Korean Job Discussion Forums

[bowra]

Hello,

I have been teaching in Korea for 324 days as of this morning. I would like to claim the 2555 income tax exemption for foreigners, which requires physical presence in a foreign country for 330 days, so for the federal income tax year (Jan 1 - Dec 31), I am out of luck for a straight up exemption, so my question is:

Does anyone have first-hand knowledge about how the prorating (mentioned in several sources on this forum as well as the instructions on the 2009 form) works?

For example, would I claim the exemption for all money I made through December 31, 2010, then prorate the $90k or whatever it is when I apply for the exemption? Obviously as a teacher I'm still well below that. Any help is appreciated.

[melirae1976]

Take a look at the 2010 instruction form for 2555, focusing on the bottom of page one and top of page two. At the time of filing you will meet the physical presence test- it's a 330 day consecutive period, not a tax year:
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i2555.pdf