01/09/2017
All Americans are required to file an annual federal income tax return if they earn over around $10,000 (or just $400 of self employment income), wherever in the world they live and whichever country their income originates in. Americans living abroad may also have further US filing requirements under FATCA and FBAR (more about these […]
12/08/2016
Americans living abroad continue to have to file a US federal tax return and declare their worldwide income, and they may also be liable to pay US income tax on their worldwide income. One of the primary mechanisms expats can use to exclude their income earned abroad from US income tax liability is the Foreign […]
10/04/2016
Form 2555 and form 2555-EZ are used to claim the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion, and form 2555 the Foreign Housing Exclusion or Deduction too. The Foreign Earned Income Exclusion allows you to exclude up to around $100,000 (the figure rises a little each year) of foreign earned income from US federal income tax. Please note […]
04/19/2016
The Foreign Housing Exclusion allows American expats to deduct reasonable housing expenses from their taxable foreign earned income. The Exclusion is granted in conjunction with the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion, but neither are granted automatically: you have to apply for them and file form 2555 with your annual return. The Foreign Housing Exclusion is typically […]
04/05/2016
What is it? The US is the only developed nation in the world to tax based on citizenship rather than residence. As such, US citizens (or green card holders) are liable to pay US income tax on their worldwide income wherever in the world they live. If you live abroad though, you will probably also […]
02/08/2016
FEIE yields significant benefits for American expats What is it? US citizens and green card holders who live and work outside the US may be able to exclude part or all of their foreign earned income (both wages and income from self-employment income) from being taxable using the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion, or FEIE. To […]
02/04/2016
If you meet certain requirements, you may qualify for the Foreign Earned Income and Foreign Housing Exclusions and the Foreign Housing Deduction. A quick rule of thumb is to have been outside the US for 330 days. Then you qualify for the FEIE. If you are a US citizen or a resident alien of the […]