Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Geckoman]

Remember to File Your Federal Income Tax by June 15th, 2008.

This is a reminder to all Americans living abroad that you have to file your federal income tax by June 15th, 2008.

The deadline for filing your federal income tax if you are living in the US is April 15th, but if you are living abroad, you get a two month extension, which puts the deadline at June 15th, 2008. See this IRS website that tells about the two month extension: http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/international/article/0,,id=96768,00.html

You do not have to pay any federal income tax if you made less than approximately $80,000 last year, but you still have to file it.

You can download the form on the internet. I would recommend that you download it, fill it out and sign it, and then express mail (Fedex, DHL, etc.) it to someone you know in the US who can turn it in for you or send it directly to the IRS.

If you do not think that you can do it in time, you can always request for an extension. I do not know if you have to do that by June 15th or not. I do think the extension gives you up to sometime in August to file your federal income tax. As far as I am aware there is no special criteria required for an extension and it will be granted to you. I did that last year (2007).

Also, this year the federal government is giving a special $600 rebate to all people who file their federal income tax to help kick-start the economy. I do not know if you only get the $600 if you file by June 15th and not with any extension. So that is another reason to file your federal income tax ASAP.

Do you get the rebate even if all of your money for 2007 was made overseas and you didn't pay any federal income tax as you made less than approximately $80,000. I've heard from some that you do get the rebate and from others that you don't. I don't know. So it's better to just get the form in just in case you do, that way you don't miss out on this free cash.

If you have not filed your federal income tax in the past, as seems to be the case of many Americans I have met in Korea, according to the ads I�ve seen in at least one of the English language newspapers here in Korea by the tax-assistance company, H&R Block, you can file it anytime afterwards without penalty as long as it is before the IRS catches you. So once the IRS catches you, your in trouble. But if you do file it late, before the IRS has caught you, then your still okay. So later is better than never.

So it�s best to file any past due federal income taxes that you have not filed as soon as possible. And if you are unable to figure out how much it was that you made in the past, then just give an estimation, as that�s all you can do.

There is an H&R Block in Itaewon, so if you need help you can always contact them. As far as I am aware, it is still there, though I haven�t seen them advertised in any of the English language newspapers in a while.

Have people actually been persecuted for not filing their federal income tax? While rare, yes they have.

I do know of a case in Guam where a guy named Jeff Evans spent a month in federal prison for not filing his federal income taxes for three years. While in prison he met two other guys who were also serving time for not filing their federal income tax.

Jeff Evans was a popular Republican TV personality in Guam and he believes he was targeted because it was an election year and so the Democratic opposition wanted him off the air so that they could push their agenda without worrying about him influencing the public to vote Republican.

Read about his story at:
�Does IRS have political hit list?�
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?pageId=3160

If you want to contact Jeff Evans here is his e-mail address: [email protected]

What happened was that Jeff Evans didn�t bother to file his federal income taxes and at a party he told people that, and someone at the party didn�t like him, likely because he was an influential Republican TV personality with a large following, and thus he was controversial figure, and ratted him to the IRS.

So if you have not filed your federal income tax(es) to the IRS in the past, do not tell anyone, as who knows, someone might rat you out like someone did to Jeff Evans � you never know � and file it/them as soon as possible.

If your wondering why Jeff Evans would have to pay federal income tax when he was working in Guam, as Guam is a US territory and we all know that US territories do not pay federal taxes, which is the biggest argument used against opting for statehood, well, in Guam, the local Guam government never bothered to create their own tax system that could be applied to all its residents, such as an income tax or a sales tax, and so the federal government does it for them, collecting money via its federal income tax system, and then giving it to the local Guam government. And so in Guam the residents there still have to pay an income tax to the IRS, as well as also file that income tax with the IRS, even though that money stays on island and does not go to the federal government, it really being a local Guam income tax that is carried out by the feds. That�s how Jeff Evans got busted even though he lived on Guam.

So be sure to file your federal income tax by June 15th, 2008.

Please pass this information on to other Americans living abroad.

[Geckoman]

Wesley Snipes Gets Hard Time For Failing to File Taxes!

Better file your taxes. Look what happened to Wesley Snipes. He has just gotten sentenced to three years in prison for three misdemeanor counts of failing to file his taxes.

And there is no parole in the federal system. So he will be there for the full three years.

REMEMBER THAT EVEN IF YOU WORKED OVERSEAS AND MADE LESS THAN APPROXIMATELY $80,000 YOU STILL HAVE TO FILE YOUR TAXES!!

Don't let what happened to Wesley Snipes happen to you!

To learn about the Snipes case see below or go to http://edition.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/04/24/snipes.sentencing/index.html?iref=mpstoryview

[Geckoman]

We Have An Additional Day to File!

Remember that we are one day ahead of the US mainland, Alaska and Hawaii. This being due to the location of the International Dateline which is in our favor.

So June 15th for them is for us June 16th. So we actually have one more day to file our federal income tax.

Filing it in Hawaii would give you the most time. And filing it in Guam would give you the least amount of time as Guam is actually ahead of us by one hour (2 pm Korea time is 3 pm Guam time).

And you can of course by pass the mail system altogether by filing online.

[Mr Crowley]

Where can you file online for free ?

[Bibbitybop]

I thought that Americans that didn't earn any income in the USA would not get the government rebate!!!!!!!

[KYC]

Go to the IRS website. They have several websites that you can use to file your taxes online. H & Block & Turbo Tax are on there as well. I used Turbo Tax and filed some time in May.

I did receive the 600 rebate BUT I had earned income back in the states in 2007 as well.

[Lekker]

The IRS can *beep* off. I'm not filing shit.

[cedarseoul]

for those of us who worked in 2007, we can qualify for the rebate if we file no later than October (the 15th, I believe).

[Zyzyfer]

www.olt.com

Vastly prefer that site over anything else. Sure, it asks you one question per screen at times, but for people filing from overseas with little side tax issues, it's a piece of cake. Gave it a go this morning and was done in like an hour tops.

My computer's acting up, so I couldn't access the free filing page from IRS, but they do offer it, only if you link from IRS. I just paid the $8 filing fee because e-signing is being used now and I don't even have to send anything in. It's 100% complete, all from my computer on a lazy Sunday morning.

[thatwhitegirl]

I used H&R Block. I even got $15 back, even though I haven't worked in the US for over 3 years (Must have been from student loans).

[Komichi]

How do you work the W2 section of that olt.com site? Do hogwons have an employer ID number?

[Zenas]

Looks like the Snipes trial put the fear of the IRS into a bunch of you lemmings. Accomplished its aim I guess.

[SunnyD]

I only had income from Korea in 2007. So of course I didn't owe any US taxes.

As far as the rebate goes, I only got $300. But I'm not complaining!

[Ryst Helmut]

[skindleshanks]

I'm 30 years old and a dual citizen (Canada/US). I have never lived in the US, but I do have a US passport. I have never filed a US tax return. Is there any compelling reason why I should? (I'd rather not, but if it was going to cause me trouble, I'd probably rather renounce my citizenship.)

Why should I pay tax to the US when I have never enjoyed any of the benefits (debatable choice of words) of living there?