8898

Statement for Individuals Who Begin or End Bona Fide Residence in a U.S. Possession

Agency
IRS
Revision
Rev. October 2024
Fillable fields
99
Pages
2
Official source
IRS form page
Checked
October 21, 2026
Fill 8898 online
Page 1 of form 8898

Form 8898: Statement for Individuals Who Begin or End Bona Fide Residence

Form 8898, Statement for Individuals Who Begin or End Bona Fide Residence in a U.S. Territory, notifies the IRS that a person became or ceased to be a bona fide resident of a U.S. territory under Internal Revenue Code section 937(c). The instructions list the territories for this purpose: American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

This is the October 2024 revision, which replaced the term "possession" with "territory". It asks about worldwide gross income, days of presence, tax home, closer connection and source of income, the facts the instructions use for the presence, tax home and closer connection tests. The form says "Do not file with your tax return." It is mailed on its own to the IRS in Austin, Texas.

You can fill out Form 8898 free in your browser on this page and download the result without an account.

Top of page 1 of Form 8898: Statement for Individuals Who Begin or End Bona Fide Residence, as printed by IRS

What's on Form 8898

Name, SSN and addresses

Your name and Social Security number, the address before your change in bona fide residence status and the address after it.

Part I: General Information, lines 1 to 3

Whether you became or ceased to be a bona fide resident and in which tax year, which territory, U.S. citizen or resident alien status, and worldwide gross income.

Part II: Presence, lines 4 to 8

Move dates, days present in the United States and in the territory, any significant connection to the United States, and earned income from U.S. sources.

Part III: Closer Connection, lines 9 to 28

Tax home, closer connection, the year-of-the-move exception, permanent home, family, cars, belongings, banks, driver's licenses, voter registration, homestead exemption, documents and investments.

Part IV: Source of Income, lines 29 to 33

Any office in the territory used for a trade or business, where personal services were performed, manufacturing in the territory, and sales of appreciated property.

Signature

A signature and date under penalties of perjury, the Austin mailing address, and a note to keep a copy for your records.

How to fill out Form 8898

  1. 1

    Name and addresses

    On a joint return, the instructions say to enter only the name and SSN of the spouse whose information is reported. Enter the address before the change, and a different address for after it.

  2. 2

    Line 1

    Check box a (became) or box b (ceased to be), enter the tax year of that position, and check the territory on line 1c.

    Line 1 on page 1 of Form 8898: Statement for Individuals Who Begin or End Bona Fide Residence, as printed by IRS
  3. 3

    Lines 3a and 3b

    Enter worldwide gross income for that tax year on line 3a. For line 3b, the instructions say to add worldwide gross income for each of the 3 prior years and divide the total by 3.0.

  4. 4

    Lines 4 to 6

    Enter the exact move date (month/day/year) on line 4a or 4b, then days present in the United States on line 5 and in the territory on line 6a. Lines 6b and 6c are for the alternative to the 183-day rule.

  5. 5

    Parts III and IV

    Answer each yes or no question and say where. The instructions say immediate family on line 14 means your spouse and minor children, and stocks and bonds on line 28 are located by where the company or debtor was formed.

  6. 6

    Sign and attach

    Sign and date. The form says to attach a statement with any other information that supports your closer connection, or to explain any answer in more detail.

Why fill Form 8898 on indox

You get the real form, filled in a browser tab, with nothing standing between you and the finished PDF.

  • Fill the form right in your browser, no software to install
  • Free to fill and free to download, with no account
  • The official blank straight from the IRS, not a copy someone retyped
  • Works on a phone, tablet or computer

Where to mail it, deadline and penalty

Where to mail

The form says to mail it to Internal Revenue Service, 3651 S. IH-35, MS 4301 AUSC, Austin, TX 78741. The instructions say not to send your tax return to that address.

Deadline

The instructions say to file Form 8898 by the due date (including extensions) for filing Form 1040.

Not with your return

The form says "Do not file with your tax return."

Online version

The instructions say the IRS has a mobile friendly version of Form 8898 that can be completed and submitted online, described at IRS.gov/MobileFriendlyForms.

Penalty

The instructions say a required filer who does not file, or leaves out or misstates required information, may be subject to a penalty of $1,000, unless the failure is due to reasonable cause and not willful neglect.

Keep a copy

The form says to keep a copy for your records.

Related forms

Who files Form 8898?

  • Worldwide gross income over $75,000

    The instructions set the threshold at worldwide gross income of more than $75,000 for the tax year. A spouse's income is not included when figuring it.

  • People who became bona fide residents

    Someone who takes the position of becoming a bona fide resident of a territory after a year they filed a U.S. return as a citizen or resident of the United States, but not as a bona fide resident of the territory.

  • People who ceased to be bona fide residents

    A citizen or resident of the United States who takes the position of ceasing to be a bona fide resident of a territory after a year they filed a return as a bona fide resident of it.

  • Moves between territories

    Someone who takes the position of becoming a bona fide resident of Puerto Rico or American Samoa after a year they were required to file as a bona fide resident of the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam or the CNMI.

  • Married couples

    The form says that if married, a separate form is filed for each spouse required to file Form 8898.

Individuals file it. The instructions say it is filed for the tax year in which worldwide gross income is more than $75,000 and one of the residence changes below applies.

Official sources and the blank

Do it all with indox

View all 99 tools

Questions about Form 8898

Which places count as U.S. territories on Form 8898?

The instructions list American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Do I attach Form 8898 to Form 1040?

No. The form says not to file it with your tax return. It is mailed separately to the IRS address in Austin, Texas printed on the form.

What income level do the instructions use?

The form is filed for a tax year in which worldwide gross income is more than $75,000 and one of the listed residence changes applies. A spouse's income is not counted.

What does worldwide gross income include?

The instructions define it as all income received in money, goods, property and services, including income from sources outside the United States even if part or all of it can be excluded, before any deductions, credits or rebates.

My spouse and I both moved. Do we file one form?

No. The form and instructions say a separate Form 8898 is filed for each spouse required to file it.

What is the presence test?

The instructions list several ways to meet it, including being present in the territory for at least 183 days during the tax year, or being present in the United States for no more than 90 days.