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Americans w/ foreign DHs living abroad - tax ?
I have a question for those of you living abroad with your foreign DHs. How do you declare your income on your taxes? Just as a disclaimer to start with: DH's and my combined income still falls below the foreign earned income exclusion amount, so it's not an issue yet, but hopefully it will be in the future.
DH has never lived in the States. He has only been there to visit for max 3 weeks at a time, and he has no SS number. Up until now, I've filed as single and always made a note that I have a non-resident alien spouse. I've only filed my income, but I wonder if I should be filing his, too? It seems rather unjust to me since he has nothing to do with the US government, but then, who ever said all the tax laws are just? Like I said - I'm not guilty of tax evasion *yet* since we don't make enough, but certainly don't want to be guilty of it in the future, either. So I was just wondering if any of you know what I'd supposed to do in this situation. List his income as mine, as well? File jointly even though he has no SSN? Keep filing the way I have been?
Re: Americans w/ foreign DHs living abroad - tax ?
Ok, that's what I figured. I just didn't know if because I have access to his income it's considered something I need to declare.
The problem with married filing separately is that it implies he's filing separately, which he's not. On the forms it does say explicitly that you're to check your filing status, which I've always understood as meaning it could be different from your marital status, but that doesn't mean I'm right!
(And another disclaimer: We file jointly and pay tax on all our taxable income here in Germany, just so nobody thinks we're trying to avoid paying all taxes :-))
Thanks - I'll do that this year.
If I'm a permanent resident in another country and making a salary here, do I still have to file in the US?
I wasn't even thinking about it!
Yes! You always have to file, but the first $90000 plus (there is a certain amount I don't know the specific number) that you wouldn't have to pay taxes on.
Thank goodness for the Nesties! I would have flitted happily along until April. And then wondered why the IRS is waiting for me at the airport.
It is $10k
To get the $90K exclusion, you need to fill out the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion form. 2555 maybe? You can also exclude a certain amount if your employer pays for housing. It's on the same form. And above that, you can take a credit for any taxes you paid to the local government, using the Foreign Tax Credit form. I think that one might be 1116?
Last I read it was an automatic 6 months. I usually don't get around to filing until September, but since I've paid $0 the past 7 years or so, my late penalty would be $0 anyway.
And yes, it's the 2555 EZ you'll want to fill out for the foreign earned income exclusion.
Ok, another stupid question. I'm only filing federally, right? I don't need to worry about any state taxes?
ETA: This is the first time I've made any money in another country, hence the ignorance.