Korean Job Discussion Forums

[itstiff]

So, I know that under treaty if I work in South Korea for a year and make under 85,000 I do not have to pay income tax in Korea or in United States. But, because I'm going back to school I will not be finishing a complete year. Do I now have to file/report my income tax, I've made in Korea, in April and next April as well since I'm out of here in May?

I know I'm asking a few months ahead, but better to know now. Also, if I do have to pay how do I get the equivalent of a "w-2" from my employer, I work at a public school.

[jellobean]

If you worked in a public school and filled out the proper paperwork, you won't have to pay tax in Korea. You will, however, have to pay taxes in the US if you were not outside the US for more than 330 days. So if you worked 9 or 10 months here, it might be worth your while to take a little vacation for a month or two before returning to the US. The vacation will probably be cheaper than the taxes.

If you worked in a hagwon or didn't fill out the paperwork in Korea, you will have to pay tax in Korea. If you were not outside the US for more than 330 days, you will ALSO have to pay tax in the US. However, you can get a tax credit for taxes you paid to the Korean government but you need to get a government tax printout of some sort. You can't just use your pay stubs because there is no proof that money was actually given to the government and no proof that you didn't receive some of it as a return.

[itstiff]

Thanks. Unfortunately, by the time I hit 330 days it will be two weeks into graduate school. I need to save up some money to pay my taxes then, it's around 25% right?

Also, what do I use to file my taxes with, in the US? Since jobs back in the states have W-2's, what would I ask for here? I'm assuming my pay stubs won't suffice.

[jellobean]

You need to go down to the local tax office and get a printout of your tax statement. If you have nothing else, they will accept pay stubs. When you do the taxes remember that you need to convert the amount your were paid in Korean to USD using the exchange rate on the day your were paid.

In reality, everyone should be getting this paper to file their taxes. Even when they owe no tax, Americans with foreign income are still supposed to file every year.

Yes, you should save some money.

Are you starting school in the fall? If so, you figure your taxes like this. In January, you should get the forms online and fill them out. You have until April 15 to pay. You could probably use last years forms and your predicted income to get an idea of what you owe. If you came here from university and didn't work, you won't owe much if your income for 2008 is only 10-12,000 and it will be even less given the exchange rate. I can't really give you a set % because it's not figured that way. Go to the IRS site and use the 2007 forms to try and predict your tax for this year. It might be slightly different but it will be closer than predicting a random percent.