Can You Give Up US Citizenship? Process, $2,350 Fee, and Exit Tax

Giving up U.S. citizenship means going through a formal renunciation process at a U.S. embassy or consulate outside the United States, paying a $2,350 government fee, swearing an oath before a consular officer, and then settling your tax affairs with the IRS. The decision is permanent. Once the Department of State issues your Certificate of Loss of Nationality, you cannot vote in U.S. elections, hold a U.S. passport, or live and work in the United States without a visa.¹

Who Can Renounce

The Department of State looks at three things before it will accept your renunciation: you must be acting voluntarily, you must be of sound mind, and you must be at least 18.² Consular officers are trained to spot coercion, and they will refuse to proceed if they believe someone is being pressured. During the interview the officer will discuss what you are giving up to confirm you understand the consequences.

You also have to be physically outside the United States. Federal law requires that renunciation take place before a diplomatic or consular officer in a foreign country.² You cannot renounce from inside the country, mail in a request, or handle any part of the oath remotely.

One warning matters before you start. The DS-4079 flags that renouncing without holding another citizenship can leave you stateless, which makes international travel and establishing residency extremely difficult.¹ Most people who renounce already hold another nationality; if you do not, resolve that first.

Documents and Forms You Will Need

The paperwork is available from U.S. Embassy and Consulate websites. Three forms drive the process:

DS-4079, a questionnaire covering your background, residences, travel history, employment, ties to the United States, and any other nationalities you hold¹
DS-4080, the formal Oath of Renunciation you sign in front of the consular officer
DS-4081, a Statement of Understanding confirming you accept the consequences, including that you will become a foreign national with respect to the United States and may need a visa to visit

Bring proof of your U.S. citizenship (a birth certificate, Consular Report of Birth Abroad, or naturalization certificate), evidence of your other nationality such as a valid foreign passport, and your current and expired foreign passports. You will also need your Social Security number for the tax filings that follow.³

The Renunciation Process Step by Step

Start by contacting the U.S. Embassy or Consulate in the country where you live, usually by email. They will send instructions for your location and set up an initial interview.⁴

That first interview happens by phone or in person. The consular officer walks you through the process, reviews your reasons, and confirms you understand what renunciation means. You then submit scanned copies of your documents and book the final appointment.

The final appointment must be in person. The officer verifies your identity, reviews your completed forms, and goes over the legal consequences a second time. If the officer is satisfied that your decision is voluntary and informed, you sign the DS-4080 and DS-4081 in front of the officer and take the oath of renunciation. The $2,350 fee is collected immediately before the oath.⁴

Your paperwork then goes to the Department of State in Washington for final review, which can take several months. If approved, the Department issues your Certificate of Loss of Nationality, and the embassy or consulate notifies you by email when it is ready.⁴ That certificate is the official end of your citizenship.

The $2,350 Fee

The Department of State charges a non-refundable $2,350 to process each renunciation. You pay it at the final appointment, and you pay it whether or not the Department ultimately approves your request.⁴ The fee cannot be waived. Many people also hire tax professionals or attorneys to handle the exit-tax calculations, and those fees can run from a few hundred to several thousand dollars depending on the complexity of your finances.

Tax Obligations After You Renounce

Renouncing does not end your relationship with the IRS. It triggers a set of filings that, for higher-net-worth or higher-income individuals, can produce a significant tax bill.

Are You a Covered Expatriate

The exit tax only reaches people the IRS classifies as “covered expatriates.” You are one if you meet any of these tests:⁵

Your net worth is $2 million or more on the date you expatriate⁶
Your average annual net income tax for the five years before expatriation exceeds roughly $211,000 for 2026 (the figure adjusts for inflation)⁶
You cannot certify under penalty of perjury that you have met all federal tax obligations for the five years before expatriation

That last test catches anyone with unfiled returns or unpaid taxes, regardless of income or wealth. Getting compliant before you renounce is often the single most useful step someone with a modest financial picture can take.

How the Exit Tax Works

If you are a covered expatriate, the IRS treats all your property as if you sold it at fair market value the day before your expatriation date. Gains on that deemed sale are taxable, reduced by an exclusion of about $910,000 for 2026.⁷ Anything above the exclusion is taxed at normal capital gains rates. Retirement accounts and deferred compensation follow their own special rules rather than the general mark-to-market framework.

Form 8854

Every person who renounces must file IRS Form 8854 with the federal income tax return for the year of expatriation. The form reports your worldwide income, assets, and liabilities and certifies your five-year tax compliance. Failing to file, or filing with incorrect or missing information, carries a $10,000 penalty per year.³

Gifts and Inheritances to People You Leave Behind

If you become a covered expatriate, gifts and bequests you later make to U.S. citizens or residents can be taxed at the highest estate tax rate (currently 40%) in the recipient’s hands, to the extent covered gifts and bequests received in a calendar year exceed $19,000 for 2026.⁸⁹ Family in the United States can end up owing tax on money they receive from you after you expatriate.

What You Lose After Renunciation

Once your Certificate of Loss of Nationality is approved, your U.S. passport is canceled and you lose the right to vote in U.S. elections, to live and work freely in the country, and to receive U.S. consular protection abroad.¹

Visiting the United States

To come back for a visit, you will need either a visa or eligibility under the Visa Waiver Program, depending on the passport you now hold.¹⁰ Citizens of Visa Waiver countries can apply through ESTA; everyone else applies for a B-1/B-2 visitor visa.

Immigration law also contains a provision, sometimes called the Reed Amendment, that makes a former citizen inadmissible if the Attorney General determines they renounced specifically to avoid U.S. taxes.¹¹ It has rarely been enforced, but it remains on the books.

Social Security

Renunciation does not automatically cancel Social Security benefits you have already earned. What changes is that, as a non-citizen abroad, your continued eligibility depends on where you live and your new citizenship. The Social Security Administration restricts or prohibits payments to non-citizens in certain countries, and in many cases payments stop after six full calendar months outside the United States unless you meet specific conditions, such as holding citizenship in a country with a totalization agreement.¹² Check your situation before you renounce.

Your Name in the Federal Register

The IRS is required to publish the names of individuals who lose U.S. citizenship in the Federal Register each quarter.¹³ The list is public. Your name will appear regardless of why you renounced.

If You Already Took an Action That May Have Ended Your Citizenship

Renunciation is the path for people who are actively deciding to give up citizenship now. There is a separate path called relinquishment, for people who already took an action, such as naturalizing in another country, swearing allegiance to a foreign state, or serving in a foreign military, with the intent at the time to give up U.S. nationality.² Simply becoming a citizen of another country does not, on its own, end U.S. citizenship; intent matters. Relinquishment goes through the same consular process and carries the same $2,350 fee.¹⁴ If this describes you, raise it with the consulate at your first contact so they document the correct basis.

1
U.S. Department of State. Questionnaire – Loss of United States Nationality; Attestations
2
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1481 – Loss of Nationality by Native-Born or Naturalized Citizen; Voluntary Action; Burden of Proof; Presumptions
3
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 8854
4
United States Department of State. Renounce Citizenship
5
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 877 – Expatriation to Avoid Tax
6
Internal Revenue Service. Expatriation Tax
7
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 877A – Tax Responsibilities of Expatriation
8
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 2801 – Imposition of Tax
9
Internal Revenue Service. What’s New – Estate and Gift Tax
10
Travel.State.Gov. Relinquishing U.S. Nationality Abroad
11
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 U.S. Code 1182 – Inadmissible Aliens
12
Social Security Administration. Your Payments While You Are Outside the United States
13
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S. Code 6039G – Information on Individuals Losing United States Citizenship
14
Federal Register. Schedule of Fees for Consular Services – Administrative Processing of Request for Certificate of Loss of Nationality Fee