So confused about taxes!

Hey everyone,

I just found this web site after I did a search for forums for Americans living in the UK.  I'm so glad there is a web site like this, I only moved here three months ago and I still feel kinda lost sometimes!!

Anyway, I know that I was supposed to file my taxes by today, but I spoke with someone from the IRS that told me I have until June since I live outside of the US.  I know that filing my taxes is something I'll still have to do every year while living here, but I have no idea what I'm doing.  I've never done my own taxes, I've always gone to get them done at places like H & R block...is there any way that I can get help doing my taxes while I'm living here, or am I always going to have to do them on my own?? I was trying to get through them yesterday, but I'm not sure if I was doing them right.  The way they explain things seems to be meant for people who already understand what they are doing!  And also, I was having a problem e-filing because of the foreign address.  Can anyone tell me what they have done in the past to get their taxes done? I don't want to be stressing about this every year.  I was also told that since I only made a little over $3,000 for 2010 (I only worked for a few months out of the year) that I don't even need to file, but still can because the IRS rep I spoke with believes that I have a return coming to me if I do. 

Sorry for blabbering on...I'm just freaking out a little bit since it's past the due date now and I'm not sure what to do.  Any help will be much appreciated! 

Thanks

First to clear up one major misconception, the normal deadline is April 15th, not April 1st. However, the IRS agent who advised you was indeed correct that your deadline is automatically June 15th, not April 15th, since you are outside the US. So you have plenty of time and you shouldn't be panicking.

Your first port of call should be some decent tax software that can walk you through the process and fill in all the forms for you. My personal opinion is that Turbotax is the easiest to use, but others may prefer another. Here are links to all the free tax software packages available: http://apps.irs.gov/app/freeFile/jsp/index.jsp.

If you need more time, any tax program should allow you to request an extension until October 15th electronically.

Note that only certain tax software will allow you to e-file your return with a foreign address. (Turbotax does not yet support this.) But whatever program you choose, it should offer you the option to generate a complete tax return that you can then print and mail.

You are not required to file at all if your total WORLDWIDE income is less than $8,950 (see here). If you have had tax withheld from a paycheck, you definitely should file so you can get back what you've overpaid. Additionally, there are a few "refundable" tax credits you may qualify for, which means you may effectively owe a negative amount of tax and the IRS pays you instead. There is no downside to filing an "optional" tax return and potentially quite a bit of upside.

You can indeed have your return prepared professionally, but with so little income and (I'm assuming) relatively uncomplicated financial affairs, professional tax services are probably not going to represent good value for you. I'd recommend you try the tax software and see how you get on.

Thanks so much for all of that info!  I don't know why I thought the deadline was the 1st..guess I was panicking for no reason!  It's nice to know that I have plenty of extra time anyway, since we get an automatic extension.  What a pain in the butt this is, to have to do this every year though.  Thanks for the links to the tax software, hopefully I'll find one of them much easier to use than the previous one I had been trying.  Whew!