Tax year question Lived/Worked in UK/US last year.

I have a question about how to do my taxes since I lived and worked in the UK for the first part of 2024, moved to the US, and got a job here for the last half of the year. I have been claiming the Foreign Tax Exemption previously and have prepared and filed my taxes for the past several years. I am certainly no tax expert, so this year, I am stuck on how to go about putting both situations/paychecks on my 2024 tax return. Can I still claim a Foreign Tax Exemption for last year?

My return is very straightforward. I have no dependents, am filing single, and have no assets to speak of, although I did receive a lump sum divorce settlement, so I suppose that will need to be added on there somewhere.

If anyone has any tips or advice, I would greatly appreciate it. Or if I am better off biting the bullet and paying a tax preparer this, you can say that too!

Thanks in advance 

I’m not a tax pro but I don’t believe there is any reason that you cannot continue to use the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion to exclude the income from your UK job during the first part of the year. The income from your US job will be reported in the usual way with a W2.

I am assuming that when you say Foreign Tax Exemption that you are referring to the FEIE, using form 2555, rather than foreign tax credits using form 1116.

I am assuming that when you say Foreign Tax Exemption that you are referring to the FEIE, using form 2555, rather than foreign tax credits using form 1116.

Thank you for your response, I appreciate it. I am referring to the FEIE. The documentation on the IRS website is clear as mud about this topic for me, but It seems to say if I have not lived in a foreign country for an entire tax year, I cannot claim bona fide residence or pass the physical presence test, which would render me ineligible for the FEIE. But that rule is worded vaguely, and I am not sure if that means it has to be the entire year of 2024 or an entire year previous to the end of my residence in the UK.

Thank you for your response, I appreciate it. I am referring to the FEIE. The documentation on the IRS website is clear as mud about this topic for me, but It seems to say if I have not lived in a foreign country for an entire tax year, I cannot claim bona fide residence or pass the physical presence test, which would render me ineligible for the FEIE. But that rule is worded vaguely, and I am not sure if that means it has to be the entire year of 2024 or an entire year previous to the end of my residence in the UK.

I think you have a good point there. I believe the best recourse will be to use a foreign tax credit, form 1116, to claim back any UK tax you have paid on that income.

I was in a similar situation to you where I had spent a part year working in the U.K and U.S. I had also spent previous years working in the U.K. I continued to file 2555 as I was a resident of the U.K at the time. The exemption worked out on a pro rata basis. Ultimately I was able to exclude all foreign income.

Thanks for the advice, I appreciate it!