Do I need to report foreign income in the US?
Federal law requires U.S. citizens and resident aliens to report their worldwide income, including income from foreign trusts and foreign bank and other financial accounts.
Yes, if you are a U.S. citizen or a resident alien living outside the United States, your worldwide income is subject to U.S. income tax, regardless of where you live. However, you may qualify for certain foreign earned income exclusions and/or foreign income tax credits.
If you have worked overseas or in Australia for a foreign company, you will need to declare all such income. This may include: Salary and wages.
One of the main catalysts for the IRS to learn about foreign income which was not reported is through FATCA, which is the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act. In accordance with FATCA, more than 300,000 FFIs (Foreign Financial Institutions) in over 110 countries actively report account holder information to the IRS.
Filling in your tax return
Use the 'foreign' section of the tax return to record your overseas income or gains. Include income that's already been taxed abroad to get Foreign Tax Credit Relief, if you're eligible.
However, you may qualify to exclude your foreign earnings from income up to an amount that is adjusted annually for inflation ($107,600 for 2020, $108,700 for 2021, $112,000 for 2022, and $120,000 for 2023). In addition, you can exclude or deduct certain foreign housing amounts.
The IRS penalizes both failures to report and failures to pay and the penalties for reporting violations can be substantial. With this in mind, if you have failed to report your foreign-earned income to the IRS, this is an issue you will want to address proactively—before facing an IRS audit or investigation.
The maximum foreign earned income exclusion amount is adjusted annually for inflation. For tax year 2022, the maximum foreign earned income exclusion is the lesser of the foreign income earned or $112,000 per qualifying person. For tax year 2023, the maximum exclusion is $120,000 per person.
If you qualify, you can use Form 2555 to figure your foreign earned income exclusion and your housing exclusion or deduction. You cannot exclude or deduct more than your foreign earned income for the year.
Generally, any U.S. person holding an interest in specified foreign financial assets with an aggregate value exceeding $50,000 at the end of the tax year or $75,000 at any time during the tax year is required to report these assets on Form 8938. Specified foreign financial assets include: Foreign bank accounts.
How much foreign income can be excluded?
If you're an expat and you qualify for a Foreign Earned Income Exclusion from your U.S. taxes, you can exclude up to $112,000 or even more if you incurred housing costs in 2022. (Exclusion is adjusted annually for inflation). For your 2023 tax filing, the maximum exclusion is $120,000 of foreign earned income.
Since foreign accounts are taxable, the IRS and U.S. Treasury have a very rigid process for declaring overseas assets. Any American citizen with foreign bank accounts totaling more than $10,000 in aggregate, or at any time during the calendar year, is required to report such accounts to the Treasury Department.
If a foreign tax redetermination occurs, a redetermination of your U.S. tax liability is required in most situations. You must file a Form 1040-X or Form 1120-X. Failure to notify the IRS of a foreign tax redetermination can result in a failure to notify penalty.
Generally foreign source income received by a nonresident alien is not subject to U.S. taxation. Refer to Source of Income for more information.
- Alaska.
- Florida.
- Nevada.
- South Dakota.
- Texas.
- Washington.
- Wyoming.
Form 2555. You must attach Form 2555, Foreign Earned Income, to your Form 1040 or 1040X to claim the foreign earned income exclusion, the foreign housing exclusion or the foreign housing deduction. Do not submit Form 2555 by itself.
The US is one of the few countries that taxes its citizens on their worldwide income, regardless of where they live or earn their income. This means that American expats are potentially subject to double taxation – once by the country where they earn their income, and again by the United States.
Foreign earned income is income you receive for performing personal services in a foreign country. Where or how you are paid has no effect on the source of the income.
Generally, to meet the physical presence test, you must be physically present in a foreign country or countries for at least 330 full days during a 12-month period including some part of the year at issue. You can count days you spent abroad for any reason, so long as your tax home is in a foreign country.
Who Does Not Have to Pay Taxes? Generally, you don't have to pay taxes if your income is less than the standard deduction, you have a certain number of dependents, working abroad and are below the required thresholds, or are a qualifying non-profit organization.
Do US citizens have to report foreign real estate?
Selling Foreign Real Estate is Taxable (Capital Gains)
Therefore, when a US person owns a foreign rental property and sells that property, the rental property must be included on the US tax return using Schedule D and applicable spot rates for currency exchange translations.
If you are a U.S. citizen or a resident alien of the United States and you live abroad, you are taxed on your worldwide income. However, you may qualify to exclude from income up to $112,000 (for 2022) of your foreign earnings.
If you do not receive a W-2 form for your employment, or if you work for a foreign employer and therefore do not receive a W-2, you can file your taxes using Form 4852. Form 4852 is a substitute that taxpayers can use if they never received a W-2 (or if their W-2 is inaccurate).
If used correctly, the FEIE can help you save thousands of dollars on your US taxes. The maximum exclusion for 2024 is $126,500. If you're filing under the married filing jointly status and your spouse also meets the FEIE requirements, you can exclude up to $253,000 of your foreign income in 2024.
If you are a specified domestic entity, you satisfy the reporting threshold only if the total value of your specified foreign financial assets is more than $50,000 on the last day of the tax year or more than $75,000 at any time during the tax year.
References
- https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/foreign-earned-income-exclusion-what-is-foreign-earned-income
- https://www.investopedia.com/articles/personal-finance/102915/tax-implications-opening-foreign-bank-account.asp
- https://www.greenbacktaxservices.com/knowledge-center/taxes-no-w2/
- https://www.taxesforexpats.com/expat-tax-advice/foreign-income-exclusion.html
- https://www.hrblock.com/expat-tax-preparation/resource-center/income/foreign/foreign-earned-income-exclusion-for-u-s-expats/
- https://1040abroad.com/blog/foreign-earned-income-exclusion-for-us-expats/
- https://www.taxesforexpats.com/articles/tax-saving-strategies/double-taxation-how-it-works-and-ways-to-avoid-it.html
- https://www.gov.uk/tax-foreign-income/paying-tax
- https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/foreign-tax-credit
- https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/foreign-earned-income-exclusion-physical-presence-test
- https://www.hrblock.com/expat-tax-preparation/resource-center/filing/status/the-u-s-expats-guide-to-state-taxes-while-living-abroad/
- https://tax.thomsonreuters.com/blog/foreign-asset-reporting-and-form-8938-explained/
- https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/figuring-the-foreign-earned-income-exclusion
- https://www.goldinglawyers.com/how-does-the-irs-know-i-didnt-report-my-foreign-income-or-accounts-golding-golding/
- https://www.investopedia.com/financial-edge/0411/5-groups-that-dont-pay-taxes.aspx
- https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i8938.pdf
- https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/frequently-asked-questions-about-international-individual-tax-matters
- https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-2555
- https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/foreign-earned-income-exclusion
- https://www.thorntaxlaw.com/blog/what-if-i-didnt-report-foreignearned-income-on-my-federal-return/
- https://www.goldinglawyers.com/do-u-s-citizens-americans-report-foreign-real-estate/
- https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/nonresident-aliens-exclusions-from-income
- https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/foreign-earned-income-exclusion-forms-to-file
- https://ngm.com.au/declaring-foreign-income-in-australia/