The sailing permit (Form 2063 or 1040-C) before you leave the US

If you are a resident or nonresident alien leaving the United States, you usually have to show that you have complied with US income tax law before you go. The proof is a tax clearance document, commonly called a departure permit or sailing permit. It is one of the few steps on a US departure list that is both required and appointment-only.

This guide covers when to book it, which form you file, what to bring, and what it does not do. It follows the IRS page the Wind-Down Planner cites for the same step.

Who needs one

The IRS page says that if you are not in one of six listed categories of people, you must obtain a departure or sailing permit, and present it at the point of departure. The six categories include, for example, representatives of foreign governments with a diplomatic passport. Check the IRS list before you assume the permit applies or does not apply to you. The planner shows the step for everyone and leaves that check to you.

Form 2063 or Form 1040-C

You get the permit by filing one of two forms with your local IRS Taxpayer Assistance Center, by appointment only, before you leave.

Form 2063 is a short form that asks for certain information but does not include a tax computation. It is for departing aliens who fit the IRS page's conditions, such as having had no taxable income in the current year up to the date of departure.

Form 1040-C is the form you file if you must have a permit and do not qualify for Form 2063. Ordinarily you report on it, and pay the tax on, all income received or expected during the tax year up to the date you leave.

Whichever form you file, the signed certificate of compliance is your permit. Anyone who has not filed a return or paid tax for an earlier year must do that first, although the IRS may accept a bond instead for certain years.

When to book

The planner's rule is: apply no earlier than 30 days before you leave and at least two weeks before. That gives a booking window between 30 and 14 days before your departure date. The IRS page also says that if you are married to an alien who is leaving with you, both of you must go to the IRS office.

The planner makes the permit depend on closing your home sale. If you have sold a home, bring the documents showing the gain or loss. The planner's timing for closing the sale is in the home sale guide, and it warns that a sale closing after you leave can delay your permit.

What to bring

The IRS page lists the records to bring. Among them are:

• your passport and visa or alien registration card;
• copies of your US income tax returns for the past two years, and receipts for the tax paid on them;
• a statement from each employer showing wages and tax withheld from 1 January to your departure date;
• proof of estimated tax payments made for the past year and this year;
• documents showing any gain or loss on the sale of personal or real property;
• a document showing your date of departure, such as an airline ticket;
• a document showing your US taxpayer identification number.

If you have the documents and pay any tax due, the IRS says you should receive your permit immediately.

The steps around it

The permit sits in the last month of a US departure, so it overlaps with other dated steps in the planner. The planner's logistics items for the same period are to sell or ship your car between 21 and 7 days before you leave, and to keep one US checking account and one credit card, confirming that online access works from abroad. If you have an auto loan, get a payoff quote from the lender first.

None of these is a legal requirement in the planner's rules. They are logistics steps that are easy to lose among the tax items, which is why they share one timeline.

What the permit does not do

The permit does not replace your final US return. The IRS page says Form 1040-C is not an annual income tax return, and that if a return is required you must file one even though a Form 1040-C has been filed. The planner's matching item says to file the departure-year US return, usually dual-status, and notes that due dates can differ for nonresidents.

Tax paid with Form 1040-C is taken as a credit against your total tax on the annual return. If the computation shows an overpayment, the IRS cannot refund it at departure, so you claim any refund on your annual return after the year ends. If you ignore the return, late-filing penalties and interest can apply.

A worked example

Take a couple who arrived in the US about 8 years ago and plan to leave in 24 months, on 9 October 2028. Both are leaving together, and they own a home, hold RSUs and have a 401(k).

The home sale. They plan to close the sale by 9 September 2028, 30 days before departure, so the closing paperwork is ready for the permit appointment. A later close would delay the permit.

The appointment. The planner's booking window runs from 9 September to 25 September 2028. Because both spouses are leaving together, both must attend. They bring the items above, including the home-sale documents, their last two returns and their employer pay statements.

After they leave. The permit does not file their return for them. The planner shows the departure-year return as due between 1 January and 15 April 2029, which is the usual due date. The planner flags it for a cross-border CPA because nonresident due dates can differ.

The related deadlines. Their equity and retirement dates need separate attention. See the RSU and ESPP guide and the 401(k) guide.

Next step

Enter your departure date in the Wind-Down Planner to see your own booking window and the steps that feed into it. If you are leaving after a job loss, use the job-loss version. Confirm with a cross-border CPA.

This is a planning timeline, not tax, legal or immigration advice. Rules change; each item links to its official source and shows when it was last checked.

Sources

Last checked: 9 October 2026.

• IRS, Topic 858, alien tax clearance: https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc858