2017 form 1040 online

Am I doing something wrong here I am trying to access the form online from the irs website and it only gives me the 2016 version ??

It's only the first week of January... the new form may not be out yet.  The IRS announced last week that the earliest you can file for 2017 is January 29th.

https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/2018-tax-filing-season-begins-jan-29-tax-returns-due-april-17-help-available-for-taxpayers

Thanks that must be it. For some reason I always thought I could file from January 1st !! 😁

Thanks that must be it. For some reason I always thought I could file from January 1st !! 😁

Not in any recent year. The President only signed the law on 22 December. Give the IRS time to draft all the forms...the return is not due until 15 June and can easily be extended until 15 December.

The 1040 for 2017 has appeared since yesterday:
https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1040.pdf

The instructions (including tax tables) are still from 2016, but at least I can make a start.

The 1040 for 2017 has appeared since yesterday:
https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1040.pdf

The instructions (including tax tables) are still from 2016, but at least I can make a start.

Even though the IRS have not yet published their official average rates for 2017 yet?

Annoyingly, I have access to my  1099s but have to wait until my ex-employer gets around to doing the W-2, otherwise I'd be finishing up my 2017 USA taxes now. I am able to use TurboTax and fill in a lot of the info, but since my last payment was by a paper check with no advice attached (from my vacation due) I can't tidy it up. I would really like to get the federal tax in ASAP, and then deal with the non-resident state tax. So the wonking big refund I'm due (I think) is here in time to hand over to HMRC.

At least it shouldn't be too long. I think they have to provide W-2 by Jan 31, correct?

Yes, Jan 31st is the deadline for the W2’s to be issued.

Even though the IRS have not yet published their official average rates for 2017 yet?

Yep, you don't have to use the IRS average rate:

"The Internal Revenue Service has no official exchange rate. Generally, it accepts any posted exchange rate that is used consistently."
https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/yearly-average-currency-exchange-rates

I'm using the rate published by the Bureau of the Fiscal Service that's used for the Foreign Bank Account Report:
https://www.fiscal.treasury.gov/fsreports/rpt/treasRptRateExch/currentRates.htm

Yep, you don't have to use the IRS average rate:

"The Internal Revenue Service has no official exchange rate. Generally, it accepts any posted exchange rate that is used consistently."
https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/yearly-average-currency-exchange-rates

I'm using the rate published by the Bureau of the Fiscal Service that's used for the Foreign Bank Account Report:
https://www.fiscal.treasury.gov/fsreports/rpt/treasRptRateExch/currentRates.htm

From the irs site you referenced

You must express the amounts you report on your U.S. tax return in U.S. dollars. Therefore, you must translate foreign currency into U.S. dollars if you receive income or pay expenses in a foreign currency. In general, use the exchange rate prevailing (i.e., the spot rate) when you receive, pay or accrue the item.

The FBAR rate you referenced is as of Dec 31st only which may be quite different from the date(s) you received the foreign income.

However, I don’t suppose the IRS will check the rate against the one used.

Yep, you don't have to use the IRS average rate:

"The Internal Revenue Service has no official exchange rate. Generally, it accepts any posted exchange rate that is used consistently."
https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/yearly-average-currency-exchange-rates

I'm using the rate published by the Bureau of the Fiscal Service that's used for the Foreign Bank Account Report:
https://www.fiscal.treasury.gov/fsreports/rpt/treasRptRateExch/currentRates.htm

Using a Treasury rate that purports to be a spot 31 December rate could not be accurate (unless all of your income was paid on 31 December).

Point taken. How long does it usually take the IRS to publish their average rates?

Point taken. How long does it usually take the IRS to publish their average rates?

By the end of January I think.  I've been receiving a UK pension for about 10 years and used to use the spot rate from XE.com each month my pension hit my bank. (XE.com is listed as a site to use by the IRS)

Then I discovered this official average rate and found that it is, for me, always in my favor to use the IRS official average rate.

That's because the IRS don't use Interbank rates.

Going in the other direction for pension, for HMRC can I use the bank transfer rate of when I actually moved my pension income from the USA to the UK every month, or should I log the rate on the date it was paid into my bank account? (I'm thinking the latter.)  Is it ok to use the rate on XE.com?