Korean Job Discussion Forums

[austinchauncey]

I've tried different sites and some state at a certain point that I can no longer use the free service because I live abroad. The others don't have a spot for foreign income.

For about 50 days, I lived in the U.S. and made several thousand dollars and paid a bunch of tax. I have no address in the state anymore, so how do I file taxes with the state? Or do I have to?

For the remainder of the year, I worked in Korea. I know how much I made and I'm told I have to convert it on the 2555 form but the form lists two conditions that I don't meet.

I'm sure there are others in this situation. Please help me figure this out. I've asked people I know and they fall into several categories... daddy filed for them, pro filed for them, lived in Korea the whole year so no US tax withheld, didn't claim Korean income or haven't filed at all.

Thank you so much.

[darkjedidave]

[austinchauncey]

[AmericanExile]

All states are different. Can't help you there.

Federal:
Two conditions: 1 - you lived abroad the entire calendar year. You don't meet this criteria.
2 - you have been out of the country for 330 consecutive days. That does not have to have happened yet. You only have to expect it to happen to get an extension. If you hit 330 days by June 15 you don't even need an extension. In either case you wait for your 330 days (and maybe a couple extra just to be safe) and then file. Exemption. Yes, I have done this before. By the way, that exemption works for all foreign earned income for both years the 330 days occur in. So, if you leave Korea before the end of 2010 you are still golden as long as you had 330 days out of the US.

Here is the trick. You will have to pay a higher percentage on the money you earned in America. Why? Because although you don't have to pay tax on the money you earned in Korea, What you end up doing is 1- adding Korean earned and American Earned money together, 2- figuring the tax for the total, 3- subtracting the tax for just the Korean earned money. The IRS doesn't miss a trick.

[Drew345]

I use turbotax to file. It has a foreign income section and does all the calculations. I agree with your feeling that taxes are important enough that each person should learn to do them themselves; after all, 30-40% of our income goes to taxes so we should learn how that is computed. I also respect the opinion of others who feel that something this important is best left to professionals.

I think the state where you worked will have a "part-year resident" form. That would be the one to file. Turbotax let's you download those.

I think that the 330 day overseas for income exclusion is a "sliding scale". I mean, it doesn't have to be Jan 1 - Dec 31. If you are out of the country for 330 days between July 1 - June 30 you might still meet the exclusion rules.

The instructions for form 2555 state "for at least 330 full days during any period of 12 months in a row". You choose the 12 month period.

And Publication 54 states that: "How to figure the 12-month period. There are four rules you should know when figuring the 12-month period.
* Your 12-month period can begin with any day of the month. It ends the day before the same calendar day, 12 months later.
* Your 12-month period must be made up of consecutive months. Any 12-month period can be used if the 330 days in a foreign country fall within that period.
* You do not have to begin your 12-month period with your first full day in a foreign country or end it with the day you leave. You can choose the 12-month period that gives you the greatest exclusion."
There are some nice illustrations there too. Do a search for that section of Pub 54 if you think you can meet the 330 day test in the future.

Maybe you can file for an extension (except that was due Apr 15), and then file your taxes after you have been here a full 12 months.