Korean Job Discussion Forums

[xCustomx]

im going to America this Sunday...i will file my taxes while im there. i know about the $80,000 rule, but that's only if you've lived here for the entire year. i came in February of '05, and had 2 jobs in the states in Jan '05. I will file a 1040ez for those taxes, but I just want to confirm, do you i have to pay taxes on the $ i made here? I have never received a pay stub from my boss. Do I need these? I will assume yes, and tomorrow is the last day I can ask for them. Thanks.

[Ya-ta Boy]

Yes, you will need that form from the previous bosses...W-4 (???--I've forgotten the name).

File, but you will get a tax refund of the money you paid for Jan.

[xCustomx]

you mentioned a w4....i want to clarify, do i need pay stubs from my job here in korea to file taxes in the states? i received w2's from the jobs i had in january of '05 in America, but I have never gotten anything from my job here in Korea

[Ya-ta Boy]

No, you don't need to report your income from Korea.

[escapeartist]

Hi there,

I was just on the IRS website and it seems like in order to qualify for the foreign earned income exclusion, you need to have worked in abroad for over a year. It said that if you work somewhere for a year or less, the foreign country is not considered your tax home. Does anyone know differently? Here is the link if you're interested. I guess you can technically work in Korea for a year and a day.

http://www.irs.gov/publications/p54/ch04.html#d0e2273

Thanks!

[IwalkAlone]

When you fill the 2555 or 2225 form (never can remember it correctly), it will have you calculate out how much of the $80,000 you can use for exemption. This is based on the actual number of days in the tax year that you were in korea. You said you came in February 05. That means you get around $65,000 (didn't do the math, estimate) exemption for this tax year.

More importantly is if you pass the bona fide presence test. This means that you must have 330 days of abroad living under your belt in a 12 month period. This period does not have to be the same tax year period however. As long as your 330 days occurs before filing is due.

Please note, if your physical presence test does not fall completely in the tax year (meaning you came over in February or some later month and can't be in korea for 330 days) then you don't get the $80,000 exemption.

You get a percentage of that $80,000 based on the number of days you were in korea for the tax year.

Scenerio A: Come to Korea in March 2005 and work through March 2006.

Presence test: PASS
Presence test in same tax year: FAIL
Exemption: % of $80,000 for days in tax year

Scenerio B: Come to Korea in March 2005 and work through January 2006.

Presence test: FAIL
Presence test in same tax year: FAIL
Exemption: None allowed because March 05 - Jan 06 doesnt add up to at least 330 days.


hope that helps

[xCustomx]

So I don't need any pay stubs to show how much I actually earned here? I came Feb. 16th of '05, though I didn't start working until April 1st because I paid for my own ticket here and looked for a job in person.