First time filing from abraod

Hello all,

I've been in the UK for 10 years now and only recently found that US citizens must file income tax returns on our overseas income.

I've collected all the forms I need for my situation, including P60's from my employer.

The P60's run from April to April, however form 1040 wants information based on a calendar year; January 1 to December 31.

What's the best way of accurately completing the 1040 given the different period from the P60?

You just figure it out.  You don't need to mail in any supporting documents about your income, so I knew what I was paid on a yearly basis and that is what I used. 

Thank you for your reply.

Sounds like a winner as they don't need the P60 for verification.

Just to make certain, you enter the figure on your P60 converted into USD on the 1040 and ignore the dates?

Thanks again. 

No, sorry.

I figure out what I would have made from January-Dec and enter that on the 1040 based on the unofficial exchange rate from the Embassy website.   

What's the best way of accurately completing the 1040 given the different period from the P60?

Sorry to sound difficult about this, but the best (and correct) way is to ignore the P60. Assuming you're not paid only once a year, but monthly/weekly, spend some time now digging through all those records to find out the correct amount for each calender year (Jan 01-Dec 31). It makes things simpler in the future if you intend to continue filing yearly 1040 returns. (Well, it's never simple with the US and UK tax year differences! In fact, it's a pain.) Then use the yearly unofficial exchange rate for each year. And don't forget things like interest, dividends, etc.

Then check out the requirements for the FBAR reporting.

Xpost with bookgrl

Since you will be quietly filing you may want legal advice as to whether a noisy voluntary disclosure would suit you better.

The IRS are aware that quiet filings have mostly not been audited/examined to date - so you may just legal advice before filing to protect you from civil or criminal penalties.

Thanks for the help everyone.