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Badar Bin Bada Boom
Joined: 01 Jun 2011
Posts: 192
Location: Fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man
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 Posted: Sun Sep 04, 2011 10:32 am Post subject: |
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| Middle East Beast wrote: |
That's a very interesting read of the Physical Presence rule--I don't see any allowance there for pro-rating; but, hopefully you won't be audited.
I also have to wonder about the cost of a CPA's services.
MEB  |
I don't know why you kept assuming I was filing under Physical Presence. |
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Middle East Beast
Joined: 05 Mar 2008
Posts: 836
Location: Up a tree
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| Posted: Sun Sep 04, 2011 4:44 pm Post subject: |
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I didn't assume that. I wasn't sure which you used at the moment I wrote that message.
I've got my doubts about being able to claim Bona Fide Residence at a job where you're in and out of the foreign country every other month IF you return to your home in the US during the down times, but I admit I don't find clear guidance in the IRS rules for that.
At any rate, you're doin' it (or did it), and that's great! 
If they'd abolish the IRS and establish, perhaps, a national sales tax, then we expats wouldn't have to hire CPAs to deal with these insane rules. 
MEB |
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Badar Bin Bada Boom
Joined: 01 Jun 2011
Posts: 192
Location: Fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man
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| Posted: Sun Sep 04, 2011 4:48 pm Post subject: |
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| That's true except maybe for the issue of buying and selling real estate. |
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veiledsentiments
Joined: 20 Feb 2003
Posts: 17644
Location: USA
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| Posted: Mon Sep 05, 2011 1:55 am Post subject: |
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| Middle East Beast wrote: |
| I've got my doubts about being able to claim Bona Fide Residence at a job where you're in and out of the foreign country every other month IF you return to your home in the US during the down times, but I admit I don't find clear guidance in the IRS rules for that. |
Once you have hit "bona fide residence," there is really not a limit on the number of days that you can spend in the US. What will cause issues is if you also work in the US. The reason that you haven't found anything is that the law doesn't define it. Thus as long as 100% of your earned income is from the one overseas job, you are fine.
If this were a common occurrence, the law might be changed, but there are not enough people in this situation to try to re-write the tax code.
VS |
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Middle East Beast
Joined: 05 Mar 2008
Posts: 836
Location: Up a tree
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| Posted: Mon Sep 05, 2011 2:37 am Post subject: |
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| veiledsentiments wrote: |
| Middle East Beast wrote: |
| I've got my doubts about being able to claim Bona Fide Residence at a job where you're in and out of the foreign country every other month IF you return to your home in the US during the down times, but I admit I don't find clear guidance in the IRS rules for that. |
Once you have hit "bona fide residence," there is really not a limit on the number of days that you can spend in the US. What will cause issues is if you also work in the US. The reason that you haven't found anything is that the law doesn't define it. Thus as long as 100% of your earned income is from the one overseas job, you are fine.
If this were a common occurrence, the law might be changed, but there are not enough people in this situation to try to re-write the tax code.
VS |
My question relates to being able to hit BFR, i.e. to prove that your BFR is in a country where you only spend half the year.
But, we don't want to turn this thread into a treatise on IRS regulations--oops, that ship has sailed! 
MEB |
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Badar Bin Bada Boom
Joined: 01 Jun 2011
Posts: 192
Location: Fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man
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| Posted: Mon Sep 05, 2011 1:43 pm Post subject: |
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| To put VS's point in another way, my tax home is not in the U.S. and has not been for a long time. I live overseas and I earn overseas and I outlived any physical-presence test about 25 years ago. This is bona-fide overseas residence. Therefore it's rigorous and strict enough already just to pro-rate the 330-day requirement to be absent from the U.S. |
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veiledsentiments
Joined: 20 Feb 2003
Posts: 17644
Location: USA
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| Posted: Mon Sep 05, 2011 2:48 pm Post subject: |
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I would say that this is certainly a relevant topic for ME teachers though it is buried in this thread. This type of job does occur.
The key is that if your first job in the Middle East were one of these... month on/month back home... it would be impossible for you to defer your taxes as you couldn't use either of the defined exemptions. But long timers, who have been using "bona fide residence" for many years, will have no problem with the exemption if they end up in a job like this.
VS |
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