# US Tax exemption



## Powka (Dec 17, 2012)

Hello everyone,

This is the time of yeah, and I probably need to start thinking about filling in the tax forms.

I'm a green card holder and I've been working outside of US for the past year. I qualify for Bone Fide/tax exemption, and I was wondering -- *what forms do I need to fill out and send to IRS*? I know there were two of those forms, but I can't remember and whatever I find I'm not sure about.

Thank you for any help.


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## Powka (Dec 17, 2012)

Correct me if I'm wrong. For US tax exemption, do I only need to fill out IRS form 2555EZ, if I satisfy bonafide and physical presence test + all conditions for 2555EZ form? This way I wouldn't need to fill in the 2555. And is 2555EZ the only form that I need to send to IRS for tax exemption?

I can confirm that I satisfy all of these conditions: _The IRS allows expatriates to use Form 2555EZ to claim the foreign exclusion only if the income you earn abroad is from employment, you don’t have any additional self-employment income, you are a citizen or legal resident of the U.S., your total earnings abroad don’t exceed the maximum foreign income exclusion that applies to the tax year, you don’t report any housing or moving expense deductions and you cannot, or choose not to claim the foreign housing deduction or exclusion.
_
Any help? Thanks!


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

You claim the foreign earned income exclusion on form 2555, but you can't file a 2555 (or 2555EZ) without filing a regular 1040, too. If you have $10,000 in foreign bank accounts, you should probably file a Schedule B, too - if only to check the box at the bottom of the page saying that you have over $10,000 in foreign bank accounts. (You'll then need to file the so-called FBAR forms, which go to a separate address in Detroit.)

All of this is explained in IRS publication 54, which you can download from the IRS website.
Cheers,
Bev


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