The green card 183-day rule is not what you think.
If you hold a green card, you're a US tax resident for the entire year under the green card test, no 183-day math required, no matter how few days you spend in the country. But day counts still matter: for the substantial presence test before your card is approved, for naturalization's continuous-residence and physical-presence rules, and for exit-tax exposure if you ever give the card up. Tax Days tracks all of it.
What you're up against
Your card makes you a tax resident regardless of days
Under the green card test, you're treated as a US tax resident from the first day you're an LPR and stay one until the status is formally abandoned, revoked, or determined to be abandoned, even if you spend the whole year abroad.
Worldwide income, FBAR, and FATCA all apply to you
As a US person you generally report worldwide income, file an FBAR (FinCEN 114) if foreign accounts exceed $10,000, and may file Form 8938 under FATCA. Penalties for missed foreign-account reporting are steep.
Time abroad can quietly threaten the card itself
Long absences can be treated as abandonment of permanent residence. A single trip over a year, or a pattern of long trips, raises questions at the border and can undermine the residence you're trying to keep.
Abandoning the card can trigger the exit tax
Long-term residents (a green card held in at least 8 of the last 15 years) who give up the card may be 'covered expatriates' subject to the exit tax under IRC 877A. The day you became and ceased being an LPR matters.
What Tax Days does for you
Tracks every day you spend in the US and abroad, so you always have a clean, contemporaneous record as a US person.
Counts days toward the substantial presence test for the period before your green card is approved or during dual-status years.
Logs days for naturalization's physical-presence requirement (generally half your required residence period in the US) and flags long absences.
Warns you before a trip abroad gets long enough to raise continuous-residence or abandonment concerns.
Keeps a defensible timeline of when you became an LPR and when you leave, the dates that drive long-term-resident and exit-tax analysis.
Exports an audit-ready PDF with day counts, trips, and rule evaluations to hand to your CPA or immigration attorney.
Stays on your iPhone. No servers, no accounts, no logs. Optional iCloud sync.
The rules you actually need to track
Green card test vs. substantial presence test
Two separate doors into US tax residency. The card test ignores days; the SPT counts them. Know which one applies to you and when.
Read the guide →Substantial presence test, explained
The 183-day weighted formula that matters before your card and in dual-status years: current-year days plus 1/3 of last year plus 1/6 of the year before.
Read the guide →Naturalization continuous residence & physical presence
USCIS requires continuous residence and physical presence, generally 30 months of the prior 5 years in the US. Long trips can break the clock.
Read the guide →Green card exit tax (IRC 877A)
Long-term residents who abandon the card can become covered expatriates facing a mark-to-market exit tax. When you became an LPR drives the 8-of-15 test.
Read the guide →FBAR & FATCA for US persons
Foreign accounts over $10,000 trigger an FBAR; larger balances may add Form 8938. As an LPR you're in scope from day one.
Read the guide →Treaty tie-breaker rules
A tax treaty may break a dual-residency tie in your favor, but claiming treaty residence as an LPR has immigration consequences worth understanding first.
Read the guide →
Free guides and tools
- Guide
Green card holder tax residency guide
The full picture, the green card test, worldwide income, FBAR/FATCA, and the day counts that still matter for immigration.
- Guide
SPT vs. green card test
How the two residency tests differ, and why your card overrides the day count once it's approved.
- Calculator
Free substantial presence test calculator
Run the weighted 183-day formula for years before your card or for dual-status arrival and departure years.
- Calculator
Free 183-day counter
Track time in the US toward naturalization physical presence and avoid trips that break continuous residence.
Common questions
Am I a US tax resident even if I spend most of the year abroad?
Generally yes. Green-card holders are US tax residents under the green card test regardless of day counts, until the card is formally abandoned or revoked. Living abroad doesn't switch it off by itself.
Why should I track my days if the green card test already applies?
Two reasons: long absences can endanger the immigration status itself (continuous-residence and reentry questions), and day counts still matter for treaty positions, state residency, and the exit-tax rules if you ever give up the card. A clean log serves all of these at once.
Does giving up my green card end US taxes immediately?
Filing Form I-407 generally ends residency going forward, but long-term residents (roughly 8 of the last 15 years with a green card) can face the expatriation rules, including a possible exit tax. The timing is worth planning with a professional before you file anything.
Can I also be a tax resident of another country at the same time?
Yes, and it's common: another country's 183-day or ties test can claim you while the US still treats you as a resident. Treaties may assign you to one side for treaty purposes, but the analysis depends on precise day counts.
Track every day, for the IRS and for your citizenship
Your green card already settles your tax residency. Tax Days keeps the day-by-day record that protects your status and your naturalization timeline. £19.99/year, on your iPhone.
