If your spouse is also claiming the foreign earned income exclusion, please complete this form for each taxpayer.

 

Stateside Information

 

 

Using Blue Skies Tax Service as your registered agent for receiving mail from the IRS and any state taxing agency (if applicable) is a great way to stay ahead of any problems. We scan all correspondence for you, upload it to your client portal and alert you to any actions that need to be taken. Our annual fee is $100 and can be added to your tax return fee- just let us know.

Income Information

 

Only provide the wages or income earned while in a foreign country. So, for partial years you will need to separate the wages or income earned in the United States from the wages or income earned in a foreign country.

For the currency question below, please tell us the currency that is used to pay you. Currency conversions to USD can be problematic for floating currencies- at times it is better to use the average and at times it is better to use the spot rate at 12/31. The IRS also has a table. We will discuss the conversion of currency with you to optimize your tax position.

Also, please provide the foreign taxes you have paid. Certain countries have a fiscal tax year that is different than the United States calendar tax year. At times you need to wait to file your U.S. tax return until after your host country tax return- we understand. If that is the case, you can enter TBD (to be determined) in the text box below for foreign taxes paid.

Did you have any other foreign income such as dividends, interest, rental income, capital gains, etc.? If so, please explain below:

Did you return to the United States for business purposes, and earn income while you were here? For example, you are an employee of a U.S. defense contractor and you are working in Saudi Arabia. The company sends you back to the United States for two weeks of training. The portion of the salary paid to you while you were in the U.S. cannot be excluded with the foreign earned income exclusion since it was earned in the U.S. If this applies to you, please explain below:

Exclusion Testing

During the tax year (Jan thru Dec) did you return to the United States for temporary trips or visits? If so, please provide exact travel dates to and from the United States below. Also, please tabulate the number of days you spent in the U.S. and enter them in the text box below:

Please list your tax homes and the dates established during the tax year below:

 

Have you filed a U.S. tax return claiming the foreign earned income exclusion in the past? If so, please explain which tax years, and which test you used to qualify (physical presence, bona fide residency) below:

Housing, Property Information

Did you receive any reimbursements for your living expenses? If so, please describe below:

 

Did any of your family live with you during your time abroad? If so, please detail who and dates below:

Do you own property in the United States? If so, please detail who lived there and the dates below:

FBAR, FinCEN, FATCA

Did you have signature authority or an ownership interest for any foreign bank or investment accounts, the aggregate value of which was $10,000 USD or greater on any day during the year?

Did you have an ownership interest in specified foreign financial assets, the aggregate value of which exceeded $50,000 USD on any day during the year?

There are exclusions and limitations to all this FBAR, FinCEN and FATCA stuff, and we know this is a pain, but the penalty for non-compliance is severe. It is doubtful that gun runners would take the time to file a U.S. tax return, but at the same time please explain your bank account holdings and associated balances below:

Miscellaneous

Is there any other information that might be pertinent to your foreign earned income exclusion? If so, please explain below:

Submission

Please select the tax year that this information is associated with. In addition, please enter your name so we can group your submissions together plus your email address. Click the Submit button below to securely and safely send this information to us. You can submit as many forms as needed. If you later discover an error- simply re-submit your information and check the box below letting us know.

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