Double-taxation makes divorce a financial nightmare for an American in the United Kingdom

Honorable Members of Congress,

My name is Yani, and I am writing to you today to share a grave injustice that affects not only my family but also more than 5 million Americans living abroad. We are citizens who, by choice or by circumstance, have built our lives outside the United States. We are entrepreneurs, teachers, researchers, doctors, executives… We contribute to the reputation and influence of the United States worldwide. We are America’s unofficial ambassadors abroad, yet we are treated as tax targets.

I was born and raised in New York before moving to the UK in 2011 to seize a professional opportunity. Fourteen years later, I am still here, now a dual citizen. I have held on to my U.S. citizenship only because my children and grandchildren live in the U.S. I want to be able to visit them freely, to be present for them when needed. But because of Citizenship-Based Taxation (CBT), this simple desire has had devastating consequences on my life.

From the moment I left, my life became a tax nightmare. In 2013, just two years after I moved to the UK, the IRS audited me for the year 2010—when I was still living in the U.S.! They demanded proof that my children lived with me that year, requiring documents I no longer had access to. From abroad, retrieving them was nearly impossible. The IRS refused to acknowledge my situation, disallowed my dependents, and hit me with a $25,000 tax bill.

Psychological trauma

The financial burden was one thing, but the psychological impact was even worse. As a single parent, I found myself crushed by a debt I did not actually owe. I felt trapped, powerless against a government that refused to listen. The stress was constant. Every month, the IRS took a portion of my paycheck. Every month, I wondered how I would get through it. I lost sleep. I woke up in the middle of the night, my stomach in knots, fearing what would come next.

This debt consumed my mind for years. I felt overwhelming shame, even though I had done nothing wrong. I was devastated by the injustice of it all: how could a country I loved and represented proudly abroad treat me like this? How could I be punished simply for taking a job opportunity outside the U.S.?

Even today, I feel the lingering effects of that time. The anxiety of being in debt to the IRS never truly fades. The fear of compliance mistakes and their consequences continues to haunt my financial decisions. And I am not alone. How many Americans abroad live with this same fear? How many have seen their mental health deteriorate under the weight of an unfair system?

Financial insecurity

Since then, CBT has prevented me from building financial security. Unlike British citizens, I cannot freely invest for my retirement. In the UK, I could contribute up to £60,000 annually to my pension, but the IRS only recognizes its own lower contribution limits. Opening an investment account is nearly impossible—most banks refuse to work with Americans due to FATCA, and the few that do charge excessive fees. Even tax-advantaged savings accounts for my children, such as ISAs, are off-limits. My only option is to leave my money sitting in a bank account, unable to grow.

CBT has also stripped me of my financial independence. My British husband had to keep all our assets in his name to avoid the burdensome reporting requirements and penalties imposed on U.S. citizens abroad. Now, as we go through a divorce, I must fight for my share of the assets I contributed to but do not legally own. CBT has robbed me of the financial rights that other spouses take for granted.

Children also pay the price

Even worse, my two children, who are both U.S. and British citizens, are inheriting this financial prison. They cannot save, invest, or plan for their futures without facing the same obstacles. I have had difficult conversations with them about renouncing their U.S. citizenship—because the alternative is a lifetime of financial discrimination. What kind of parent should ever have to tell their children that the only way to succeed is to give up their nationality?

And I am not alone. There are more than 5 million Americans abroad, all suffering under this unfair policy. Families are torn apart. Life plans are derailed. Opportunities are lost. We are not tax cheats. We are not hiding money overseas. We are ordinary Americans who just want to live and build a future—just like any U.S. citizen residing in the United States.

The United States is the only developed country in the world that still enforces Citizenship-Based Taxation. Every other nation has recognized that taxation should be based on residence. It is time for America to do the same.

We are proud of our American roots. We represent our country with honor across the world. But how can we continue to defend American values abroad when our own government treats us as tax liabilities, stripping us of our fundamental right to financial security?

The solution is simple: adopt Residence-Based Taxation.

It is long past time to end this injustice. Congress must act. Now.

Sincerely,

Yani