An estimated 4,574 people have been reported to have lost their United States citizenship or long-term permanent resident status in the first nine months of 2026, placing the country on course for one of its highest expatriation figures in recent years.
The figure, contained in the latest Federal Register update, indicates a growing number of people are severing their formal ties with the United States, despite the country’s longstanding appeal as a destination for migrants and a global centre of economic opportunity.
The latest figures show that 1,331 names were recorded between July and September, following 1,462 in the first quarter and 1,781 in the second quarter of the year.
Although the third-quarter figure represents a decline from the preceding three months, the cumulative total suggests that expatriation remains unusually high compared with historical records.
An analysis by Greenback Expat Tax Service, cited by Newsweek, showed that the annual average of Americans reported to have lost their citizenship or permanent resident status stood at fewer than 500 between 2000 and 2008, with an average of 452 names recorded yearly.
However, the figures began rising significantly after the passage of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) in 2010, a development that changed the financial reporting obligations of Americans living outside the country.
The legislation requires foreign financial institutions and certain other entities to report information about financial assets held by American account holders to US authorities.
Although introduced to strengthen tax compliance and curb offshore tax evasion, the law has attracted criticism over the administrative and financial difficulties it creates for Americans residing abroad.
The impact has been particularly significant for so-called accidental Americans, people who acquired US citizenship through birth or parentage but may never have lived in the country or maintained meaningful connections with it.
Under the American citizenship-based taxation system, citizens remain subject to US tax reporting obligations on income earned outside the country, regardless of where they reside.
Alexander Marino, head of Moody’s, described by Newsweek as the world’s largest renunciation law practice, said the tax obligations could become burdensome for Americans living in countries with different taxation systems.
“No matter where you go, every euro, pound, peso you ever make is subject to U.S. tax, in life and in death,” Marino told the publication.
He added that Americans living in low-tax jurisdictions such as the United Arab Emirates could find the arrangement particularly difficult, while those in high-tax countries such as the United Kingdom could also resent having additional tax obligations to the US.
The latest figures, however, do not necessarily represent the exact number of people who renounced their citizenship during the periods covered, as the Federal Register records when the Treasury Department receives notification of a change in status rather than the actual date of renunciation.
The figures also combine people who voluntarily relinquished US citizenship with those who gave up long-term permanent resident status, meaning they do not represent citizenship renunciations alone.
Nevertheless, the trend over the past decade points to a substantial increase in the number of people formally ending their legal relationship with the United States, according to the analysis cited by Newsweek in a report by Giulia Carbonaro published on October 30, 2026.
