Job Discussion Forums

[kah5217]

Can anyone share their experiences with filing state taxes while abroad? According to my state, since I spent more than 30 days here this year (I worked for January and most of February) I will not be exempt and my earnings are subject to PA state tax for the first year.

I'm curious to see how fellow Americans dealt with their state tax.

[timothypfox]

Keep in touch with an accountant when you go abroad or file yourself online. I recommend filing the extension as you may need the time to track down your W-2 overseas in the states. Your employer in Japan will give you a tax paper thingy (W-2 equivalent). There are rough translations of this online to help you.

You can file your taxes online I believe, although I went through my accountant.

You are correct about the tax exemption thing, but you will probably break even since you worked a few months in the states.

Keep a bank account in the US (in case you will return - which you probably will one day) to receive a tax return if any.

This website gives you a concise run-down of how to file from Japan:

http://howtojaponese.com/2010/01/22/how-to-file-u-s-taxes-from-japan/

[stumptowny]

[timothypfox]

Stumptowny, this is in the Japan forum because kah5217 is in Japan, and you have to file your taxes a certain way here.

[kah5217]

I'm 24 years old and have been filing taxes for almost ten years now, stumptowny. The reason I ask here is because I will be leaving for Japan in one week, and since I worked in PA for more than 30 days in 2013 they consider me a resident for the whole year.

[rslrunner]

As a New Jersey resident, it seems I have to pay state taxes. For the federal government, there is an exemption on the first $80,000 in taxes. It appears there is 0 exemption for NJ taxes.

I'm still looking into this, but I'd be interested to see if others know the rules of their respective states. If I turn out to be wrong, I'll write another post that explains the exact policy.