# E File from China?



## avotius (Mar 30, 2014)

Hello, new guy here. 

I have been living in China for many years now and working for a while as well.

Was listening to NPR the other day and there was something about American expats paying taxes and such, first I heard about it!

So now I am running the mine field of 2555's and 1116's FBAR and such.

However I see that there is the possibility of doing an E File however I have tried 3 different free tax services who allow foreign filing and addresses but whenever I try to add information like the address in English which wont fit or postal number here which is 6 digits I can only enter the American standard of 5 and asking their help people about it is worthless, one person from 1040.com actually replied to me saying "...all postal numbers are 5 digits everywhere in the world and our entry forms reflect that".

I decided to just download the forms and fill them in manually however now I don't know if I am doing it right (probably not) as it says I owe nothing in taxes. Maybe its right? Hell if I know. Only making a hair under 40k USD here so maybe.

Is there anyone out there who has E Filed from China successfully? Which company should I try? Did they charge you a lot of fees for the other forms you need to file along with the 1040?

Blarg.


Now if you don't mind, I going to go sit in the corner and go crazy.

Thanks

~A


----------



## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

Of all the free-file services, there are allegedly only 8 of them capable of dealing with foreign addresses. (And the IRS Free File Fillable Forms are NOT among that group.)

We've also had a couple folks report that Turbo Tax this year seems to be having trouble with foreign addresses, though this is unconfirmed.

Personally, I had pretty good luck with TaxAct (the free file site, even). Unless you're married to an NRA (non-resident alien), you should be able to prepare your returns and e-file them using the TaxAct free filing service (online or downloading the software to your computer). Even if you can't e-file for any reason, you can prepare your returns and print them off to mail in.

And if you run into any difficulty with the free file site for Tax Act going through the IRS Free File page, just google Tax Act and go directly to their public site. There is a free file option that is not subject to age or income restrictions that you should be able to use.

(No, I don't work for Tax Act, nor do I get any kick-backs for recommending them. They are simply the only free file site I have found that seems to work for us overseas taxpayers married to NRAs.)
Cheers,
Bev


----------



## avotius (Mar 30, 2014)

Ok thanks I will check it out. I saw there were not many free file sites that could take foreign addresses. You would think the IRS would want us to report and make it a bit easier than this mess!

Oh well, it is the government after all.


----------



## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

avotius said:


> Ok thanks I will check it out. I saw there were not many free file sites that could take foreign addresses. You would think the IRS would want us to report and make it a bit easier than this mess!
> 
> Oh well, it is the government after all.


It has been nearly 20 years since the IRS introduced e-filing, and for the first 10 or more years they specifically excluded overseas filers. For a while I relied on their pdf fillable forms - which you can fill in on your computer, but they don't do any of the math or anything for you. My rationale was that the print was so tiny, it at least made them work as hard as I had done to fill the things out.

There is an IRS office in Beijing, I think. Check their website (probably available through the US Embassy or Consulate website). The Paris IRS office usually has some good information for overseas filers. I would hope the Beijing office might have some information directed at filers in that part of the world.
Cheers,
Bev


----------



## avotius (Mar 30, 2014)

Thanks I will also check that out. I tried the pdf forms yesterday and I think I did everything right but I would still like to run things through one of these sites and make sure everything works out right because it says I dont owe anything in tax but I am not 100% sure I entered everything right.


----------



## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

I'd try Tax Act, but as long as your financial situation is pretty much straightforward - i.e. salary, maybe a little bank interest, and most investments in standard type accounts (i.e. no foreign trusts or other complex investments that would draw FATCA scrutiny) - it's more or less the norm not to owe any taxes. Yet another reason why it's such a pain that us overseas filers, filing "information returns" have been excluded from e-filing all this time.

Oh well - just think of it as your "annual love letter" to Uncle Sam.
Cheers,
Bev


----------



## avotius (Mar 30, 2014)

Yup I think I should be free from paying anything. There is nothing interesting about my financial situation, basic salary, savings account, thats about it.

Alright, I am trying the tax act however it is quite slow here, and I am looking at how to deal with the W2's which they dont have here. 

Anyho, thanks for the advice, it was helpful.

Bah...taxes...


----------



## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

For the W2s - scroll all the way down on the list of items you're given. There is a special form to use for "foreign employers" - I think it's called a FEC or something like that. Don't use the W2 to enter your foreign salary.

It took me some playing around to find the FEC thing to fill in in place of a W2, but once you find it, it works just fine.
Cheers,
Bev


----------



## avotius (Mar 30, 2014)

Ok I used TaxACT and was able to get all my tax stuff taken care of. As I expected I do not owe anything however at the end of process it said I would not be able to efile because: 

"To qualify for electronic filing your tax return must have at least one of the following included on the return. Taxable Income, Adjustments to Income, Tax Liability, Credits, Other Taxes, or Tax Payments."

...and I would need to mail in paper forms then gave me a pdf to print and mail. I guess because I dont owe any taxes on my income they cant efile. Oh well, at least this seems to be over for another year.

Thanks for all the help!


----------



## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

Did you declare your salary income in China? And then, either take the FEIE or the FTC? Because that should make you eligible to e-file.

It sounds from the error message you got that you perhaps didn't report your income items on your 1040, but maybe just on the 2555 and/or other forms.
Cheers,
Bev


----------



## avotius (Mar 30, 2014)

Yup I dont know why they wont let me efile. I have reported income, I have tax exclusions, I have gone through the TaxACT checking process and it doesn't show any errors just that I cant efile. Weird.


----------



## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

Don't feel bad - I have the opposite problem. TaxAct is perfectly happy to let me e-file, and I submit my tax returns to the IRS. Then, an hour or two later, the IRS rejects my e-filing due to my NRA spouse. So, I print them off, stick them in an envelope and mail them in.

Will try again next year.
Cheers,
Bev


----------



## avotius (Mar 30, 2014)

aaaahhh...that must be why it is not letting me file. My wife is a NRA as well, might be, I have gone over my return and cant figure out what could be wrong other than that.

I will mail them in tomorrow, ick.....its about 30 dollars to mail documents to the states from here in the middle of China.


----------



## BBCWatcher (Dec 28, 2012)

avotius said:


> I will mail them in tomorrow, ick.....its about 30 dollars to mail documents to the states from here in the middle of China.


China Post charges $30 to mail your tax form? Wow. I think I pay about $5 from Singapore, and that's for _registered_ airmail.


----------



## avotius (Mar 30, 2014)

Yup China Post has a flat fee of 180 yuan which is about $29.50 for the document envelope and a certain amount of weight though I have never gone over the weight. DHL is 220 yuan, and fedex was something like 245 which is about 40 dollars!


----------



## BBCWatcher (Dec 28, 2012)

Don't they offer ordinary registered airmail (first class mail) by weight? Singapore Post has fancy stuff too, but you don't need fancy for tax filings unless you're trying to beat a deadline. June 15 is the filing deadline if you're residing outside the U.S. and as long as you include a brief statement accordingly.


----------



## avotius (Mar 30, 2014)

Nope that is the normal cheapest for shipping outside the country. I know its outrageous. I once tried sending some baby clothes to my cousin in America....a shoe box sized package, was going to cost me 85 dollars.


----------

