Tax agreement between Finland and the US

[Hae]

If I owe some money from the US, let say $10000, but I didn't know I owe any money until I left the US. If I'm not going back to the US, what would be some consequences for that?

[Rosamunda]

Moving to Finland changes nothing.
If you are a US citizen you still have a to file a US tax return.

[Hae]

Moving to Finland changes nothing.
If you are a US citizen you still have a to file a US tax return.

I have a permanent residency in the US so I'm not a US citizen although I qualify to apply and become one.

[J.Honkanen]

You should still do the right thing and pay the taxman. Don't know what the legal concequences of not paying might be though...... perhaps possible jail time? Although I don't know if the US would be willing to ship you back to serve jail time. Either way, it's your debt and you should pay it.

[AldenG]

Either way, it's your debt and you should pay it.

And quite apart from that, and from possible consequences in or by the U.S., it can cause problems when applying for residence permits or citizenship elsewhere. If I remember correctly what I read a few weeks ago on the Finnish immigration website, leaving such a tax debt unpaid elsewhere would disqualify a person from Finnish citizenship.

Another consideration is that the debt will compound and eventually multiply as the interest and penalties pile up.

[Hae]

if i was there when i received the notification, it would of been much easier to deal with because i could actually negotiate the tax issue with IRS directly. but now, i have to go back and deal with penalties and everything that i didn't even know about until recently. it's nothing like $10k. but i just hated the fact that when i asked them before i left, they told me that i owe nothing. when i left, they came up with some BS and trying to collect some money from me. i honestly don't even have any clue why i owe money.

[Rosamunda]

when i asked them before i left, they told me that i owe nothing...

If you have that in writing then I would guess you are in a good position to negotiate a reduction of the penalty charges.

I don't know how much the USA IRS and Finland vero mutually assist each other but I would guess that the channels of dialogue do exist since so many Finns move to the USA (eg hockey players and IT people). So, it's not beyond the realms of probability that the IRS will recover the money you owe them through your assets in Finland. If you have ever transferred cash from USA to Finland (ie via a bank) then they will have no trouble finding you.

[J.Honkanen]

if i was there when i received the notification, it would of been much easier to deal with because i could actually negotiate the tax issue with IRS directly. but now, i have to go back and deal with penalties and everything that i didn't even know about until recently. it's nothing like $10k. but i just hated the fact that when i asked them before i left, they told me that i owe nothing. when i left, they came up with some BS and trying to collect some money from me. i honestly don't even have any clue why i owe money.

If you had any tax forms that had not been processed yet when you left the US that could explain why they said you owed nothing at that point. Then, after processing your paperwork, they realized they were wrong. It is very hard to fight (and win) the IRS. My advice would be to either make payment arrangements directly with the IRS, or, if you feel you do not in fact owe the money...... hire a lawyer who specializes in these types of situations. Preferably an attorney in the US as they will be more likely to be familiar with the laws specific to the US. You should be able to handle most of the required paperwork by mail, e-mail, and fax from Finland.