State Department slashes fee to renounce US citizenship by 80%

The State Department has slashed by about 80% the fee for Americans to formally renounce their U.S. citizenship. After years of legal battles with groups representing Americans wanting to give up their citizenship, the department is reducing the cost from $2,350 to $450. The change is effective April 13. The cost is now the same as it was when the State Department first started charging Americans to formally renounce their citizenship in 2010. The fee was raised in 2015 to cover administrative expenses for the lengthy process, as the number of people wanting to renounce their citizenship surged in part due to new U.S. tax reporting requirements for American expatriates that angered many.