I am a UK citizen and I began a new employment with a UK company on January 1st 2016.
The company is a 100% US owned and after 12 months employment they applied for me to have an L1 visa so that I could work in the US for temporary periods of time for the year of 2017.
During 2017 I spent 96 days in the US, I have a very detailed log and receipts for all my trips. In 2016 I spent 8 days in the US and in 1 day in 2015.
I stayed on the UK payroll until Dec 31st 2017 and switched to the US payroll on Jan 1st 2018. I am now having Federal and State Tax deducted every pay check, so filing for the year of the 2018 will be straight forward.
During the UK financial year of 2017 I was present for less than 90 days and worked less than 30 days in the UK.
When not in the US or UK I spent the rest of my time in Canada, Asia and Europe.
I did obtain a US Social Security number in Feb 2017 as I needed this to get a US bank account and Michigan drivers licence.
I do not have a W-2 for the year of 2017 nor will I receive one since I was on the UK payroll.
I have no dependents and nothing to deduct.
I have a P45 from terminating my UK employment and I know I have overpaid tax which is straight forward to claim back but I am considering filing at P85 to claim back all UK income tax for 2017 since I was not present for more than 90 days/work more than 30 days. However, from reading IRS guidance it says even if you pass the Substantial Presence test you still need to maintain tax commitments in your home country.
Questions:
1. Should I file a 1040NR-EZ?
2. If yes, how to complete the income section if none of my income was US sourced.
2. Should I claim back all my UK income tax via a P85?
Any advice is greatly appreciated.
