Internal Revenue Service
Revenue Ruling

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 Rev. Rul. 75-82

1975-1 C.B. 5

Sec. 1

IRS Headnote

Returns; naturalized citizen residing in country of birth. A foreign-born individual, whose U.S. citizenship was conferred upon him as a minor when his parents became naturalized citizens, does not lose his citizenship by taking up residence in the country of his birth after attaining majority and is not relieved of the duty of filing Federal income tax returns; O.D. 695 superseded.

Full Text

Rev. Rul. 75-82 [fn1]

The purpose of this Revenue Ruling is to update and restate, under the current statutes and regulations, the position set forth in O.D. 695, 3 C.B. 74 (1920).

An individual born in Canada in 1951 of British parents came to the United States with his parents in 1953 and remained here until 1970. In 1958 his parents became naturalized citizens of the United States, thereby conferring United States citizenship upon the child under 8 U.S.C. section 1432 (1970). The individual traveled and lived in other parts of the world from 1970 to 1973, and then he went to Canada where he registered with the United States consul in 1974 as a United States citizen. The individual had never performed any of the acts described in 8 U.S.C. section 1481 (1970) by which nationality is lost.

The question presented is whether the individual's United States citizenship was lost when he returned to Canada after attaining majority, so as to relieve him of the duty incumbent on United States citizens of filing Federal income tax returns.

Section 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 imposes an income tax on every individual, resident or nonresident, other than a nonresident alien individual subject to the tax imposed by section 871(a) or 877.

Section 1.1-1(b) of the Income Tax Regulations provides, in part, that all citizens of the United States, wherever resident, are liable to the income taxes imposed by the Code whether the income is received from sources within or without the United States.

Section 1.1-1(c) of the regulations provides that every person born or naturalized in the United States and subject to its jurisdiction is a citizen.

Since the mere act of returning to and residing in Canada is not one of the acts described in 8 U.S.C. section 1481 by which United States nationality is lost, and since the individual in the instant case had never performed any of the acts by which United States nationality is lost, he remained a United States citizen when he returned to Canada after attaining majority. Accordingly, he is not relieved of the duty incumbent on United States citizens of filing Federal income tax returns.

O.D. 695 is superseded, since the position set forth therein is restated under the current law in this Revenue Ruling.

[fn1] Prepared pursuant to Rev. Proc. 67-6, 1967-1 C.B. 576.