The documents your filing will actually need.
Returns stall on missing paperwork more than on hard questions. Gather against this list once and the preparation runs straight through.
The core list, both jurisdictions
US side: W-2s or final pay stubs, 1099s, prior-year return, and every UK equivalent — P60, P45, P11D — plus year-end statements for each non-US account at its highest balance. UK side: employment and self-employment records, rental income and expenses, dividend vouchers and gain calculations.
Cross-border extras are the ones people miss: pension statements (US treatment needs the detail), fund ISINs for PFIC testing, travel-day records for residence tests, and completion statements for any property sold.
- P60/P45/P11D map to the US return, not just the UK one
- Account maximum balances, not year-end, for the FBAR
- Travel diary — day counts decide residence on both sides
Engage us and the list builds itself
Every engagement starts with a document request generated from your actual situation — no generic 40-item spreadsheet, just what your filings genuinely need, requested once.
Tick what applies and the list builds itself
A quick orientation, not advice — real positions have edges this cannot see.
Your document list (4 items)
- Photo ID and proof of address
- US Social Security number / UK NI number and UTR
- Prior-year US and UK returns, if any
- Every non-US account with its highest balance in the year (for the FBAR)
Questions we get about this
For a normal year, that year. For a catch-up filing, generally three years of returns and six years of account records.
Banks and providers can usually reissue statements going back further than people expect.
Because the filings differ. A PAYE-only employee needs very little; add rental property, funds, a pension drawdown or unfiled years and the list grows accordingly.
The checklist reflects what your particular position actually requires rather than a generic bundle.
Most documents can be reconstructed - banks and providers can reissue statements, and HMRC and the IRS hold records you can request.
Missing paperwork is rarely the blocker people expect it to be, particularly on catch-up filings.
No. The tool runs entirely in your browser and gives you the answer on screen.
Nothing is stored and nothing is sent to us unless you choose to get in touch afterwards.
Related pages
- Free tool
Streamlined eligibility checker
Free checker: answer six questions to see whether the Streamlined Foreign or Domestic Offshore route fits your catch-up - and what each would cost.
- Pillar guide
Accountants for US and UK
How to choose accountants for US and UK tax: what each credential permits, how to verify it, what drives the fee, and when you do not need a specialist.
- Pillar guide
Tax specialists for US and UK
What US and UK tax specialists handle that a general accountant does not: residence tests, treaty relief, FBAR, PFICs, pensions, property and catch-up filings.
- Who we help
Brits in the US
UK citizens in the US: residency tests, UK property and pensions held from abroad, and the reporting that US residence triggers on everything left behind.
- Free tool
Do you need to file?
Answer a few questions and see whether a US return, a UK Self Assessment, or both are due for your year, and which reporting forms come with them.
- Service
UK Self Assessment
UK Self Assessment prepared alongside your US return: residence, remittance planning, and reliefs claimed in the right country.
Further reading
- Your P60 and your US return: reading one for the other
The P60 is the most useful document an employed American in Britain receives - and the easiest one to misuse on a US return.
- How HMRC knows about your income - and what to do about it
Wages, bank interest, overseas accounts, platform sales: most of your income reaches HMRC before you ever file. Here is where the data comes from.
Last reviewed . Thresholds and rates change annually — check figures against the current tax year before relying on them.
Got your answer and it looks complicated?
These tools are deliberately simple, and real positions rarely are. Send us what you found and we will confirm it properly.