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Did you file Form 2555 or Form 1116? Were you also required to file FBAR or Form 8938? About how much time did you spend on tax preparation yourself? If you u
by junar 5y ago
Did you file Form 2555 or Form 1116?
Were you also required to file FBAR or Form 8938?
About how much time did you spend on tax preparation yourself? If you used a paid preparer, how much did that cost you?
- hermannj314 5y agoI have no idea what form I used. I do know that I paper filed those years and it didn't cost me money, only time, a few evenings, reading IRS publications and googling 'expat taxes please help'.
- junar 5y agoThe reason I ask is because for the forms I mentioned, it's very easy to either make an error or fail to file a form you were required to. The fact that you mentioned "paper file" is a bit worrisome. You were required to file an FBAR if you had foreign accounts (such as bank accounts) totaling more than $10,000, and given your stated income, that seems likely. FBAR must generally be done electronically, and is a separate process from your tax return. https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/report-of-foreign-bank-and-financial-accounts-fbar https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employe...
- hermannj314 5y agoI appreciate this info. Normally, I found, when filling out a 1040 and walking through line by line, you are able to discover the forms you need and guide yourself quite easily. In the case of citizens living abroad, there is a publication as well that mentions everything, including all the forms and the FBAR you talk about. I found the process is quite discoverable and linear. Also - the FBAR did not apply to me based on how I moved my money back to my domestic account, the foreign account was a current account for local bills, its balance never exceeded $5k.