Reporting a Change in Bona Fide Residence(p6)

If you became or ceased to be a bona fide resident of a U.S. possession, you may need to file Form 8898. This applies to the U.S. possessions of American Samoa, the CNMI, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the USVI.

You must file Form 8898 for the tax year (beginning with tax year 2001) in which you meet both of the following conditions.

1. Your worldwide gross income (defined below) in that tax year is more than $75,000.
2. You meet one of the following.
   1. You take a position for U.S. tax purposes that you became a bona fide resident of a U.S. possession after a tax year for which you filed a U.S. income tax return as a citizen or resident alien of the United States but not as a bona fide resident of the possession.
   2. You are a citizen or resident alien of the United States who takes the position for U.S. tax purposes that you ceased to be a bona fide resident of a U.S. possession after a tax year for which you filed an income tax return (with the IRS, the possession tax authority, or both) as a bona fide resident of the possession.
   3. You take the position for U.S. tax purposes that you became a bona fide resident of Puerto Rico or American Samoa after a tax year for which you were required to file an income tax return as a bona fide resident of the CNMI, Guam, or the USVI.

Worldwide gross income means all income you received in the form of money, goods, property, and services, including any income from sources outside the United States (even if you can exclude part or all of it) and before any deductions, credits, or rebates.

You are a U.S. citizen who moved to the CNMI in December 2009, but did not become a bona fide resident of that possession until the 2010 tax year. You must file Form 8898 for the 2010 tax year if your worldwide gross income for that year was more than $75,000.

If you are required to file Form 8898 for any tax year and you fail to file it, you may owe a penalty of $1,000. You may also owe this penalty if you do not include all the information required by the form or the form includes incorrect information. In either case, you will not owe this penalty if you can show that such failure is due to reasonable cause and not willful neglect. This is in addition to any criminal penalty that may be imposed.