How to use this: tick a task only when the answer or evidence is saved—not when someone has merely started it. Use the detailed guides for tax, state domicile, retirement, healthcare and property before making the large decisions.
Save your progress and download the quick-reference version
The checklist below keeps the major US departure actions together. Your ticks stay in this browser, and the downloadable PDF is designed for the family's offline move folder.
Research from home
Moving from the United States family checklist
Use this from home to put federal and state tax, healthcare, records, accounts, property and family continuity into one dated departure plan.
How to use it: read the section above first, then tick an item when you have captured the answer or evidence in your own move folder. The PDF is the offline quick-reference version.
1Map the move before fixing the date
2Prepare federal and state tax evidence
3Protect money and long-term accounts
4Replace healthcare and transfer records
5Decide the home and complete family admin
6Finish the first 90 days abroad
Six to twelve months before: find the decisions that control timing
Tax and work
Map citizenship, state domicile, work location, business interests, foreign accounts and the likely first-year filing position.
Family continuity
Confirm destination immigration, school admissions, health underwriting, medicine and any care that cannot tolerate a gap.
Home and money
Compare sale and rental evidence, check provider overseas policies and protect access independent of an employer or US phone.
Three months before: build a portable family file
| Folder | What belongs in it | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Identity | Passports, citizenship and green-card records, birth and marriage certificates, custody and consent. | Immigration, schools, travel and estate work. |
| Tax | Returns, income, travel and workdays, state ties, account details and foreign-tax evidence. | Federal, state, FBAR and destination filings. |
| Health | Clinical summary, medicines, immunisations, insurer terms and emergency contacts. | Continuity and claims during the move. |
| Education | Reports, references, curriculum, SEN or support records and withdrawal confirmations. | Placement and a smoother school handover. |
| Property and money | Basis, mortgage, insurance, lease or sale, accounts, beneficiaries and provider messages. | Tax, access and remote management. |
The final four weeks: notify with confirmed facts
- Confirm visas, travel, accommodation, insurance and the first appropriate hospital before cancelling essential arrangements.
- Update employers, schools, healthcare providers, lenders, insurers, banks and account providers through verified channels.
- Update IRS and state contact details using current official methods; keep reliable access to important US mail.
- Use FVAP for overseas voter registration and ballot steps; do not assume ordinary local registration covers an overseas voter.
- Save offline copies of entry approvals, policies, records and first-week contacts on more than one device.
- Photograph property condition, meters, serial numbers, luggage and high-value items before handover or travel.
First 90 days abroad: finish the departure
Complete destination registrations
Address, immigration, tax, school, healthcare and driving steps have their own deadlines.
Test the systems you kept
Log into banks, brokers, retirement plans, insurance and government accounts from the destination and fix weak recovery routes.
Keep the evidence live
Track travel, workdays, account maximums, foreign tax, medical claims and property income from day one.
Calendar the first filing cycle
Federal return, FBAR, Form 8938, state return and destination tax may use different dates and extensions.