Getting Irish citizenship as a US citizen

Question

Hello,

My husband is an Irish citizen, we want to get our son irish citizenship/passport as well. When my son leaves the US will he use his irish passport or American. Also when he is of age does he have to pay taxes here if he is an US citizen?

Answer 1

I'm presuming you yourself are an American citizen, living with your husband who is Irish in the US.

If your son was born in the states, then he is an American citizen by default and will use an American passport. However he can also apply for a dual citizenship of both Ireland and America.

If he works on one country or the other he will of course be paying taxes to that country :)

Answer 2

US law requires US citizens to use their US passports when entering or leaving the USA. When entering the EU it would only be sensible to use his Irish passport, there's nothing to stop you using one passport at the beginning of a flight and the other one at the end of it. When travelling to countries other than the US or Ireland, use either passport - though Irish passport holders usually have a greater choice of countries which don't require visas or else have cheaper visas.

As for taxes, US citizens are required to file a tax return with the IRS every year, but if he's working abroad he will probably be covered by a double-taxation agreement where the taxes paid to the other country will offset his US taxes. You normally pay income taxes to the country where the money is earned, not to the country of which you are a citizen - it's only the US and the Philippines which are unusually nosy and want to know how much you've earned anywhere in the world. The precise conditions will vary from country to country and from year to year, and he would be well advised to consult a tax expert!

Answer 3

My husband is and Irish citizen. I am a US citizen. I got my Irish citizenship through being married. I leave the US on my US passport and enter Ireland or UK on my Irish passport(no hassle). I leave Ireland on Irish passport and enter US on US passport. As far as taxes go it depends on were you live and how much you make. I lived in Ireland for 5 years and because I didn't make over $10,000 a year in the US I did not file taxes. In the US you are not required to file taxes if your income is under $10,000 in one year. If you live and work in Ireland you have to pay taxes according to their laws.  Hope this helps.

Answer 4

By "here", do you mean Ireland or USA?

Regardless of his citizenship, dual or otherwise, your son will be obliged to pay taxes in the jurisdiction in which he lives/works (unless he has the gift of bi-location!).

Entering Europe, he would be best advised to use his Irish/EU passport though it makes little difference.