Liable for American tax: two reporting duties, and the child born there
As soon as you live in the US, America taxes your worldwide income — including your Dutch savings and your BV. On top of that stand two reporting duties that exist side by side, not instead of each other. And whoever has a child there gives that child an American passport and a filing obligation that lasts a lifetime.
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As soon as you live in the United States, America taxes your worldwide income. That includes your Dutch savings interest and the profit of your BV (your Dutch private limited company). On top come two reporting duties that exist side by side:
- the FBAR, the report of your foreign accounts, from 10,000 dollars;
- Form 8938, the statement of foreign assets with your return, from 50,000 dollars.
And whoever has a child there gives that child an American passport and a filing obligation that lasts a lifetime.
When are you liable for tax in America?
You are a resident alien (a tax resident without American nationality) as soon as you hold a green card or meet the substantial presence test. That test counts your days in the US:
- at least 31 days in the current year;
- and 183 days over three years.
For those three years, all days of the current year count, a third of the days of the year before and a sixth of the days of the year before that. From then on you file a return on your income from all sources, anywhere in the world.
Paying twice is usually not necessary. The tax treaty and the foreign tax credit (a credit for tax you already paid abroad) prevent that. But filing is required. "But I already pay tax there" says nothing about your filing obligation.
Which two reporting duties exist side by side?
The FBAR. If all your foreign accounts together exceed 10,000 dollars at any moment in the year, you report them all. Note the word together. The FBAR does not go to the IRS, the American tax authority, but to FinCEN (Form 114), the American financial crimes agency. It is not part of your return and must be filed electronically. It is due on 15 April, with an automatic extension to 15 October.
Form 8938. This form does go with your return, to the IRS. If you live in the US, the duty starts at 50,000 dollars in foreign financial assets on 31 December (or 75,000 at any moment in the year). For married couples filing jointly, double that applies. Outside the US the thresholds are four times as high.
| Duty or limit | Amount or deadline |
|---|---|
| FBAR (FinCEN 114), all accounts together | above 10,000 dollars at any moment in the year |
| FBAR due | 15 April, automatic extension to 15 October |
| Form 8938, living in the US, single | above 50,000 dollars on 31 December or 75,000 during the year |
| Form 8938, living in the US, married filing jointly | above 100,000 dollars on 31 December or 150,000 during the year |
| Form 8938, living outside the US, single | above 200,000 dollars on 31 December or 300,000 during the year |
| Form 8938, living outside the US, married filing jointly | above 400,000 dollars on 31 December or 600,000 during the year |
| Penalty for a missed FBAR | up to 10,000 dollars; if wilful 100,000 dollars or half the balance |
| Renouncing citizenship | 450 dollars (since 13 April 2026; before that 2,350) |
| Exit tax: covered expatriate | net worth from 2 million dollars or average tax above 206,000 dollars a year (2025) |
They do not replace each other: whoever is above both thresholds does both. The IRS puts them side by side itself.
Is a child born there American?
Yes, regardless of your nationality and of which visa you hold. That follows from the Fourteenth Amendment and from 8 U.S. Code §1401: "a person born in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof".
America taxes its citizens on nationality, not on residence. So that child files American returns on its worldwide income for life, even if it returns to the Netherlands at two. Dutch banks have to report American customers separately under FATCA, the American law that obliges foreign banks to pass on their American customers.
Executive Order 14160 of 20 January 2025 sought to deny birthright citizenship to children of parents without residence rights or on temporary stay. The Supreme Court ruled on 30 June 2026 in Trump v. Barbara that such children are citizens at birth. Executive Order 14418 of 6 August 2026 excepts only children of foreign diplomats and government officials, of members of terrorist organisations and of birth tourism.
Can you renounce the citizenship?
Yes, at an American consulate. The fee for that stood at 2,350 dollars since 2015 and has been reduced to 450 dollars since 13 April 2026.
The tax side is now the threshold. You count as a covered expatriate if one of these three things applies to you:
- on the day of renunciation you have a net worth of 2 million dollars or more;
- you paid on average more than 206,000 dollars in tax a year over the five years before;
- you cannot certify on Form 8854 that you met all your American tax obligations for those five years.
A covered expatriate faces the exit tax: a settlement as if you sold all your assets on the day before your renunciation, with an exclusion of 890,000 dollars (2025).
What do you do with this before departure?
- Add up your Dutch accounts. Above ten thousand dollars the FBAR is yearly work.
- Factor in family planning. If you expect to come back after a few years, the place of birth is a choice with consequences that last decades.
- Find a tax adviser who knows both countries, before you go. Vertrekklaar gives no tax advice and does not assess your return.
In Vertrekklaar this is phase 5 of 5 of the journey, step 5.7: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to United States or go straight to step 5.7 in the open plan.
What this rests on
The facts in this article come from these official pages. Rules change. When in doubt, go by the source, not this article.
- IRS — US citizens and resident aliens abroad — irs.gov
- IRS — the substantial presence test — irs.gov
- IRS — FBAR reporting duty for foreign accounts — irs.gov
- IRS — Form 8938 and FBAR side by side — irs.gov
- 8 U.S. Code §1401 — who is American at birth (Office of the Law Revision Counsel) — uscode.house.gov
- Federal Register — renunciation fee reduced from 2,350 to 450 dollars (from 13 April 2026) — federalregister.gov
- IRS — the exit tax on renunciation — irs.gov
- Supreme Court — Trump v. Barbara, 30 June 2026 (birthright citizenship upheld) — supremecourt.gov
- Federal Register — Executive Order 14418 of 6 August 2026 (exceptions to birthright citizenship) — federalregister.gov
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