Yeah most of the common complaints I see online are mostly from people who don't even pay taxes because they're broke or literally kids.

Lot of it tends to be just not knowing the right info. Sadly lot of folks just unaware of what's available to them or what they need to be doing or what they might qualify for.

Also from what I've seen the IRS isn't just a "Oh you messed up, to jail with you". I had a friend who runs a business screw up his first year, the IRS notified him of this and said " Hey this doesn't look right we need you to double check this and fix it please" and it was okay.

I'm one of those folks who really wishes this was taught to us in school, at least here in the US.
Luckily after nearly 11 years of adulthood I've gotten the hang of it aplenty by now, but it would've been nice to know and possibly get some practice in beforehand XD

yeah! like it sucks how poorly we set up kids for this exact type of adulting

Sad part is that even when living abroad, the IRS will still ask for its money. The US is one of only two countries in the world where you must pay its taxes even if you established permanent residence in another country.

I'd heard about that, is it the same tax rate or a different one for being abroad? Are you dual citizenship?

Same rate, other than a credit for any taxes paid to a foreign country. And it would not matter if I held dual citizenship (which I don't*). The only way to avoid taxes would be to renounce US citizenship.

* Once I spend 5 years in the UK with a visa as a spouse of a British citizen, I will qualify for an indefinite leave to remain.

Ahh okay. So wait, there's no way for you to be a full UK citizen?

Once I get that indefinite leave, I am guaranteed to stay in the country as long as I want-- obviously, provided I obey the laws of the land. I could apply for dual citizenship at that point, and then renounce US citizenship if I wanted. Though that would make me a foreigner in my own land. I may stop at the dual citizenship; I am close to the minimum retirement age, anyway -- uncle Sam should start paying *me* that social security money. (And yes, I can get it here in the UK -- I'll travel to the consulate in Edinburgh next year to start the process.)

oh nice, sounds pretty decent overall then!