Job Discussion Forums

[moonraven]

Do you normally give advice of this sort to other tax accountants?

[Santos L Halper]

Hi moonraven,

I think Glenski has the right idea; it's better just to file and avoid any headache with the IRS.

I can't speak for anyone else, but I would point out to another CPA that it's unethical not to file a tax return if you are obliged to do so, or to advise anybody else to do likewise. Please keep in mind that if someone less knowledgeable than you are tries to follow suit, they can likely find themselves in hot water.

SLH

[moonraven]

If you want to worry about stuff like that, it's your business. I simply choose not to.

[spiral78]

Back some years ago, the IRS made an error in my tax file, making it appear that I owed the government 60,000 USD. After six years of fighting to have their mistake rectified (during which time I was unable to obtain financial credit for anything) they finally retracted the error, without apology or any kind of rectification, of course. Now, having lived and worked abroad for the past seven years, I still send a simple letter every April to the IRS. It just states my current address, the fact that I am still teaching English abroad, and I enclose the official statement of my earnings, translated into dollars.
I have absolutely no intention of ever living/working in the US again, but I don't want to take any chances with their Orwellian tax system, either, fearing that my spouses' finances could also become involved somehow, even though my spouse is NOT a US citizen.
Up to now, the official limit for those living/working abroad has been 70,000 USD, I believe. The Bush administration wanted to lower this limit to 25,000 last I heard. Last April, this had not been accomplished, but I'm going to search again next year for the current stats. Maybe the time will come when I'll give up my US citizenship over this issue!
In the meanwhile, my advice, for what it's worth - don't ignore the system; at least send a letter, even if you don't go to the trouble to actually file. If there's any problem later on, you can produce your copies of the letters to support your case.

[Glenski]

moonraven,

Just so we are on the same page here...

1. Are you saying that you advocate not filing US taxes altogether, or are you saying that you just advocate not putting your foreign earned income on your tax returns?

2. Are you a tax accountant? I would really like to know, because if you are and you advocate the former, I would not choose to rely on you for tax information.

I'm not a tax accountant, but I do know that it is required to file no matter where you live. HOW you file is up to you.

And, the fact that breaking any law may not be an extradictable offense doesn't make it any more legal. Geez.

[spiral78]

I actually think that the exact language in the US tax law states that you are NOT required to file if you lived abroad the entire year, and earned less than X USD in that year. Hence, my yearly letter as versus actually filing...But I must admit that my info is at least 18 months old and I should research the issue.

[moonraven]

The tax codes have not changed substantially since 1986.

G: You shouldn't ask folks to post information that they have already posted on threads. It indicates that you don't read the threads before shooting off your keyboard, and are only interested in hearing your own "voice".

You are free to "rely" on whomever you please for information.

[Glenski]

moonraven,
Pardon the heck out of me for missing one point. Thanks for the sarcastic response.

Now, would you answer my other questions, or would you consider that "shooting off" too much on my keyboard?

[moonraven]

Do you have Alzheimer's, or what? I already gave you my answer.