HikerMark

Yes, the first filing will be for 2009 and needs to be filed by June 2010.

For example I moved to the US in November 2008 and filed for 2008 by June 2009.

Remember that for accounts that you own you only need to report if the total of all the foreign accounts exceeds $10,000.

I have just discovered on the IRS web site that owning a principal residence outside the US in the past three years does not disqualify you from the first time home buyer credit. It is about 2/3rds of the way down this link.

So incoming LPRs are OK.

How do they know if you owned a home before you even got married to the US citizen in your own country? We were told it didn't matter,(by a realtor in Oregon) only of you owned a home in the US, we are hoping to close before the final cut-off. My husband has never owned a home anywhere.

They will find out when they audit your tax return. 95% of the time it would never be picked up but if you are one of the 5% that get picked for an audit then you could be in trouble if you can't convince them that you made an innocent mistake.

Bear in mind that the IRS is currently investigating over 100,000 first time buyer credit claims on suspicion that they have been claimed in error or fraudulently. There is therefore a high risk of any return with a first time buyer credit claim being investigated by the IRS.

As you are hoping to close before the final cut-off date I would advise you to speak to a local CPA or Enrolled Agent or even the IRS help line. Don't rely on tax advice from this forum. Get confirmation one way or the other in writing from a local tax specialist. The few dollars the advice will cost is small beer in context of the $8,000 credit or worse still the penalties etc if the claim is made incorrectly.

Finally, I wouldn't rely on tax advice from a realtor. Their expertise is buying and selling properties not tax advice.

Best of luck with your house purchase.

The key thing to remember about this credit is that it is only available if you haven't owned a principal residence in the last three years. If you lived in and owned a principal residence in the last three years in your foreign country before moving to the US then you do not qualify for the credit.

Remember that once you become a US resident the IRS Code looks worldwide and not just within the US.

Does anybody know the legal status of these various sites and programs that allow access to live UK TV from overseas?

As per this page on the BBC web site you need a UK TV licence to view live programs on the internet plus there are the copyright issues which prevent the viewing of programs on the BBC iplayer.

With the US having particularly strict copyright laws what are the risks of viewing these programs in the US?

Your best bet would be to look at the SSA web site at this link.

I looked in to this a while back and if I recall, me as the non-US person could piggy back my USC wife's working and SS history when I get to 65 so that I would get some Medicare benefits.

Super - forewarned is forearmed

There is good news because death duties are a lot easier to legally dodge than in the UK - the UK considers everyone 'deemed' domiciled for at least 3 years after leaving the UK and they get you for inheritance tax...

Even after 3 years, if you had income and bank accounts and a house in the UK, they would possibly take a pop at 'considered domicile'

I will have my pension and bank accounts in the UK, but if I become a USC next year then that will help me to escape the UK inheritance tax net when I pop my clogs - and they say I will one day

I spent a couple of hours yesterday evening looking at the detailed IRS rules on the foreign passive investments. Pretty convoluted stuff.

Based on the examples they gave and the fact I have only been in the US for a short period I should be able to do the mark to market election for 2009. I can then at least keep the investments for the short term with the US tax hit not being too bad whilst I review whether to sell the investments and invest in something similar in the US.

My 2009 1040 is going to be quite interesting!!!

Also be VERY careful with Foreign Passive Investments (ISA unit trusts etc) The IRS hates them and taxes them up to 100% all the way back. I had an isa with a £100k profit and I dumped it the week before I emigrated

In the land of the free they dont ban stuff - they just tax it at 100%

Thank you for bringing these rules to my attention. I hadn't realized they existed and will now evaluate if it is worth me retaining my UK investment trusts and VCTs, although some of the VCTs I need to keep for a few more years to keep the UK tax relief I got.

The tax joys of being affected by two tax systems.

As a US resident you will be taxed on your worldwide income. It does not matter if you remit the foreign income to your US bank account or not. The income received anywhere in the world is taxed.

As rental income is not earned income it will not qualify for the US foreign earned income exclusion so, it will be fully taxable in the US.

However, you will get some relief for any UK tax you pay on the rental income. Depending on the amount of the rental income and any other UK income you have, you may have no UK tax liability as you will still get the full UK personal allowance.

The key to remember about living in the US is that they tax your income wherever it arises in the world and that the UK will tax you as a non-resident on your UK source income. So, there is an element of double taxation for which there is some relief to make sure that income does not get taxed twice.

One other thing to remember about the rental property in the UK is whether your are using an agent or directly managing it yourself you will need to complete the HMRC form NRL1. If you don't, the agent or the tenant is required to deduct basic rate tax from the rent before it is paid to you.

Don't assume that married filing jointly will give you the lowest tax. It will depend on when you arrived in the US, how much income you had in your home country and how much in the US, whether you live in a community income state and what the sources of your income are. It is best to do the calculations on a joint basis and a married filing separately basis to see which is the best. However, that is standard advice for all US married couples each tax year.

As an example for 2008 we filed the federal tax returns married filing separately and the AZ state return married filing jointly as that gave us the highest tax refund.

Each couple's situation is individual to them so you need to check the calculations on both basis.

I live in Phoenix.

Likes

1. Eating outside. Since my arrival in November we have only eaten our evening meal inside on a handful of occasions.

2. Shops being open later than in the UK.

3. Amazing scenery in Arizona.

4. Very friendly people.

5. Wide open roads for driving both inside and outside the city.

6. Cheap fruit and veg.

Miss

1. Green fields of Devon.

2. UK television, although there is BBC America for good news etc.

3. Family and friends.

4. Hiking on Dartmoor.

mamaSue, we discovered Golden Corrall on a road trip to Utah in January. Amazing value for money.

Hi brock,

Real world experience from my move last November from the UK to the US. I bought a return ticket from BA for the flight from LHR to PHX. There were no issues at the BA checkin on the way out and no issues with US immigration on arrival at PHX. In addition I didn't hear a peep from BA when I didn't use the return part of the ticket five days later.

When you think about it they have no idea why you didn't show up for the return flight and that is why they overbook flights to cover for no-shows like us.

Since my arrival I did a return trip to the UK in May with BA so they haven't blacklisted me.

Here is my review of the service I got from Excess Baggage.

I have been here for just over seven months and have always felt welcome where ever I go. I always amused by the number of people who love the English accent. It happens quite often at checkouts when they ask where I come from and then get a big smile on their face as they say they love the accent. My wife has one colleague at work who would love me to read novels to her.

Initially I felt quite self conscious about opening my mouth as it is then obvious you are not American but most people are so welcoming I don't think twice about it now.

Here in Arizona my experience of the driving test was the same as most of the others here. A relatively simple multiple choice written test, a parallel parking test at the DMV and then a very quick 5 minute road test which was round the block in a residential district. A lot lot easier than the UK driving test even when I took it 30 years ago.

Once you get used to the four way crossings and the turning right on red I am finding it quite easy to drive here. One big plus here in Phoenix are the big wide roads forming the major grid lines. Three lanes each way a lot of the time giving loads of space. The only scary part I have experienced on a couple of occasions has been the freeway near to downtown Phoenix at rush hour. Six lanes each way and totally solid!!!

Cost was £597 including the insurance. This was for eight boxes totaling 23 cubic feet.

It took 13 weeks door to door.

Now that all my boxes have arrived from the UK I thought I would give some feedback on my experiences of using Excess Baggage.

From the start I would say that overall I have been pleased with their service. Out of the eight boxes I had shipped only one item was broken and that was due to my poor packing skills.

One box was open when it arrived but nothing was missing and one box had been inspected by US Customs and re-sealed by them. The rest of the boxes were just as I had sealed them and not damaged.

In terms of time I always knew it was going to take some time by sea to get them shipped to Phoenix (via LA). The boxes were collected from Exeter on November 20 and reached Phoenix on February 27. So just over 13 weeks. Within that timescale they sat in London until December 26 when the ship arrived in London and in LA there was about a week delay for a customs inspection of the container with by boxes in it. I had no duty to pay following the inspection and just had to pay the agent in LA a $50 inspection fee. This was collected as cash at the time of delivery.

The few times I contacted Excess Baggage and the agent in LA for updates I got very quick responses by email. The delivery driver at the Phoenix end was also very good. Strictly speaking they aren't supposed to deliver above ground floor without an extra charge but with a bit of help from me he was happy to deliver to our second floor apartment.

So, I would recommend Excess Baggage for moving items to the US. They may not be the cheapest but the service is good.

Well done.

I know when I passed my Arizona driving test a few weeks ago it felt so good and such a relief to get that one out of the way.

Hi

Thanks for this post. Im also from Arizona and plan to take my driver license exam soon. I'm still bad with my paralle parking. Would need to practice more.

Which DMV office you visited?

I went to the Tempe DMV office which is on Larkspur Lane just off McLintock.

I did a bit of practice for the parallel parking as it is so rare that you have to do it in real life driving.

Best of luck with your test.

I passed my Arizona driving test today and now have an Arizona driving license. Another step in the transition to feeling this is my new home.

To help others moving to AZ here are my experiences of the test.

I went to the DMV mid week and fairly early in the morning. This worked out a treat as there was no queue and I was seen straight away. As I wear glasses they tested my eye sight at the information desk. Just a case of putting your face up against a machine and reading a line of numbers and saying on which side you can see flashing lights. After that my application form was checked at one of the service counters, ID copied and then on to the written test section. They didn't even ask to see my UK license.

The written test is done at a computer and uses a touch screen. It is 30 multiple choice questions based on pictures of road situations, signs etc. It is very straightforward provided you have read the Driver License Manual. I'm not sure of the pass rate but my test finished after the 29th question with a pass mark of 83%. To prepare for this I would highly recommend the videos at the CA DMV and the CA DMV sample tests. Most of the rules are the same as in AZ.

After the written test came the road test. Firstly there is a parallel parking test to pass before the road test which involves reversing between some big cones and the curb. You have three attempts to pass without hitting the cones or the curb. I took two attempts as the near side tires need to be on a yellow line next to the curb. After this test came the actual road test which took all of 5 minutes and involved going round the block once and was mostly in a residential area. When I think back to what is involved with the UK road test this one was very very basic.

Once back at the DMV it was five minutes to have my photo taken and I was handed the license. As I am a CR1 it expires when the CR1 expires so will need to be renewed once the green card conditions are removed. However, this only involves bringing in the new green card to the DMV.

So, overall not too much to worry about and fairly straightforward.

Here in Phoenix we are getting geared up for Sunday. Will soon have the beers in, the chips and whatever gunk we can find. At least this year I will be in the same room as Kim rather then last year when I was watching it in the UK and we had to converse by phone.

Bring on the Cardinals!!!!

Just to add that my experience at Phoenix POE on November 22 was similar. The usual 30 minute or so wait in the foreign national line. A quick check on the computer and the four fingers and thumb electronic scan at the immigration kiosk and then taken over to the immigration office to wait. Here the wait was 30 minutes and the same process as Martina was followed. All very straight forward and pretty harmless.

Now been here a week and starting to settle in. Fortuntately I had been here for 10 weeks over two trips in the summer and early fall, so we had already bought a car and had a few other things set up so the transition has been fairly easy so far.

I've booked my shipping to Phoenix with Excess-Baggage. They had the cheapest quote and based on the good reports from VisaJourney I decided to go with them. They quoted £458 including delivery of the cartons and collection once they are full and ready for shipping. The quote is for 24 cubic feet made up of 6* 2 cubic feet book cartons, 1* 3 cubic feet clothes carton and 1*9 cubic feet carton. The service is door to door by ship.

I placed the order yesterday and the cartons were delivered this afternoon with plenty of tape for sealing them and bubble wrap for packing.

I have booked collection for November 20, a couple of days before I depart on November 22. It will be interesting to see how long it takes to be shipped but I am working on probably 8 to 12 weeks.

I had my interview at the London Embassy yesterday and was approved.

Everything was very straightforward. I arrived at just before 8.00am and was all done and out of the Embassy by 9.30am. Suffice to say I had a very big smile on my face as I walked through Hyde Park on the way back to Paddington. I got the text from SMS at 3.30pm to say they had the visa and it and the infamous "Do Not Open" envelope were delivered at 1.15pm today.

I have had my flight to Phoenix booked for some time so I depart these shores on November 22. It is now all hands to the pump to get my house cleared, organise the shipping, change address etc etc. It doesn't look as if I will sell my house before I leave but I am lucky that I have family who live near by and can keep an eye on it. It has only been on the market for two months so in the current climate one can't expect instant results.

I am so excited that I can finally now live with my wife. This day seemed like a fantasy when we started the application just after we got married 14 months ago. Like everybody else on VisaJourney there have been ups and downs, happiness and frustration at the process, but at last we have the visa.

I would like to say a big thank you to everybody on VisaJourney. It is a wonderful resource and has made the whole experience so much easier and less intimidating than it might otherwise have been.

So, I will soon be able to support close at hand the Cardinals and the D-Backs, enjoy some pleasant winter sunshine and warmth, oh...... and spend a lot more time with my wife.

Best wishes to everybody still working their way through the process, hang in there and you will soon enjoy this day as well.

Thanks for all the replies especially Nich-Nick. Putting them through the scanner seems like the most pragmatic approach. I may chicken out though and leave the watch in the station left luggage with the rest of my stuff.