Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Toast and Kimchee]

I realize there is a sticky for this in the FAQ forum, but the only link I could find related to U.S. citizens is a broken one.

With that in mind, I thought this question significant enough to post a thread on. I don't know exactly where to start. For one thing, are there any tax professionals in Korea that could do my U.S. taxes or do I have to ship my info over to someone in the U.S.?

Also, for those of you who have lived and worked in Korea for awhile, approximately how much do you pay in federal income tax to the U.S. every year?

Are you still required to pay things such as Soc.Sec tax, FICA, etc.?

I appreciate any insight into this subject.

Thanks in advance

[Toast and Kimchee]

I thought this would be a pretty important topic.

Due to the lack of response, I'm beginning to think it is some sort of taboo subject. Either that or people are afraid the IRS is tracking this board...

[Toast and Kimchee]

I did find find a link to the IRS that some may find helpful:

http://www.irs.gov/faqs/faq13-7.html

It is, however, a bit of a difficult read unless you are a tax professional (which I'm not).

Therefore, I'm still open to anybody with further experience/comments with regard to this topic.

Thank you.[/url]

[hogwonguy1979]

you get an extra 2 months to file

you pay taxes on the first $82k you earn here, you wont come close, biggest problem is getting enough days here to qualify but through filing an automatic extension you will likely get the required time in

you dont pay Social Security tax because 1) you pay into Korean pension and 2) Social Security doesnt tax foreign income. Now you can transfer your Korean pension contributions to US Social Security when you leave

Soc Security tax and FICA are the same

Pub 54 on the IRS website has more info

[formerflautist]

Have you tried the US Embassy site? They sent me a whole bunch of info on filing taxes. I imagine the info and links are on there someplace.

[Sine qua non]

[hogwonguy1979]

[little mixed girl]

file form 4868 (extension i think).
then wait.
if u came like...in the middle of the year then wait til you"ve been out of the states for a year then file.
if u had a job in the states, i guess you can use your W2 and file on that.

i dunno about your state, you'd have to check for that yourself.

but u get 2 extra months to file.

then you can go for form 1020 i think.

i'm no tax person tho...i've never paied taxes and this'll be my first year dealing with such things.

[r.]

Wow, since I came in July and must file asap (for grad school fin. aid purposes), I don't qualify for the foreign earned income exclusion, huh?

[r.]

While we are on the subject, I have a few questions.

How do I calculate the U.S. dollars I earned? Do I use today's exchange rate, the exchange rate on 12/31, or can I pick arbitrarily???

Do I need a formal payment sheet rom my employer? Like Korea's equivalent ot the W2 or something? I just had them write out how much money I was paid in 2006. Will that suffice, or do I even need any documentation?

[lsrupert]

I recently called the IRS with similar questions. What has been posted so far is correct. You do need to have been here for 330 days total to fit the "living in a foreign country" test. Unfortunately for me, I go home during the summer. (Well, unfortunately due to tax regulations.. I do enjoy going home!) If you pay Korean taxes on your income, you can possibly get a foreign tax credit. I think that is form 1116. From the cryptic notes that I took while on the phone, it looks like I was told to read IRS publication 514 about the foreign tax credit. If you do end up having to pay taxes to the states, you do have an extension. That extension is just for filing though. I was told that even though we get the extension, if you owe, they still will start charging interest as of April 16. Nice of them, huh? IRS publication 54, ch. 4, has the tests to see if you are a "bonafide resident" of Korea. I hope this of some sort of help! Good luck!

[Toast and Kimchee]

Are there any U.S. accountants in Korea that will do your taxes or do you have to send your materials overseas to an accountant in the U.S.?

[Son Deureo!]

Yes there is:

H&R Block
2nd Floor
(Car Wash Bldg.)
36-27 Itaewon 1-dong
Yongsan-ku, Seoul, Korea 140-201
Tel: 822-790-3941 (8am-7pm)
Fax: 822-797-6586 (24 hrs)
e-mail: [email protected]


They're not terribly cheap, though. They charge $125 per tax year they are preparing your return for. I'm using them now because I haven't filed in a while, and since I'd worked for a few places here that hadn't done taxes properly I figured I'd better get some help.

[jmbran11]

Unless your taxes are terribly complicated, consider using an online system like turbotax. You can go to the irs website at www.irs.gov to see if you qualify for the exemption. There are a few articles and publications. It's really not that complicated.

The difficult part would be your money in the U.S. (if you have investment income, etc.), which may require an accountant, but I really don't think you'd need one if you are just filing for the exempetion (it's just a form).

You don't need any documentation from your employer. I wouldn't stress about the exchange rate unless you are close to the limit of $82,000.

[Toast and Kimchee]

Very useful info!


Thanks