# USA Expat planning return to USA



## cletus (Jul 23, 2010)

Hi,

I am a US citizen living in Australia for the last 4 years and am planning my permanent move back to the US in 2015. In order to qualify for the foreign income exclusion for 2015, would I need to stay out of the US until December due to the 330 day rule? If I moved back say in July, would my australian income not pass the exclusion test? 

Thanks


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

If you're using the physical presence rule, that 330 day period is a rolling period - it does not all have to fall within a given calendar/tax year.

If you move back part way through 2015, you use the physical presence rule to qualify for the FEIE up to the day you depart Australia for the US. You must have been physically present outside the US for 330 days of the 12 month period ending with the day you leave Australia. But you will then get to exclude your income up to that "last day." (There are some technicalities about when you do or don't count the day you fly - but to keep it simple, just count backwards from your last full day in Oz.)
Cheers,
Bev


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## DavidMcKeegan (Aug 27, 2012)

Bev is absolutely right. An easier way to think about it would be if you moved in July 2015 back to the US, then in order to qualify for the FEIE you must have had 330 days outside the US from July 2014- July 2015. If that is the case then you will qualify.

Granted it will only be a pro-rated amount of the exclusion (based on the months you were actually abroad in 2015), but it is better than nothing 

I hope this helps and good luck with the move!


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## StewartPatton (Aug 5, 2014)

To claim the FEIE, your "tax home" (ie, center of economic activity) must be in a foreign country, and then you must also meet the physical presence test or the bona fide residence test. Once you permanently move back to the US, your tax home is in the US, so you can no longer claim the FEIE for income earned after that date (but you can still claim it for income earned during that tax year before that date as long as you satisfy the PPT or BRT up to that date).


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