Korean Job Discussion Forums

[grant gerstners]

Maybe this is the wrong place to post this. But the tax deadline looms and it's one of those things I tend to put off.

Started my taxes one night two weeks ago, and then put it on the back burner for a couple weeks. Tried again tonight and my brain is mush.

These aren't so much questions, but "thinking out loud", with an invitation for comment from anyone inclined to offer any.

(It's late and my mind is pretty hazy, but I think things are getting clearer and I just need to give this a good sleep).

1. I gather from reading the irs publication, the 330 days (for qualifying for the foreign earned income exclusion) can cover any 12 month period. Its publication 54, page 12, figure 4-A.

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p54.pdf

Earlier in the same publication, (page 4) it talks about filing deadline extensions, and mentions using the extensions to qualify for the foreign earned income exclusion.

In my case, I arrived early June, 2010. By the filing deadline (April 18th, this year), I will only be at 315 days, but will hit 330 days a couple weeks later on May 3rd.

So, I suppose it makes sense for me to file for an extension by April 18th, and then complete the filing after May 3rd.

2. It looks like I am supposed to include (in my declared earnings) the "fair market value" for the apartment provided by the public school where I work. I have no idea how much my dinky apartment costs the school, nor what's "fair" in this small rural town. I suppose I just have to start asking my co-teachers and people in the business office. Or should I just pull a number out of the air?

3. On Taxact, the federal return is free, but not the state return. To get the state deadline extension, I have to first get the federal extension. If I pay to file for the state extension, it's not clear to me that I will be able to complete the return later for no additional fee.

4. If form 2555 comes into play on Taxact, it has not been obvious to me. I should probably take a closer look.