- More people left the U.S. than arrived for the first time since the Great Depression - Citizenship renunciations up 1,400% since 2004 - FBAR filings nearly doubled since 2013, from 872,000 to 1.7M
GRANDVILLE, Mich., April 9, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Greenback Expat Tax Services, the leading U.S. expat tax preparation firm, today announced that the 2026 tax filing season (covering tax year 2025 returns due April 15) is on track to be the largest in U.S. history for overseas filers.
Fueled by a 20-year peak in the U.S. overseas population, a post-pandemic surge in Americans relocating abroad, and a compliance net that now reaches virtually every bank on earth, more U.S. citizens than ever face the obligation that follows them across every border: their tax return.
In 2025, the U.S. experienced net negative migration for the first time since the Great Depression. The Brookings Institution estimates approximately 150,000 more people left than arrived, and the outflow is expected to grow in 2026. An estimated 9 million Americans now live overseas, driven by the rise of remote work and an increasingly competitive global market for American talent as more than 60 countries now offer dedicated digital nomad visas.
The trend shows no sign of reversing. In 2024, 4,820 Americans formally renounced their citizenship, the third-highest total ever recorded, behind only the pandemic peak of 6,705 in 2020. FBI NICS Index data tells an even starker story: the cumulative number of Americans permanently leaving has risen 1,400% since 2004.
Americans in Portugal have surged more than 500% since the pandemic. Ireland welcomed 10,000 U.S. arrivals in 2025, double the prior year. Americans are securing Irish passports at a record pace (over 31,000 in 2024) and applying for British citizenship at the highest rate since records began.
"Governments worldwide are now actively competing for American professionals with specialized visas, yet many of these 'digital nomads' don't realize their U.S. tax obligations remain the same," said Mike Wallace, CEO of Greenback Expat Tax Services. "With the overseas population at a 20-year high, this will be the most significant expat filing season in American history."
But what most of those Americans don't know is that their IRS obligations move with them. The U.S. is one of only two countries in the world to tax based on citizenship rather than residence, meaning every American abroad must file a federal return regardless of where they live or pay taxes locally. Central to that obligation is the Foreign Bank Account Report (FBAR), which is triggered when an individual's combined foreign account balances exceed $10,000, a threshold set in the 1970s and never adjusted for inflation.
"We are seeing a significant disconnect between 50-year-old regulations and the reality of modern global life," Wallace said. "If the $10,000 FBAR threshold had been adjusted for inflation since the 1970s, it would be over $82,000 today. Because that limit hasn't moved, it is effectively drafting millions of ordinary savers into a reporting system originally designed for offshore tax evaders."
Non-compliance is also no longer a low-risk gamble. Under FATCA, more than 100,000 foreign financial institutions, including virtually every major bank in Europe, Asia, and the Americas, now automatically report American account balances to the IRS. When FATCA launched in 2013, roughly 872,000 FBARs were filed. By 2024, that number had reached 1.7 million, and with the overseas population still growing, 2025 filings are projected to set a new all-time high. Willful failure to file carries penalties of up to $100,000 or 50% of account value per violation.
The 2026 season marks a significant shift toward proactive filing, driven by record-high tax protections. For the 2025 tax year, the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion (FEIE) has been raised to an all-time high of $130,000.
When combined with the standard deduction, many qualifying Americans abroad can earn roughly $145,000 without owing a single cent in U.S. federal income tax.
"The FEIE is effectively a tax-free allowance for the global American workforce, but you have to file to lock it in," Wallace noted. "For those who may have been hesitant to enter the system, the ability to legally exclude $130,000 of income turns filing into a strategic financial move. We are seeing a new wave of filers entering the system voluntarily to clean their records and secure these protections before the IRS utilizes its new data-sharing tools."
To learn more about expat taxes, visit www.greenbacktaxservices.com.
About Greenback Expat Tax Services
Greenback Expat Tax Services is the leading provider of U.S. tax preparation for Americans living abroad. The company pairs every client with a dedicated CPA or IRS Enrolled Agent who specializes exclusively in expat returns, covering FBAR filing, FATCA compliance, the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion, Foreign Tax Credits, and citizenship renunciation planning. Greenback has served tens of thousands of Americans in more than 190 countries.
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SOURCE Greenback Expat Tax Services
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