Job Discussion Forums

dynow · Joined: 07 Nov 2006 Posts: 1080

listen, you're overthinking it entirely.

do TurboTax, pay your $19.99 and be done with it. you don't need to send anything to the IRS in addition to your turbotax filing. you are certainly NOT earning over $92,000 per year in Poland so the IRS is not concerned with you because they can't make any money off of you. The important thing is that you notify the IRS that you are in fact earning something overseas. By filing, you're simply letting the IRS know that you are not ducking overseas income tax if you exceed $92,000. If they really want to investigate it, they'll let you know but I assure you they have bigger fish to fry than to investigate whether or not an avg. american guy is making 300,000zl+ per year in Poland.

sparks · Joined: 20 Feb 2008 Posts: 632

Thanks for the comforting words. I was sort of imagining some IRS agent looking over my paperwork, thinking hmmm.... I can't believe that anyone would settle for the peanuts that this chump is earning. He must be hiding millions in a hedgefund--better dig deeper.

I guess I'll just file and put it out of my mind.

dynow · Joined: 07 Nov 2006 Posts: 1080

sparks wrote:

scotv · Joined: 01 Apr 2008 Posts: 19

I work for the dreaded IRS in the International Division, so I might be able to help; albeit probably a little late.

You do not need to attach any of your foreign tax returns, docs, etc. to your filing. You may need such foreign docs if you are audited, so definitely keep a record of such for at least 3 years (7 years is even better).

While it is true that the IRS fry big fish, small fish are also fried with regularity. Audits are not chosen based on dollar amounts, per se, but on compliance issues. So, be careful not to take an 'I don't make squat so they can't get anything out of me" approach. Such an approach could end up costing you small sum in copying, postage, and international call expenses, not to mention the time it takes to prepare for an audit, a couple years down the road.

Just about everyone on here (from what I can tell), won't owe any tax to Uncle Sam, since it's below the threshhold and excludable.