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Topic: First time filing US taxes....  (Read 1800 times)

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First time filing US taxes....
« on: January 25, 2018, 10:34:19 AM »
Hi all!
I worked in Colorado until mid March when I left to be with my UKC wife here. I have been employed here and am currently. I maintain a very small bank account in Colorado and we have a joint bank account here with maybe £2k in it. I have my W2 from my employer back in the states. I could sure use input on what forms to file etc. I assume that I can't use anything easy like Turbo Tax. Thank you in advance for any and all help!


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Re: First time filing US taxes....
« Reply #1 on: January 25, 2018, 10:39:10 AM »
I came over in June of 2016. I tried doing the taxes myself, but found it all too confusing. Used one of the "Taxes for Expats" firms suggested on here. I knew I was getting a refund, so it was a no brainer given the cost.


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Re: First time filing US taxes....
« Reply #2 on: January 25, 2018, 12:30:52 PM »
I would rather do them myself, but what did it cost to have them done? I wouldn't think mine we be too complicated.


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Re: First time filing US taxes....
« Reply #3 on: January 25, 2018, 03:03:02 PM »
I would think that you could manage to do it yourself using TurboTax if your finances are not complicated. You have an automatic extension to June 16 so plenty of time to ask for advice here. By the time you file you will have lived overseas for well over a year so I would think you can claim the Foreign Earned Income Excemption and TT should prompt you and complete the FEIE form.
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Re: First time filing US taxes....
« Reply #4 on: January 25, 2018, 04:33:49 PM »
I would think that you could manage to do it yourself using TurboTax if your finances are not complicated. You have an automatic extension to June 16 so plenty of time to ask for advice here. By the time you file you will have lived overseas for well over a year so I would think you can claim the Foreign Earned Income Excemption and TT should prompt you and complete the FEIE form.
Thank you! I didn't think I could use TurboTax because I live here. I used it for the last several years. What information do I need from here to file?


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Re: First time filing US taxes....
« Reply #5 on: January 25, 2018, 04:57:29 PM »
Thank you! I didn't think I could use TurboTax because I live here. I used it for the last several years. What information do I need from here to file?

Pretty much the same information as you would if you lived in the USA.  At the start you will enter your name. address and SSN and indicate that you reside overseas and simply follow the interview process.  Since the tax years are different you will need to know your gross salary as of December 31st so be sure to hang onto that particular pay advice.

Since you have TT from last year try doing a return as if you had lived in the USA until March then worked in the USA.  I use the previous year's TT every year to estimate taxes for the upcoming year, it is a very good tool.

As I say, I think you can use FEIE since it will be over a year since you left the USA but I'm not certain, hence the suggestion to try last year's TT.  (My situation was different when I returned as I was retired with no earned income so had to get into Foreign Tax Credits through form 1116)
« Last Edit: January 25, 2018, 04:58:49 PM by durhamlad »
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Re: First time filing US taxes....
« Reply #6 on: January 25, 2018, 07:57:14 PM »
You'll need the same info as in the States. If you have worked here your payslips and details of employer and employee payslips. The return can be extended to 15 December, but the FBAR must be filed by 15 October.


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Re: First time filing US taxes....
« Reply #7 on: January 25, 2018, 08:10:24 PM »
You'll need the same info as in the States. If you have worked here your payslips and details of employer and employee payslips. The return can be extended to 15 December, but the FBAR must be filed by 15 October.

Do I need to file the FBAR with only a few thousand pounds ever in the bank?


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Re: First time filing US taxes....
« Reply #8 on: January 25, 2018, 08:15:09 PM »
Do I need to file the FBAR with only a few thousand pounds ever in the bank?

It depends if you move your money around a lot.

£5,000 moved from one account to another equals a total of £10,000 so triggers the requirement to file fbar.

Also if you have signature authority over any other accounts, those count too.



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Re: First time filing US taxes....
« Reply #9 on: January 25, 2018, 08:21:14 PM »
Well, although I wish I had 10k or more anywhere...... I don't. I have a few hundred in a US account and a shared account here with my wife that is never over 3-4k on the best days.


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Re: First time filing US taxes....
« Reply #10 on: January 25, 2018, 08:40:35 PM »
Well, although I wish I had 10k or more anywhere...... I don't. I have a few hundred in a US account and a shared account here with my wife that is never over 3-4k on the best days.

For fbar, only your non US money is relevant. But if you moved your 4K from account -a to account -b and back again, that would equal 12 k and would trigger the requirement to file.


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Re: First time filing US taxes....
« Reply #11 on: January 25, 2018, 09:01:25 PM »
For fbar, only your non US money is relevant. But if you moved your 4K from account -a to account -b and back again, that would equal 12 k and would trigger the requirement to file.
This is why I am on UK YANKEE, without all the great knowledge and advice from everyone here I KNOW I would screw things Up!!!

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Re: First time filing US taxes....
« Reply #12 on: January 25, 2018, 09:33:07 PM »
This is why I am on UK YANKEE, without all the great knowledge and advice from everyone here I KNOW I would screw things Up!!!

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The FBAR report is very easy to do, online at FINCEN and is only a report. Even if you really have no need to file, if you are in any doubt then filing a report will set your mind at ease.

https://www.fincen.gov/report-foreign-bank-and-financial-accounts
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Re: First time filing US taxes....
« Reply #13 on: January 27, 2018, 05:46:13 PM »
By the time you file you will have lived overseas for well over a year so I would think you can claim the Foreign Earned Income Excemption and TT should prompt you and complete the FEIE form.

So to be eligible for the Foreign Earned Income Exemption, the time spent living abroad doesn't have to fit in a tax year, just a total of a year before you file? I'm wondering for my taxes next year because I'm moving in February, and I thought that I wouldn't be eligible for it. I'm probably going to spend 40-45 days in the US this tax year, but if you count early 2019 I would have been abroad for a year. Also I am still working in the US currently so I would still be liable for my taxes of what I made this month, right? This is all so confusing
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Re: First time filing US taxes....
« Reply #14 on: January 27, 2018, 08:20:20 PM »
So to be eligible for the Foreign Earned Income Exemption, the time spent living abroad doesn't have to fit in a tax year, just a total of a year before you file? I'm wondering for my taxes next year because I'm moving in February, and I thought that I wouldn't be eligible for it. I'm probably going to spend 40-45 days in the US this tax year, but if you count early 2019 I would have been abroad for a year. Also I am still working in the US currently so I would still be liable for my taxes of what I made this month, right? This is all so confusing

I believe that is the case but have not yet had to do that as we were retired when we moved back in 2016 and had no earned income. In 2017 our son moved back end of September and then had a job in England for the last 6 weeks. I believe that if he files for an extension to October he won’t have to pay the ACA mandate penalty for not having an ACA compliant plan for the whole year. (The NHS doesn’t count). I’m also hoping he can exclude that 6 weeks of UK income since he will have been more than 330 days out of the country by the time he files.

I’ve not tested it with TurboTax yet, but maybe one of the experts here can comment.
« Last Edit: January 27, 2018, 08:21:31 PM by durhamlad »
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