Do dual citizens living abroad have to file US taxes?
A dual US citizen abroad generally must file a federal return when the applicable filing threshold is met. For 2025, examples include $15,750 of gross income for a single filer under 65, $5 for married filing separately, or $400 or more of net self-employment earnings. Tax due is a separate calculation after exclusions, credits, deductions, and other rules.
Why the obligation exists at all
Citizenship-based taxation reaches every US citizen worldwide, including dual citizens who acquired US citizenship at birth and have never lived there. Local taxes paid do not replace the US filing; they feed into it through the Foreign Tax Credit.
Why filing and tax due are different
The filing test generally uses gross income before the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion. The 2025 FEIE is up to $130,000 for a qualifying individual, and a Foreign Tax Credit may reduce US income tax when its requirements are met. Separately, an FBAR is required if the foreign financial accounts in which you have a financial interest or signature or other authority exceed $10,000 in aggregate maximum value, and Form 8938 applies when its higher specified-asset thresholds are met.
If you have never filed
The Streamlined procedures may be available when the failures were non-willful and all program requirements are met. An eligible submission includes three covered return years and six covered FBAR years. For someone who never filed, the track in question is SFOP, which provides a 0% offshore penalty and requires the program's non-residency test. SDOP works by amending original returns already on file, so it does not fit a taxpayer with no returns filed for the covered years. Tax and statutory interest are still due.
Reference information, not legal or tax advice. Figures come from our verified fact base and are checked against superseded values on every site update.