Do I deregister with the US before I move to Germany? Should I have told them about my marriage abroad?

I would also think very hard about whether you want to register your marriage in the US )if you haven’t already done so). Registering allows you to obtain deductions, but it may have some very negative consequences in terms of your spouse’s obligations. Our accountant notified us that it would somehow make my wife liable to file as well - even though she is not a US citizen and has never lived there.

Bank accounts are even worse; if you open joint accounts abroad, or your wife adds you to her accounts, those all suddenly become liable to US FBAR regulations, which are super burdensome to the banks, and might even make some prefer to not deal with your accounts any more.

We opted to not do any of this, and just keep all our finances and relationship status unofficial as far as the US government is concerned.

/r/expats Thread Parent