tax help

this is a little early, but is there an h&r block type place in the UK where you can get help with your taxes?  being a dual US/swiss citizen using my Swiss citizenship to live in the UK.  I will have worked in the US for most of 2008 and the UK for the remainder, i don't even know where to begin with my taxes.  it would be great to go to an expert that could help me with all of this so i don't screw it up and end up in jail.   i tried searching on google, but haven't had any luck.  anyone have any advice??  thanks!

You shouldn't need to do anything about UK taxes - the amount taken out of your UK paycheque each month should be correct and if you think it isn't, you can give your tax office a call and they will correct it for you and send you a reimbursement cheque/give you tax credit on your future paycheques if necessary. If you are not working in the UK then you do not need to do anything in regards to UK taxes.

You will have to file US taxes though, the forms for which I am told you can download from the IRS (?) website (I am a British citizen who lived and worked in the US for 7 months of 2008 and so will need to file US taxes in April - although I'm kind of scared about doing it, having never needed to file taxes in my life and I've heard that US tax forms are very complicated!).

ksand, about US taxes, don't worry! There are ways to help simplify the process.

You'll have to file a federal and state tax return (unless you worked in a state that does not have an income tax...AK, NH, TN, FL, SD, WA, NV, TX, WY). You can do it online, too, which the IRS encourages, through a program called e-file.

If you made less than $54,000 last year, you are eligible to file your (federal) tax return for free. You go to the IRS website, choose a tax preparer from a list of companies the IRS provides, click on a special link to be taken to the provider's website, and file. You can use the same tax preparer for your state return, but the preparer may charge you a fee for that.

Here's the cool part. I used H&R Block, the company summerrhi was referring to, and they walk you through the entire process by asking you simple, plain-English questions. They then put your responses in the appropriate blank on the official IRS tax return form, which you can review before it is sent off. I had a good experience with them, although I'm sure the other companies listed are worth checking out, too.

Here is the link to the free file program: http://www.irs.gov/efile/article/0,,id=118508,00.html. It's not available for the 2008 tax year until 2009, but the information is all there.

Of course, you can download the proper tax return forms from the IRS website and fill them in yourself, but if you are looking for guidance, this is a good solution.

Good luck!

ksand, about US taxes, don't worry! There are ways to help simplify the process.

You'll have to file a federal and state tax return (unless you worked in a state that does not have an income tax...AK, NH, TN, FL, SD, WA, NV, TX, WY). You can do it online, too, which the IRS encourages, through a program called e-file.

If you made less than $54,000 last year, you are eligible to file your (federal) tax return for free. You go to the IRS website, choose a tax preparer from a list of companies the IRS provides, click on a special link to be taken to the provider's website, and file. You can use the same tax preparer for your state return, but the preparer may charge you a fee for that.

Here's the cool part. I used H&R Block, the company summerrhi was referring to, and they walk you through the entire process by asking you simple, plain-English questions. They then put your responses in the appropriate blank on the official IRS tax return form, which you can review before it is sent off. I had a good experience with them, although I'm sure the other companies listed are worth checking out, too.

Here is the link to the free file program: http://www.irs.gov/efile/article/0,,id=118508,00.html. It's not available for the 2008 tax year until 2009, but the information is all there.

Of course, you can download the proper tax return forms from the IRS website and fill them in yourself, but if you are looking for guidance, this is a good solution.

Good luck!

doubt that free file would let you report UK paid wages where there is no W-2 or handle the foreign earned income exclusion?