Korean Job Discussion Forums

[seasghost]

How do I go about filing American taxes for the income I recieved in Korea. I worked last year in Korea so I would be filing for 2007. But I have no idea how much money I made. I have only a few pay stubs and I don't think the school I worked for is in business anymore.

So any Idea what I should do? Is there any website I can look at?

Thanks

[Ut videam]

[seasghost]

thanks for the response...but yeah, I did get a bag full of money as payment. What I got paid was different every month...everything from 1.5 million won to 1.8 million so I don't know..
plus I did wire transfer some money back to my American bank account but this was by no means a consistent process and I never deposited my entire earnings..

But I also know I deffinately never made anything close to 80,000...not even close.

[georgewallas]

Declare what you've remitted. on the 1040 [the long version].

In the off chance that you are audited, you can tell them that you were a kept man or that the school paid for everything, e.g. food and shelter, and that you bumbed cigs from your fellow cell mate, um co-worker, in exchange for certain favors.] and you could send every nickle you've earned home.

It's well worth checking if the school is still in business, because by law they must file for you, in which case, you can get a record from the tax offices. If the school paid you under the books, which seems to be the case, you can certainly ask for all the pay stubs, and if they refuse, threaten to go to the tax office.

Btw, the tax rate, after the deductions is 10%. But the auto deductions are around 8k, so you may not be liable at all.

[zizi]

If you were out of the country for most of the year, I can't remember the exact number, you're qualified for a foreign work tax exemption. You need to file a 1040, but it might be easier to have an accountant do it for you. I have an accountant in the U.S., it costs about $100, and I don't have to pay any taxes for one, and if there was an audit, the accountant will handle it. If you want his info pm me, but you should be able to find one from your state by looking through the yellow pages online.

[zizi]

I'm wondering about filing taxes here. My hagwon hasn't mentioned it and I've been taxed at 3.3%, so I know I'm due a refund. Sorry to hijack the thread, but any advice on this?

[zizi]

I just pulled up my tax return. It's called the 1040 U.S. Individual Income Tax Return. He listed me as "Teacher living with individual in Korea". My salary was "Foreign Income Earned." And on line 41 and 43 he wrote my income as "Foreign Earned Income Exclusion". Line 38 asks how many days you have been out of the country, and I think you have to be out for 330 days. The maximum Foreign Earned Income Exclusion for 2006 was $82,400. You will also need to fill out form 2555, which is a "Foreign Earned Income Allocation Worksheet". Hope this helps!

[georgewallas]

abc

[bacasper]

www.irs.gov