Hi
I'm hoping someone can help me understand which forms I need to file. I'm USC living in the UK. Previously, I've always filed 1040 with 2555EZ and FBAR. I've never filed Scheduled B, because I haven't had any interested earned in my bank accounts.
I've had a look around today and have seen some posts say that this is correct, while others say you should always file Schedule B.
Reading the Schedule B, it does appear that it should be filled out even if no interest as there are questions regarding foreign accounts which then leads to FBAR. Have I understood this correctly, that this should always be included regardless of taxable interest?
This year, I've had £15 earned in a joint savings account. Going by some posts I've seen, I need to use the Gross amount, 15 * 1.20 (20% UK Tax) = 18.00. Since this is a joint account, do I use the full amount or am I ok to report half that?
I'm confused about form 1116. Some posts mention it while others don't. Do I need to fill out form 1116? Would I need to fill out 2 forms? One for interest earned on bank accounts (also being noted in Schedule B) and marking it as Passive, and another for General Income? I fall under the max income in the 2555ez, if that matters.
I have less than the allowed $200,000/$300,000 foreign assets so I know don't need to fill out form 8938.
I report my pension account on the FBAR, but do I need to do anything else with it?
I put in 6% of my monthly salary (before tax) and the funds are distributed between different investments such as cash, stocks and shares. Much the same as a 401k. At retirement when I withdraw the funds, I would then pay UK tax as if it were regular income and file US tax returns on that income as normal.
Assuming most are receiving employer contribution of 3% into a pension fund, what do you do with that? Are you filling out a different form, or including it as part of your income on the 1040? I can't touch it until I reach retirement age and could technically lose it all if the market crashes.
I assumed this would be similar to a 401k (at least when it was when I was last working in the States) where employers contributed to my 401k pre-tax, but at retirement (or if withdrawn sooner) the income would then be taxable. Basically, deferred income. I have seen some mention they are including it on their taxes, but this doesn't make sense to me since you can't physically spend it or turn it into US dollars now. Perhaps, I've misunderstood.
What about ISA accounts? I've been debating on opening one. The money going in would be after tax. But I don't know if it needs to be reported other than on the FBAR? My husband has an ISA and he often buys and sells shares within days of each other. I'm assuming if we did the same with mine, then I would have to report loss/gain for each transaction? Would I just use the standard 1040 with Schedule D for Capital gains/loss?
Am I missing anything else? Sorry for all the questions! Some of the posts are a bit confusing
I appreciate any help!
