Pesky Taxes

For anyone reading this that is an American and lives abroad and is wondering about how to pay The Man, here is some advice: First, if you reside abraod, you automatically quallify for a two-month extension to June 15th. You do not need to fill out a form for this, but you WILL incur interst on any taxes you owe from the April 15th due date (GRRRRRR).

In order to qualify for tax benefits and not be double-taxed etc., you need to meet one or sometimes both of these tests:

Bona Fide Residence Test

Physical Presence Test

The first proves that you have resided in your foreign country for a full tax year and have set up permanent residence (you have an alien card, apartment, bank account, etc.)

The second is a total amount of days (these can be throughout an interrupted period of a year) that you have been abroad (a little over 300 days).

If you are like me and spent half the tax year in the states, have no fear. You can qualify for an extension so that when you file, you will have been in the country long enough to pass your tests. For some unknown reason, the IRS is remarkably cool about this.

Download the free and extrememly helpful guide for American citizens living abroad off of the IRS website...it really helps. And no, the Embassy cannot and will not answer your questions except when they have an IRS representitive available on very specific days and times.

Link to Tax guide for American Citizens Abroad:

http://www.irs.gov/publications/p54/index.html

Bonne Chance!