While Americans gave up their citizenship at record levels under President Trump, there has been an immediate and dramatic reversal of the trend under President Biden. Since the 2020 election, there has been a decline in the number of Americans renouncing, according to research by the Enrolled Agents and accountants of Bambridge Accountants New York.
While 2020 was the record year for Americans giving up their citizenship under President Trump, the figures since President Biden took office show the trend reversing.
228 Americans gave up their citizenship in the first 3 months of 2021, compared to 2,909 in the first 3 months of 2020 – a 92% decrease.
· 6,705 Americans in total gave up their citizenship in 2020
· 2020 is the highest year on record; the previous record was 5,411 cases in 2016
· 2021 is on course to be the lowest year since 2013
The U.S. State Department continues to stop Americans from being able to book appointments to renounce at many U.S. Embassies, and this has been the case since March 2020.
Americans must pay a $2,350 government fee to renounce their citizenship, and those based overseas must do so in person at the U.S. Embassy in their country.
Under the IRS rules (section 6039g), every three months the U.S. Government publishes the names of all Americans who give up their citizenship.
Alistair Bambridge, partner at Bambridge Accountants New York, explains: “During the Donald Trump presidency we saw record numbers of Americans giving up their citizenship. As he closed in on a second term, those figures spiked.
“From our experience, Americans abroad are relieved in the change of president. For those individuals, the election of President Biden is enough to reconsider giving up their citizenship and many Americans abroad are now talking about returning to the U.S.
“There is also the fact that many U.S. Embassies are not allowing U.S. ex-pats to renounce. Once you take that into account, speaking to Americans, there is a change in view of renouncing and on the whole, there is no longer the urgent desire to give up their U.S. passport.”
Bambridge Accountants New York is a New York-based firm specializing in U.S. ex-pat tax, U.K ex-pats, actors, and other creatives in the U.S. and U.K.
