Can I keep an American bank account if I won't have a physical address in the country?

I don’t see why not. You can switch to paperless statements online. If they require an American address, then your parents address sounds good.

FYI: if you will be earning money check the laws about not paying taxes, I know they have changed a little from when my husband lived out of the country. It used to be you could not be in the US more than 30 days a year total to avoid taxes up to $75k in income. But, as I said I know the laws have changed somewhat.

Get a po box. That’s what my daughter is doing. She is leaving me a key to check it occasionally but will be doing all her business on line. I’m so excited for her! Her visas finally came in and she is leaving today for Scotland!

My daughter uses my address, in NYS, for her banking business. She is a US citizen but living in Canada. Granted, she still owns a house in RI, which she rents. All of the utility and tax bills related to that house come to her at my address.

it gets to be a snarl at time, and I am constantly forwarding all these documents to her in British Columbia. I don’t think she could juggle all this without my constant attention.

Some of this she can do online, but we have to keep track of the paper trail.

And sometimes she gets charged interest because the mail is so slow from here to BC and she misses a deadline

She did discuss the issues with her bank, her insurance company, the manager of her home (which she is renting) and the utility companies.

Will your parents be cooperative and vigilant?

@JLeslie Every U.S. citizen is required to report all worldwide taxable income, regardless of where the money was earned or where the citizen is physically located. There are some complicated rules to mitigate the effects of double taxation—in this situation, the U.S. and France—but the fundamental law is very straightforward.

@SadieMartinPaul Of course all income needs to be reported. I didn’t say it didn’t need to reported, I said there is, well at least there was, an exemption for the first $75k regarding taxation. I also said I have no idea what the laws are now, so I assumed that would imply to the OP and anyone else readi to check the laws. I would hate to think the rule is 30 days and the OP wound up in the US 37, because he didn’t realize the law until tax time. A friend of mine actually once was called in for audit by the IRS regarding the exemption she took, but she was able to prove she was out of the country the time she said she had been and it wound up being fine.

@gailcalled I don’t understand why you don’t open her mail and tell her the bills if they aren’t available online. Most bills can be seen online or you, she, can call in and get the current bill.

@bookish1 I don’t see why changing the mailing address to one out of state would be a problem with your bank, but I would recommend phoning them or dropping by a branch to find out. You shouldn’t even have to identify yourself (if that is a concern) to get the information. Then it would be one less thing to worry about.

@gailcalled Your daugher should be able to change her billing address for utilities without it affecting her banking or status in any way. The arrangement you have sounds like an unnecessary inconvenience to both of you. Have either of you checked to see if they will either mail to Canada, or send email alerts to indicate that a new statement has been issued?

I kept my UK bank account open when I lived in the States and as far as I know I still have my US bank account though I never use it.

I still have mine- they won’t close the account but they will turn off your card after some months- you have to ring them and tell them you are out of the country if you want your card to work.

I am Canadian and I have 2 US bank accounts.

Yes, absolutely. I have friends in Venezuela who have accounts in Florida, but no U.S. mailing address.

When I moved to Japan I kept my visa (credit card) and bank accounts opened in the US—and when I shopped (by phone-it was before the internet!) and used my visa they mailed the US Bank visa bill to me in Japan.

I had my bank statements mailed to my parents address – it was no problem at all.
Make a quick visit to a branch before you leave, do the change of address to your parents if you want, or to your new apartment in France if you prefer.

As other posters have pointed out, you will still need to file a tax return (but not pay taxes in the US if you have paid French income taxes) each year.

I found out about this requirement to file after I came back from living in Japan for nearly 6 years. I sent a nice letter of apology explaining that I hadn’t known I was required to file in the US, and the 6 years worth of documentation showing the taxes I’d paid in Japan – and filed for all 6 years with the IRS all at once (with the help of a wonderful tax accountant) and had no problems at all to my great surprise.