Foreign exclusion if in UK only part year?

I worked in the US from January through March 2005, and US taxes were deducted from my paycheck, as normal.

I moved to the UK in April, and started working there in July.

The IRS website says that I can only take the foreign exclusion if I lived in the UK for a full tax year.  For 2005, I will only have lived in the UK for 9 months.  Does this mean that when I file my 2005 taxes, I will have to pay US taxes on all the money I earned in the UK?  It seems that the US tax year is defined as January to December.

Since not everybody moves to another country on  1  January, there must be a way to deal with this.

For year 2004, I was only in the UK for three months, but for my 2004 taxes my accountant filed for an extension so that I would qualify for foreign earned income exclusion, though I don't think it has to be a tax year.

sweetpeach- my US accountant did the say thing for me. 

It has to be a 365 day period.  Depending on what method you choose, it can be a rolling or an entire year.  So April - April is fine. 

You can file either as bonafide resident, in which case you can return to the US for more than 35 days within that time frame, or on a physical presence test, in which case you can not have returned for more than 35 days.

If you meet the physical presence test, you can file your 2005 US tax return on or after April 30th (the end of the first rolling year). 

If you file as a bonafide resident, you can not file until January 2007, to allow one full calendar year to have elapsed.  If you use this method, you have to apply for a special extension (not the usual kind).  Your accountant should know about this form, if s/he doesn't, get an accountant with more foreign experience.

Enjoy living here!  I sure do.

I found the form for the foreign exclusion extension on the IRS website. Thanks.