Instructions for Form 8898

(Rev. October 2022)

Statement for Individuals Who Begin or End

Bona Fide Residence in a U.S. Possession

Department of the Treasury

Internal Revenue Service

Section references are to the Internal Revenue 

Code unless otherwise noted.

Future Developments

For the latest information about 

developments related to Form 8898 and 

its instructions, such as legislation 

enacted after they were published, go to 

IRS.gov/Form8898.

What’s New

Line 3a. We added new line 3a for the 

taxpayer’s worldwide gross income for 

the tax year associated with the move.

Line 3b. We moved line 3 to line 3b.

General Instructions

Purpose of Form

Use Form 8898 to notify the IRS that 

you became or ceased to be a bona fide 

resident of a U.S. possession in 

accordance with section 937(c). See 

Bona Fide Residence, later. For this 

purpose, the following are considered 

U.S. possessions: American Samoa, 

Guam, the Commonwealth of the 

Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), the 

Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the 

U.S. Virgin Islands.

Who Must File

You must file Form 8898 for the tax year 

in which you meet both of the following 

conditions.

1. Your worldwide gross income 

(defined later) in that tax year is more 

than $75,000.

2. You meet one of the following.

a. 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 of the 

United States but not as a bona fide 

resident of the possession.

b. You are a citizen or resident 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 authorities, or 

both) as a bona fide resident of the 

possession.

c. 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 

U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, or the CNMI.

When figuring whether your 

worldwide gross income is more 

than $75,000, do not include 

any of your spouse's income. If both you 

and your spouse are required to file 

Form 8898, file a separate Form 8898 

for each of you.

Worldwide gross income. 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 may exclude part or 

all of it) and before any deductions, 

credits, or rebates.

Example 1. You are a U.S. citizen 

who moved to the CNMI in December 

2021 but did not become a bona fide 

resident of that possession until the 

2022 tax year. You must file Form 8898 

for the 2022 tax year if your worldwide 

gross income for that year is more than 

$75,000.

When and Where To File

File Form 8898 by the due date 

(including extensions) for filing Form 

1040. File the form by mailing it to the 

following address.

Internal Revenue Service

3651 S. IH 35

MS 4301AUSC

Austin, TX 78741

Do not file Form 8898 with your 

tax return. Do not send your tax 

return to the address above.

Penalty for Not

Filing Form 8898

If you are required to file Form 8898 for 

any tax year, and you fail to file it or do 

not include all the information required 

by the form or the form includes 

incorrect information, you may be 

subject to a penalty of $1,000, unless it 

is shown that such failure is due to 

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reasonable cause and not willful 

neglect. This is in addition to any 

criminal penalty that may be imposed.

Bona Fide Residence

You are a bona fide resident of a U.S. 

possession if you:

• Do not have a tax home outside the 

possession,

• Do not have a closer connection to 

the United States or to a foreign country 

than to the possession, and

• Meet the presence test (defined 

later).

Special rule for members of the U.S. 

Armed Forces. If you are a member of 

the U.S. Armed Forces who qualified as 

a bona fide resident of the possession in 

an earlier tax year, your absence from 

that possession during the current tax 

year in compliance with military orders 

will not affect your status as a bona fide 

resident. Likewise, being in a 

possession solely in compliance with 

military orders will not qualify you as a 

bona fide resident of that possession.

Special rule for civilian spouse of 

active duty member of the U.S. 

Armed Forces. If you are the civilian 

spouse of an active duty service 

member, under the Military Spouses 

Residency Relief Act (MSRRA), you can 

choose to keep your prior residence or 

domicile for tax purposes (tax 

residence) when accompanying the 

servicemember spouse, who is 

relocating under military orders, to a 

new military duty station in one of the 50 

states, the District of Columbia, or a 

U.S. possession. You and your spouse 

must have the same tax residence. If 

you choose to keep your prior tax 

residence after such a relocation, the 

source of income for services performed 

(for example, wages or 

self-employment) by you is considered 

to be (the jurisdiction of) the prior tax 

residence. As a result, the amount of 

income tax withholding (from Form(s) 

W-2, Wage and Tax Statement) that you 

are able to claim on your federal return, 

as well as the need to file a state or U.S. 

possession return, may be affected. For 

more information, see:

• Notice 2010-30, available at 

IRS.gov/irb/

2010-18_IRB#NOT-2010-30;

Jul 20, 2022 Cat. No. 39789W
• Notice 2011-16, available at 

IRS.gov/irb/

2011-17_IRB#NOT-2011-16; and

• Notice 2012-41, available at 

IRS.gov/irb/

2012-26_IRB#NOT-2012-41.

You can also consult with state, local, 

or U.S. possession tax authorities 

regarding your tax obligations under 

MSRRA.

Exception for the

Year of the Move

An exception applies to the tax home 

and the closer connection tests for the 

tax year you moved to or from the 

possession. Under this exception, you 

satisfy the tax home and the closer 

connection tests for the tax year of the 

move if you meet the requirements 

explained next.

Also, a special exception applies to 

the bona fide residence test for the tax 

year you moved from Puerto Rico. 

Under this exception, you satisfy the 

bona fide residence test for the part of 

the tax year you moved from Puerto 

Rico if you meet the requirements 

discussed later under Year of the move 

from Puerto Rico. If you qualify as a 

bona fide resident of Puerto Rico for the 

part of the tax year before the date you 

moved from Puerto Rico, you ceased to 

be a bona fide resident of Puerto Rico in 

the tax year that you moved from Puerto 

Rico.

Example 2. You are a U.S. citizen 

who moved from Puerto Rico to Florida 

in May 2022 and meet the requirements 

to qualify as a bona fide resident of 

Puerto Rico for the part of the tax year 

before the date you moved from Puerto 

Rico. You must file Form 8898 for the 

2022 tax year if your worldwide gross 

income for that year is more than 

$75,000.

Year of the move to the possession. 

You satisfy the tax home and closer 

connection tests for the tax year you 

moved to the possession if you meet all 

of the following.

• You were not a bona fide resident of 

the possession in any of the 3 tax years 

immediately preceding the tax year of 

the move.

• You did not have a tax home outside 

the possession or a closer connection to 

the United States or a foreign country 

than to the relevant possession during 

any part of the final 183 days of the tax 

year of the move.

• You are a bona fide resident of the 

possession for the 3 tax years 

immediately following the tax year of the 

move.

If you do not meet all of the above 

conditions, you do not meet the tax 

home and closer connection tests under 

this exception. Instead, you must meet 

the requirements explained later under 

Tax Home Test and Closer Connection 

Test.

Year of the move from the 

possession. You satisfy the tax home 

and closer connection tests for the tax 

year you moved from American Samoa, 

the CNMI, Guam, or the U.S. Virgin 

Islands if you meet all of the following.

• You were a bona fide resident of the 

possession for the 3 tax years 

immediately preceding the tax year of 

the move.

• You did not have a tax home outside 

the possession or a closer connection to 

the United States or a foreign country 

than to the relevant possession during 

any part of the first 183 days of the tax 

year of the move.

• You are not a bona fide resident of 

the possession in any of the 3 tax years 

immediately following the tax year of the 

move.

If you do not meet all of the above 

conditions, you do not meet the tax 

home and closer connection tests under 

this exception. Instead, you must meet 

the requirements explained later under 

Tax Home Test and Closer Connection 

Test.

Year of the move from Puerto 

Rico. You qualify as a bona fide 

resident of Puerto Rico for the part of 

the tax year before the date you moved 

from Puerto Rico if you meet all of the 

following requirements.

1. You are a U.S. citizen.

2. You were a bona fide resident of 

Puerto Rico for at least 2 tax years 

immediately before the tax year of the 

move.

3. In the year of the move, you:

a. Ceased to be a bona fide resident 

of Puerto Rico, and

b. Ceased to have a tax home in 

Puerto Rico.

4. You had a closer connection to 

Puerto Rico than to the United States or 

a foreign country during the part of the 

tax year before the date on which you 

ceased to have a tax home in Puerto 

Rico.

If you do not meet all of the above 

requirements, you are not a bona fide 

resident of Puerto Rico in the year of the 

move under this exception. Instead, you 

must meet the requirements explained 

next under Tax Home Test, and 

Presence Test, later.

Tax Home Test

Under the tax home test, you generally 

cannot have a tax home outside the 

possession during any part of the tax 

year. Your tax home is your regular or 

main place of business, employment, or 

post of duty regardless of where you 

maintain your family home. If you do not 

have a regular or main place of 

business because of the nature of your 

work or because you are not engaged in 

a trade or business, then your tax home 

is the place where you regularly live. If 

you do not fit either of these categories, 

you are considered an itinerant and your 

tax home is wherever you work.

Special rules for students and government officials. Disregard the 

following days when determining 

whether you have a tax home outside 

the possession.

• Days you were temporarily in the 

United States as a student (see 

Student, later).

• Days you were in the United States 

serving as an elected representative of 

the possession, or serving full time as 

an elected or appointed official or 

employee of the government of the 

possession (or any of its political 

subdivisions).

Special rule for seafarers. You will 

not be considered to have a tax home 

outside the possession solely because 

you are employed on a ship or other 

seafaring vessel that is predominantly 

used in local and international waters. 

For this purpose, a vessel will be 

considered to be predominantly used in 

local and international waters if, during 

the tax year, the total amount of time it is 

used in international waters and in 

waters within 3 miles of the possession 

exceeds the total amount of time it is 

used in the territorial waters of the 

United States, another possession, or 

any foreign country.

Closer Connection Test

You meet the closer connection test if 

you do not have a closer connection to 

the United States or a foreign country 

than to the U.S. possession.

You are considered to have a closer 

connection to a possession than to the 

United States or to a foreign country if 

you have maintained more significant 

contacts with the possession(s) than 

with the United States or foreign 

country. Significant contacts that may 

be considered include the following.

• The location of:

1. Your permanent home;

-2- Instructions for Form 8898 (Rev. 10-2022)
2. Your family;

3. Your current social, political, 

cultural, professional, or religious 

affiliations;

4. Where you conduct your routine 

personal banking activities;

5. The jurisdiction in which you hold 

a driver's license; and

6. Charitable organizations to which 

you contribute.

• The place of residence you designate 

on forms and documents.

Your connections to the possession 

will be compared to the total of your 

connections with the United States and 

foreign countries. Your answers to the 

questions on Form 8898, Part III, will 

help establish the jurisdiction to which 

you have a closer connection.

Presence Test

You meet the presence test for the tax 

year if you meet one of the following 

conditions.

1. You were present in the 

possession for at least 183 days during 

the tax year.

2. You were present in the 

possession for at least 549 days during 

the 3-year period that includes the 

current tax year and the 2 immediately 

preceding tax years. During each year 

of the 3-year period, you must also be 

present in the possession for at least 60 

days.

3. You were present in the United 

States for no more than 90 days during 

the tax year.

4. You had $3,000 or less of earned 

income from U.S. sources and were 

present for more days in the possession 

than in the United States during the tax 

year. See the instructions for Line 8 

under Specific Instructions, later, for the 

definition of earned income from U.S. 

sources.

5. You had no significant connection 

(defined later) to the United States 

during the tax year.

If you are a nonresident alien, 

see Special rule for nonresident 

aliens, later.

Days of presence in the United 

States or U.S. possession. Generally, 

you are treated as being present in the 

United States or in the possession on 

any day that you are physically present 

in that location at any time during the 

day. If, during a single day, you were 

physically present in the United States 

and a possession, that day is counted 

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as a day of presence in the possession. 

If, during a single day, you were 

physically present in two possessions, 

that day is counted as a day of presence 

in the possession in which you have 

your tax home.

Count the following days as days of 

presence in the possession for 

purposes of the presence test. Do not 

count them as days of presence in the 

United States.

1. Any day you were outside the 

possession to receive (or to accompany 

on a full-time basis a parent, spouse, or 

child who is receiving) qualified medical 

treatment (defined later). For this 

purpose, the child must be your son, 

daughter, stepchild, foster child, 

adopted child, or a child lawfully placed 

with you for legal adoption.

2. Any day you were outside the 

possession because you left or were 

unable to return to the possession 

during any 14-day period within which a 

major disaster occurred in the 

possession that was declared a disaster 

area by the President.

3. Any day you were outside the 

possession because you left or were 

unable to return to the possession 

during any period for which a mandatory 

evacuation order was in effect for the 

area in the possession where you 

resided.

4. Any day (up to a total of 30 days) 

that you are outside the relevant 

possession and the United States for 

business or personal travel, but this rule:

a. Applies only if the number of days 

you are considered present in the 

relevant possession exceeds the 

number of days you are considered 

present in the United States 

(determined without regard to the rule in 

this section (4)), and

b. Does not apply for purposes of 

calculating the minimum 60 days of 

presence in the relevant possession 

that is required for the 549-day 

presence test (see Presence Test, 

earlier).

Do not count the following days as 

days of presence in the United States 

for purposes of the presence test.

1. Any day you were in the United 

States for less than 24 hours when you 

were traveling between two places 

outside the United States.

2. Any day you were temporarily 

present in the United States as a 

professional athlete to compete in a 

charitable sports event (defined later).

3. Any day you were temporarily in 

the United States as a student (defined 

later).

4. Any day you were in the United 

States serving as an elected 

representative of a possession, or 

serving full time as an elected or 

appointed official or employee of the 

government of the possession (or any of 

its political subdivisions).

Qualified medical treatment. This 

is medical treatment provided by (or 

under the supervision of) a physician for 

an illness, injury, impairment, or 

physical or mental condition. The 

treatment must involve:

• A period of inpatient care (requiring 

an overnight stay) in a hospital or 

hospice and any period immediately 

before or after that inpatient care to the 

extent it is medically necessary, or

• A temporary period of inpatient care 

(requiring an overnight stay) in a 

residential medical care facility for 

medically necessary rehabilitation 

services.

You must keep records of your 

qualified medical treatment. For details 

on the records you must keep, see Pub. 

570.

Charitable sports event. A 

charitable sports event is one that 

meets the following conditions.

• The main purpose is to benefit a 

qualified charitable organization.

• The entire net proceeds go to that 

charitable organization.

• Volunteers perform substantially all 

the work.

In figuring the days of presence in the 

United States, you can exclude only the 

days on which you actually competed in 

a sports event. You cannot exclude the 

days on which you were in the United 

States to practice for the event, to 

perform promotional or other activities 

related to the event, or to travel between 

events.

For a listing of most qualified 

organizations, go to IRS.gov/

Charities-Non-Profits.

Student. To qualify as a student, 

you must be, during some part of each 

of 5 calendar months during the 

calendar year (not necessarily 

consecutive):

1. A full-time student at a school that 

has a regular teaching staff, course of 

study, and regularly enrolled body of 

students in attendance; or

2. A student taking a full-time, 

on-farm training course given by a 

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Instructions for Form 8898 (Rev. 10-2022) -3-
school described in (1) above or a state, 

county, or local government.

Full-time student. A full-time 

student is a person who is enrolled for 

the number of hours or courses the 

school considers to be full-time 

attendance.

School. The term “school” includes 

elementary schools, junior and senior 

high schools, colleges, universities, and 

technical, trade, and mechanical 

schools. It does not include on-the-job 

training courses, correspondence 

schools, and schools offering courses 

only through the Internet.

Significant connection. You have a 

significant connection to the United 

States if:

• You have a permanent home (defined 

later) in the United States,

• You are registered to vote in any 

political subdivision of the United 

States, or

• You have a spouse or child under 18 

whose principal home is in the United 

States. For this purpose:

1. A spouse does not include a 

spouse from whom you are legally 

separated under a decree of divorce or 

separate maintenance; and

2. The child must be your son, 

daughter, stepchild, foster child, 

adopted child, or a child lawfully placed 

with you for legal adoption. But a child 

does not include:

a. A child who lives in the United 

States with a custodial parent under a 

custodial decree or multiple support 

agreement, or

b. A child who is in the United 

States as a student (defined earlier).

Permanent home. A permanent 

home generally includes 

accommodations such as a house, an 

apartment, or a furnished room that is 

available at all times, continuously and 

not solely for short stays. However, if 

you or your spouse owns the dwelling 

unit and rents it to someone else during 

the tax year, the dwelling unit is not your 

permanent home unless, during that tax 

year, you use some part of it for 

personal purposes for more than the 

greater of:

• 14 days, or

• 10% of the days the property is 

rented to others at a fair rental price.

Generally, the rental property is 

considered used for personal purposes 

on any day it is not being rented to 

someone else at fair rental value for the 

entire day or is used by you, a family 

member, or anyone else who has an 

interest in the property. The rental 

property is not considered used for 

personal purposes on any day on which 

the principal purpose for using the 

property is to do repair or maintenance 

work. For more information on 

determining whether the rental property 

was used for personal purposes, see 

Pub. 570.

Special rule for nonresident aliens. 

The presence test does not apply to 

nonresident aliens. Instead, nonresident 

aliens must meet the substantial 

presence test discussed in chapter 1 of 

Pub. 519. In that discussion, substitute 

the name of the possession for “United 

States” and “U.S.” wherever they 

appear. Also, disregard the discussion 

in that chapter about a Closer 

Connection to a Foreign Country.

Specific Instructions

Unless otherwise specified, answers to 

questions seeking information for a tax 

year generally refer to the tax year in 

which you became (or ceased to be) a 

bona fide resident.

Name and Social Security 

Number (SSN)

If you file a joint return, enter only the 

name and SSN of the spouse whose 

information is being reported on Form 

8898. If both you and your spouse are 

required to file Form 8898, file a 

separate Form 8898 for each of you.

Address Before and After 

Your Change in Bona Fide 

Residence Status

Enter the address where you lived 

before your bona fide residence status 

changed and a different address for 

where you lived after your bona fide 

residence status changed.

Example 3. Mr. Grey, a U.S. citizen, 

moved from New York to the U.S. Virgin 

Islands. Mr. Grey must enter his New 

York address under “Address before 

your change in bona fide residence 

status” and his U.S. Virgin Islands 

address under “Address after your 

change in bona fide residence status.”

Line 1

Check line 1, box a or b, whichever 

applies, and enter the tax year you take 

the position that you became or ceased 

to be a bona fide resident of a U.S. 

possession.

Example 4. Mr. Grey, a U.S. citizen, 

moved from New York to the U.S. Virgin 

Islands on March 1, 2022. To take the 

position that he became a bona fide 

resident of the U.S. Virgin Islands in 

2022, Mr. Grey checks box a on line 1 

and enters "2022" on the line provided.

Line 2

If you are not a U.S. citizen, you are 

either a nonresident alien or resident 

alien of the United States. You are 

considered a resident alien of the 

United States for U.S. tax purposes if 

you meet either the green card test or 

the substantial presence test for the 

calendar year (January 1 through 

December 31). If you do not meet either 

of those tests, you are considered a 

nonresident alien. For more information 

about these tests, see Pub. 519.

Line 3a

Enter your worldwide gross income for 

the tax year entered on line 1. See 

Worldwide gross income, earlier.

Line 3b

Average worldwide gross income. 

Calculate your average worldwide gross 

income by adding together the 

worldwide gross income for each year 

of the 3-year period prior to the tax year 

entered on line 1. Divide the total by 3.0. 

Enter the amount on line 3b.

The amount reported on line 3b 

is distinct from the worldwide 

gross income threshold amount 

for the year of the move that determines 

whether you must file Form 8898. See 

Who Must File, earlier.

Line 4

If you checked line 1, box a, enter on 

line 4a the exact date (month/day/year) 

you moved to a possession to establish 

bona fide residence. If you checked 

line 1, box b, enter on line 4b the exact 

date (month/day/year) you moved from 

the possession to end bona fide 

residence.

Example 5. Mr. Grey, a U.S. citizen, 

moved from New York to the U.S. Virgin 

Islands on March 1, 2022. Mr. Grey 

would enter “03/01/2022” on line 4a.

Lines 5 and 6

See Days of presence in the United 

States or U.S. possession, earlier, for 

information on counting days of 

presence in the possession.

Line 7

See Significant connection, earlier.

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-4- Instructions for Form 8898 (Rev. 10-2022)
Line 8

Earned income is wages, salaries, 

professional fees, and other amounts 

received as compensation for personal 

services actually rendered, including the 

fair market value of all earnings paid in 

any medium other than cash. 

Professional fees include all fees 

received by an individual engaged in a 

professional occupation (such as doctor 

or lawyer) in the performance of 

professional activities. See chapter 2 of 

Pub. 570 for information to determine if 

you have any earned income from U.S. 

sources.

Line 9

See Tax Home Test, earlier.

Line 10

See Closer Connection Test, earlier.

Line 11

See Exception for the Year of the Move, 

earlier.

Lines 12 and 13

See Permanent home, earlier. If you 

have more than one home, your 

principal permanent home is ordinarily 

the permanent home you live in most of 

the time.

Line 14

Your immediate family means your 

spouse and minor children.

Line 22

Under state law, a homestead 

exemption may:

1. Protect the owner of real property 

from a forced sale or seizure of the 

property from creditors (for example, in 

a bankruptcy proceeding), or

2. Provide a reduction in state or 

local real property taxes to qualified 

homeowners.

In some states, for individuals to avail 

themselves of these privileges, state 

laws require a designation of the 

homestead property, the filing or 

recordation of a declaration to make the 

exemption operative, or an application 

for the homestead tax exemption. If 

either of the following applies, answer 

“Yes” on line 22 and indicate the state in 

which such designation, declaration, 

recordation, application, or property tax 

exemption was made.

1. You made a designation of 

homestead property or otherwise filed 

or recorded a declaration concerning 

property under a state homestead 

exemption law.

2. You applied for or took a 

homestead tax exemption from state or 

local property taxes.

Lines 26 and 27

See chapter 2 of Pub. 570 for 

information to determine the source of 

income.

Line 28

For stocks and bonds, indicate the 

country of origin of the stock company 

or debtor, and for U.S. companies or 

debtors, the state or possession of 

incorporation or formation.

For example, if you own shares of a 

U.S. publicly traded Delaware 

corporation, the investment is 

considered located in the United States 

(that is, Delaware), even though the 

shares of stock are stored in a safe 

deposit box in a foreign country or 

possession.

Line 32

A gain is the amount you realize from a 

sale or exchange of property that is 

more than its adjusted basis. See Pub. 

544 for the definitions of amount 

realized and adjusted basis.

Special source rules apply to 

gains from dispositions of 

certain property within 10 years 

of becoming a bona fide resident of a 

U.S. possession. See Special Rules for 

Gains From Dispositions of Certain 

Property in Pub. 570 for more 

information.

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Privacy Act and Paperwork Reduction Act Notice. We ask for this 

information to carry out the Internal 

Revenue laws of the United States. 

Section 937(c) and its regulations 

require that you give us the information. 

We need it to determine if you are a 

bona fide resident of a U.S. possession. 

If you do not provide this information or 

provide false information, you may be 

subject to penalties. We may disclose 

this information to the Department of 

Justice for civil and criminal litigation, 

and to cities, states, the District of 

Columbia, and U.S. commonwealths 

and possessions for use in 

administering their tax laws. We may 

also disclose this information to other 

countries under a tax treaty, to federal 

and state agencies to enforce federal 

nontax criminal laws, or to federal law 

enforcement and intelligence agencies 

to combat terrorism.

You are not required to provide the 

information requested on a form that is 

subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act 

unless the form displays a valid OMB 

control number. Books or records 

relating to a form or its instructions must 

be retained as long as their contents 

may become material in the 

administration of any Internal Revenue 

law. Generally, tax returns and return 

information are confidential, as required 

by Code section 6103.

The average time and expense 

required to complete and file this form 

will vary depending on individual 

circumstances. For the estimated 

averages, see the instructions for your 

income tax return.

If you have suggestions for making 

this form simpler, we would be happy to 

hear from you. See the instructions for 

your income tax return.

Instructions for Form 8898 (Rev. 10-2022) -5-