Sailing permit IRS requirement for green card holders

[jundc 8]

I just came upon this document from the IRS describing sailing permits: https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/departing-alien-clearance-sailing-permit and I'm shocked that I've never heard of this before. I thought permanent residents were generally treated the same as citizens, minus voting rights and jury duty.

 

The IRS document I linked to above states that whenever an alien travels outside the US, they have to fill out a form and "You must make an appointment for assistance at the local office. You can call 844-545-5640 between the hours of 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. local time to make the appointment. Depending on the time of year, some offices may not have available appointments within the 2 to 4 week time frame you must file so allow enough time to schedule your appointment before your departure date".

 

A close acquaintance of mine has been a permament resident for about 40 years (Canadian citizen), and he travels internationally pretty regularly on business and to see family.  I doubt that he's ever filled out this form or even heard of it. As an example situation, he went to a funeral in Canada a couple of years ago and had just two days notice before travelling. Is it really expected/required that he make an appointment with IRS two weeks in advance of international travel? This seems insane.

 

My husband will hopefully soon be getting a greencard, and I want to make sure we do everything right.

Edited September 22, 2018 by jundc

[NikLR 13,234]

Uhm I think they mean departing permanently.  And Canadians are exempt. 

[jundc 8]

I only see it mention exemptions for Canadian residents. The person I'm taking about is a US resident, but Canadian citizen.

 

Also, this text makes me think it's not just for departing permanently:

"If you furnish the IRS with information showing, to the satisfaction of the IRS, that you intend to return to the United States and that your departure does not jeopardize the collection of income tax, you can get a sailing or departure permit by filing Form 1040-C without having to pay the tax shown on it. You must, however, file all income tax returns that have not yet been filed as required, and pay all income tax that is due on these returns."

 

But as I read the guidance closer, I see that it looks like you can just do this process once per year with form 2063 and you are then pre-cleared for all departures for that year.

 

From everything I can tell, this seems to be just a weird difference between the law that's on the books and what's actually enforced.

[Boiler 47,524]

I have heard of it, never heard of anybody who did one.

[SusieQQQ 11,588]

Seems clear from the form itself it is for aliens intending to permanently depart the US. Example: one of the questions asks what country you are resident of for tax purposes, whereas obviously a resident LPR would be a US resident for tax purposes.

[SusieQQQ 11,588]

In fact from the horse’s mouth (don’t know what counts as extended but clearly they don’t mean a vacation), bold added:

 

Before leaving the United States or any of its possessions permanently or for an extended amount of time, all U.S. resident aliens and nonresident aliens (with certain exceptions) must prove they have met all federal tax requirements. This is done by obtaining a tax clearance document, commonly called a “sailing permit” or “departure permit”, from the IRS.

 

https://www.irs.gov/businesses/departing-aliens-and-the-sailing-permit