American Citizens Services Unit

All U.S. citizens must report their worldwide income on their Federal income tax returns.  Living or earning income outside the United States does not relieve a U.S. citizen of the responsibility for filing tax returns. However, U.S. citizens living and/or working abroad may be entitled to various deductions, exclusions, and credits.

Every year, usually by February, the Consular Section receives a comprehensive selection of federal income tax forms to be made available to all interested taxpayers.  You may obtain forms in person, at the American Citizens Services (ACS) Unit, located at the Consular Section building on Maximo Gomez Avenue at the corner of Cesar Nicolas Penson Street in Santo Domingo, from Monday through Thursday, between 7:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.

State tax forms are not available. However, these may be obtained from the state in question, or may be downloaded from the Internet at: http://www.taxadmin.org/fta/link/forms.html.  Consular Section employees are not tax experts and therefore cannot advise citizens on such matters, and there is no Internal Revenue Service representative assigned to Santo Domingo. The Consular Section stocks the most commonly requested forms and information handouts of the Internal Revenue Service.

What The IRS Wants U.S. Citizens Living Abroad To Know

• As a U.S. citizen you are taxed on your worldwide income. You must file annual U.S. income tax returns and report income from all sources, both inside and outside the United States.  (Minimum income levels apply as determined by filing status.)

• In many instances, you may be able to exclude up to $78,000 for your foreign earned income (2001); however, you must file a return to claim the exclusion. You may be entitled to a credit for taxes paid to a foreign government, but you must also file a U.S. income tax return to claim this credit.

• You must also file if you are self-employed with a net profit of USD $400 or more. Net profit from self-employment over USD $400 is subject to Social Security and Medicare taxes. The foreign earned income exclusion and other credits or deductions cannot be used to offset self-employment tax.

If you should have filed tax returns in recent years but failed to do so, the IRS can help to bring your accounts up to date. If you owe tax and are unable to pay in full, the IRS may offer you installment payment arrangements, or may consider offers-in-compromise to satisfy a tax liability.

Taxpayers who come forward, make a true voluntary disclosure, and file an accurate return will not be prosecuted.

INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE

The Internal Revenue Service website has an abundance of on-line tax information including tax forms, tax help and tax CD-ROM products. Taxpayers requiring IRS assistance should contact the Philadelphia Service Center by phone at 1-215-516-2000 or by fax at 1-215-516-2555.

By mail:

Internal Revenue Service

P.O. Box 920

Bensalem, PA  19020

Hours of operation are from 6 a.m. to 2 a.m., Eastern Standard Time.

Taxpayers should mail all returns and payments directly to the Philadelphia Service Center at the following address:

Internal Revenue Service

Philadelphia, PA  19255-0215

USA

Those taxpayers wishing to send payments and returns via courier should use the following address:

Internal Revenue Service

11601 Roosevelt Blvd.

Philadelphia, PA  19154

USA

Phone:  1-215-516-2000

To Request U.S. Tax Forms and Publications:

Contact for issues not resolved through normal channels:

Instructions for Certification on Form W-7:

Persons who are not U.S. citizens but who are required to file U.S. taxes may obtain a W-7 application to request Individual Tax Identification Number (ITIN) from the American Citizens Services (ACS) Unit of the Consular Section.  The ACS Unit does not issue numbers, but will certify the supporting documents to be forwarded to the IRS.  To certify the documents, the Consular Section requires the following:

• Form W-7

• Proof of identity (e.g., a driver’s license or passport)

• Proof of foreign nationality (e.g., an original birth certificate or passport)

• Fee: US$ 30.00

• The reason why the ITIN number is being requested

Mail the completed Form W-7 application together with the certified documents to:

Internal Revenue Service

Philadelphia Service Center

ITIN Unit

P.O. Box 447

Bensalem, PA  19020

For more information on other tax assistance, please visit the IRS website at http://www.irs.gov.  Taxpayers may also e-mail their inquiries via the IRS website by using the following prompts:

At the IRS home page, select HELP from the list of categories at the very top of the page.  Under the HELP category, select Tax Law Questions.

Tax links