# Can I E-file My Taxes From UK?



## meganf0412 (Mar 11, 2014)

Hi all,

Sorry for any repeat questions but I'm starting to think about filing my US tax return for the year and a bit unsure where to start.

I am American and worked in New York and Vermont until October, when I moved to the United Kingdom permanently to be with my husband who is British. 

I have worked a little since being here and have earned a couple thousand over here, but nothing substantial. 

My husband has never had a US Social Security number.

With all of these things in mind... where do I start? I have always used TurboTax but am aware I can not do that. I was told I could e-file elsewhere but am not sure if I can since my husband has no Social Security number and all of his income has always been earned in the United Kingdom. 

Any help is appreciated!


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## BBCWatcher (Dec 28, 2012)

You can still use TurboTax if you'd like. You just may have to file by postal mail, that's all. That still works perfectly fine, and the U.K. has post offices.

First of all I would recommend you file for an automatic extension until October 15 using IRS Form 4868. Your 2014 tax return will then be due at the IRS on October 15, 2015. Why? Well, it'll help you hit the 12 month mark for your overseas residence, or at least come very close, by the time you file. For certain technical reasons that could be useful. It doesn't extend the time required to settle your last tax payment if you still owe anything. Your outstanding tax balance, if any, for tax year 2014 is still due at the IRS on June 15, 2015. (It's June 15 because you live overseas.)

Your husband doesn't need a Social Security number or ITIN just because you may have to file, so don't worry about that. He'll only need an ITIN if he elects to file a joint U.S. tax return with you (Married Filing Jointly). If you plan to file Married Filing Separately, he's already done.

You'll either file part year or nonresident tax returns with New York and Vermont. They may have slightly different deadlines and extension request procedures.

Check to see whether you now have a FinCEN Form 114 ("FBAR") filing requirement. That must be e-filed, and the 2014 report is due June 30, 2015, with no extensions. If you are required to file that you can get it out of the way in January -- it's quick and unrelated to anything else.

One "interesting" decision to make is whether you'll take the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion or not in your 2014 tax return. I'm thinking not from your description since you've set yourself up well for the Foreign Tax Credit only path with your modest 2014 U.K. income, and that's often a good approach for U.K. residents.

I'll stop there for now with those preliminaries. Is there any particular direction you'd like to take in terms of further advice at this stage?


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

There is no reason you can't e-file from the UK - though it may depend on some of the options you choose in preparing your return.

Turbo Tax works perfectly well for this. (If you know what you're doing and you qualify, you may even be able to e-file for free under the IRS free-file program. Check the IRS website around the end of January for more information on that.)

As BBC has already said, your husband does not need a SSN nor an ITIN unless he is subject to US taxation for some reason. Your first "port of call" for information on filing from overseas should be to download and skim thoroughly IRS publication 54, which outlines the process for delaying your filing deadline until you have completed 12 consecutive months of living overseas, and thus you can take the FEIE for any earnings you may have had from the UK since your arrival. (For your 2014 filing, this is probably going to be loads easier than going the FTC route, if only because of the mismatch between the US and UK tax years.)

Don't hesitate to come back when further questions pop up.
Cheers,
Bev


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## BBCWatcher (Dec 28, 2012)

Bevdeforges said:


> For your 2014 filing, this is probably going to be loads easier than going the FTC route, if only because of the mismatch between the US and UK tax years.


Disagree, Bev. There is "probably" _neither_ a Form 2555 nor a Form 1116 to fill out for tax year 2014 in this situation. That'd be easier. The original poster has "probably" timed her move quite well.

But even if trading Form 2555 for Form 1116 is on the table, so what? Both are easy in TurboTax. Sometimes/often Form 1116 is easier than tracking and counting days, filing for extensions (though I'd do that anyway), etc.

This is a longstanding pet peeve of mine, mostly because I got bad advice on this point in the past and lost quite a bit of money.


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

If the OP has only just moved to the UK in the final couple of months of the year, and has not yet paid much (if anything) in UK taxes, it is probably easier to just hold off reporting until she has met the physical presence test (filing the appropriate requests to extend the filing deadline) and then simply exclude the UK income for those couple of months of 2014. 

After the end of the tax year in the UK (April 5th, I believe it is), she'll have a clearer idea of what taxes she and her husband have paid, and she can use that figure to decide how to handle the FEIE/FTC decision for 2015. (Technically speaking, the US is on a cash basis, so tax paid in April 2015 is deductible/creditable against her 2015 filing.) 

The other factor to consider is how to split the joint UK tax bill into "his" and "her" portions for use on her US tax return. While it's too bad you lost "quite a bit" of money in the past, for most of us the decision is essentially between two different ways of getting to - 0 - taxes due on the US return.
Cheers,
Bev


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## meganf0412 (Mar 11, 2014)

Thanks to you both for the advice! A little more about me if it helps as you both seem to disagree on the right course of action. 

I was only temping in the US last year and my income was minimal to say the least. I worked in NYC on an hourly rate of $14 for a month at best, and in Vermont at a rate of $12.60 for about a total of 7 months on and off. 

Then I moved to the UK and have only been temping. My total income in the UK was probably under 2K. 

I have nothing else to claim other than income for 2014.

All that in mind, what would you advise? If I can e-file I would much rather do that as money is tight and I honestly have minimal income and just want to get this out of the way.


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## BBCWatcher (Dec 28, 2012)

So by my math your gross earned income was approximately $18800. Let's round up to $19000 to account for a small amount of bank interest, for example. Is that about right?

Before getting too far ahead here, a few more questions. Do you have any dependent children? Did your spouse have more income in 2014 than you did, or did he have something equal to or close to zero? (Ballpark estimate is sufficient.) Did you maintain health insurance coverage in 2014 while you were a U.S. resident? Did you make any IRA contributions for 2014, or do you plan to (before April 15, 2015)? What do you expect your U.K. earnings to be in 2015 (approximately)?

By the way, my disagreement with Bev is in making a conclusion from afar. I simply advocate calculating your taxes both with and without the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion (FEIE), and I make no presumption either way. Sometimes it makes sense to take it, sometimes not. _Provisionally_ my best guess, for what it's worth, is you'd save about $200 by taking the FEIE in 2014 versus not, but I would still recommend running the calculation both ways, and not just in 2014. You have tax preparation software, and that's exactly what it's for, to help you decide the best path for your circumstances.

One of the most interesting questions is how much U.K. income tax you'll pay in 2015, if any. The current U.K. tax year runs until April 5, 2015, so you'll settle up by October, 2015. Whatever that total amount is (less refunds) becomes eligible as a Foreign Tax Credit on your 2015 U.S. tax return -- and creditable back one year in your U.S. 2014 return. So the best course of all might be to take a "wait and see" until you get a clearer idea of how much income tax you're paying to the U.K. next year (for their current tax year), and (yes, as mentioned before) to file for that automatic extension to stretch the deadline for your U.S. tax filing to October 15. (But not the deadline for your tax owed, if any -- be sure to settle that up by June 15. But probably you have very little to settle up, if anything.)


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## meganf0412 (Mar 11, 2014)

Thank you for the reply! 

That's about right for an estimated income. I have no children or dependents. My husband earned roughly £22,000 GBP last year, and is now on a salary of £24,600 GBP for this year. I recently acquired a permanent position and estimate I will make roughly £25,000 GBP in the year to come.

I did have health insurance for part of the year under my step fathers plan, but I did not pay for that. No IRA contributions made or planned. My student loans are all deferred until next fall.


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## BBCWatcher (Dec 28, 2012)

OK. To clarify, you had health insurance through your step father's plan for the time you were a U.S. resident (at least), correct? If not, how long in 2014 were you without coverage? (This is really a separate question about your possible liability for the non-coverage tax penalty, a new feature in tax year 2014.)

For the record, it would likely be in the household's financial interest to file a joint (Married Filing Jointly) U.S. tax return. Yes, he can do that if he wishes -- it's something called a "Section 6013(g) Election." Note that you cannot deduct your student loan interest on your U.S. tax return when you're Married Filing Separately, if that's what you were thinking of. But that may not matter much or at all by the time you go into repayment.

OK, £25,000/year combined with your $2K in U.K. temp earnings to date means you're probably not going to pay any U.K. income tax during the current (still running) U.K. tax year. It's looking like taking the FEIE will be a better choice for you. But even if that ends up being the right choice this year when you run the numbers both ways, don't assume it's the right choice in future years. "It depends." Also make sure you understand that you cannot flip back and forth between taking and not taking the FEIE -- the IRS limits the flips.

Good luck!


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