status, and a formal statement that reports it. Four things have to happen, in order, and they have deadlines. This app does not connect to IRS Online Account, BSA E-Filing, USCIS or the State Department.

IRS: expatriation tax and Form 8854 ↗
01
Perform the expatriating act

Citizens: take the oath of renunciation in person before a US consular officer abroad and pay the $450 fee; your expatriation date is the date of the oath, once the Department approves the Certificate of Loss of Nationality. Green-card holders: file Form I-407; your date is the date you file it. Non-citizens without a green card: leave, and keep proof of your last day of presence.

02
File the dual-status return with Form 8854

File Form 1040-NR (or 1040) marked 'Dual-Status Return' for the year of expatriation, attach the initial Form 8854, and mail a copy of Form 8854 to the IRS in Austin. Due by the return's due date including extensions — 15 June automatically if you are abroad, 15 October with Form 4868. A missed Form 8854 carries a $10,000 penalty.

03
File the final FBAR and Form 8938

FinCEN Form 114 is due 15 April with an automatic extension to 15 October for any year your foreign accounts exceeded $10,000 in aggregate; Form 8938 goes with the return above the thresholds for those living abroad ($200,000 single / $400,000 joint at year end).

04
Keep filing where a tail remains

File Form 8854 every year you have deferred mark-to-market tax, eligible deferred compensation or a nongrantor-trust interest. File Form 1040-NR in any later year with US-source income. Keep the file: the IRS can revisit the net-worth and compliance tests long after you leave.

Good questions. Clear answers.

Before you
get started.

You can organise your evidence before deciding how far to take it.

Will your team review my final file?

Yes. Under an agreed review engagement, our team reviews your departure file and supporting package, provides a written advisory opinion and recommends revisions. That is our opinion — not an IRS determination, a private letter ruling or a State Department decision. ExitUSA is independent and not affiliated with the IRS, the Department of State or USCIS.

Is there a US exit tax?

Yes, for covered expatriates. If you renounce citizenship or give up a green card held in 8 of the last 15 years, and your net worth is $2 million or more, your average annual net income tax over the prior five years exceeds $206,000 (2025) or $211,000 (2026), or you cannot certify five years of compliance, IRC §877A treats your property as sold the day before expatriation. Gains above $890,000 (2025) or $910,000 (2026) are taxed. If you meet none of the three tests, you still file Form 8854, but there is no mark-to-market tax. IRS expatriation tax ↗

Is there a US equivalent of Canada's NR73?

No. The IRS does not issue a residency opinion or a departure certificate. The document that ends a citizen's status is the State Department's Certificate of Loss of Nationality; for a green-card holder it is the filed Form I-407. Form 8854 then reports the expatriation to the IRS. For non-citizens without a green card, nothing is issued — you self-assess against the substantial presence test and, if needed, file Form 8840 or a residency-termination statement with your return. IRS residency ending dates ↗

If I move abroad but keep my citizenship, do I still file?

Yes — every year, on worldwide income, wherever you live. What changes is the toolkit: Form 2555 can exclude up to $130,000 (2025) or $132,900 (2026) of foreign earned income if your tax home is abroad and you pass the bona fide residence test or the 330-day physical presence test; Form 1116 credits foreign income tax on what is not excluded (but not on income you excluded); the FBAR is due whenever your foreign accounts exceed $10,000 in aggregate; and Form 8938 applies above $200,000 (single) or $400,000 (joint) at year end for those living abroad. You get an automatic extension to 15 June, with interest from 15 April. IRS: citizens and residents abroad ↗

I have a green card and I've moved abroad. Am I done?

No. You remain a US tax resident until you abandon the card in writing to USCIS (Form I-407) or it is terminated administratively or by a court — an expired card or years abroad do not end it. If you held the card in at least 8 of the last 15 tax years you are a long-term resident and the full expatriation regime applies when you file I-407, including the covered-expatriate tests and Form 8854. One trap: claiming to be a treaty resident of another country without waiving treaty benefits counts as an expatriation date for a long-term resident. Form 8854 instructions ↗

What happens to my IRA, 401(k), house and brokerage account?

For a covered expatriate, your entire IRA, 529, HSA or similar balance is treated as distributed the day before expatriation, without the early-distribution tax; a 401(k) or pension is either withheld at 30% as paid (if you give the payor Form W-8CE) or taxed on its present value up front; everything else is marked to market. For everyone else, nothing is deemed sold, but from the day you are a nonresident, US-source income from accounts and property you keep is reported on Form 1040-NR, and many US brokerages restrict accounts with foreign addresses — ask before you leave. State income tax on retained property is a separate question. Form 8854 instructions ↗

Will I still get Social Security and Medicare abroad?

Social Security, usually yes. US citizens can continue to receive benefits in most countries; payments cannot be sent to Cuba or North Korea, and generally not to several other listed countries. Non-citizens lose payments after six full calendar months abroad unless an exception applies, and the SSA sends questionnaires you must return. Totalization agreements with 31 countries let you combine credits and avoid paying into two systems. Medicare generally does not cover health services outside the United States. SSA: payments outside the US ↗

Can I come back?

As a visitor, usually — but renunciation is final and irrevocable, and a former citizen who the Department of Homeland Security determines renounced to avoid US tax can be refused a visa and admission under INA §212(a)(10)(E). A former green-card holder needs a new immigrant visa to live in the US again. A nonresident who returns and again meets the substantial presence test simply becomes a resident again from that year. Once you have expatriated, gifts and bequests you make to US persons can trigger the 40% §2801 tax for the rest of your life if you were a covered expatriate. State Department: relinquishing nationality ↗

The next chapter starts with a plan

Get clarity before you spend
thousands more on professional fees.

Start my departure file — $497 →

Dubai (UAE) / Malta / Cyprus / UK (non-dom / FIG) / Panama / Paraguay

The Exit network

One process. Every country.

Each site covers one departure, in that country's own rules. The destination sites cover where you're going. All reviewed by the same team at Exit Global.