# Help complying with IRS and treasury department



## rayoo_1983 (Oct 9, 2016)

Hi

Im so glad i found this forum after along long search on the internet and before one of these accountants charge me 2500$ for paperwork. 

I have a dual American Saudi citizenship. I was born in USA from a saudi father and an American mother. 

I just lived my first 5 years of my life in the states then i moved to live in saudi fir the rest of my life. Im now 34 years old. 

I just heard of this FATCA thing when i went to my bank to update my account info. They asked me for my social security number and i gave it to them.

Now i never filed or disclose any of my info to the IRS nor treasury department. 

I wanna get comply with them. 

I went to some accountants referred by friends and the American consulate but they ask me for a big bill to do FBARS and Income tax return. 

They suggested that they will do the past 6 years FBARs and the last 3 Income tax return. And the asked for 2500$ to get this done which is insane. 

I downloaded all the forms from the IRS website. I found it so easy to fill out the FBAR it took me about 15 mins max. 

1040 was a little difficult due to terms I'm not familiar with. 

I don't know if i have to use 1040 or 1040ez. 

I don't know if i should attach schedule B or C. 

I don't know if i should file silently or do the streamlined program. 

Now here in saudi i work for a saudi company and i don't get w-2. Government wont tax tax in anything here. My bank account make no interests and never did. 

Im married to a saudi girl and have 2 kids and they are not American. Should i claim them as dependent on 1040. 

I hope you guy give me answers asap so i can get done with this and have peace in mind as its becoming to late to catch up. 

Thanks in advance.


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## rayoo_1983 (Oct 9, 2016)

I forgot to add i work since 2008 i have more that 10000$ every year but i never reached the 100k$ limit. 

I make about 35k $ a year

Should i use form 2555 or 2555ez. 

What can i use other than w-2 ans i dont get it here. 

Am i qualified to be a bona fide residence.


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## rayoo_1983 (Oct 9, 2016)

One more thing. 

I don't own a house i rent. 

I don't have a business here.


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

OK, your filing requirement should be fairly simple. Since you work, you want to use a form 1040 so that you can then take the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion. For that you need a form 2555 or 2555EZ (go for the EZ form here if you meet the requirements noted on the top of that form).

You don't need any sort of W-2 form. They pretty much have to take it on faith that you are reporting the "correct" amount of income (on line 7 of the 1040 and also on the form 2555 EZ). 

You'll have to file as "married, filing separately" since your wife and kids aren't Americans and don't have or need SSN or ITIN. Make sure you take a look at IRS publication 54 - it has much more than you need, but it explains the basics for filing from overseas.

Frankly, it's up to you whether to file the Streamlined Compliance route or just start filing and see if/when they come back to you about back filings. (The only penalty for filing "late" is a percentage of the tax due - so if you owe nothing, as you probably will, there is no penalty to pay.)
Cheers,
Bev


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## rayoo_1983 (Oct 9, 2016)

Bevdeforges said:


> OK, your filing requirement should be fairly simple. Since you work, you want to use a form 1040 so that you can then take the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion. For that you need a form 2555 or 2555EZ (go for the EZ form here if you meet the requirements noted on the top of that form).
> 
> You don't need any sort of W-2 form. They pretty much have to take it on faith that you are reporting the "correct" amount of income (on line 7 of the 1040 and also on the form 2555 EZ).
> 
> ...


thanks for the info

so can i claim my kids in my 1040 ???? or i cant because they aren't Americans

is schedule B required in my case???

and i find it weird as most of the 1040 lines aren't applicable for me.

if line 78 in 1040 has a number and not zero does that mean my work is wrong and i owe tax cause as fas as i know i don't owe due to how much i make in a year.


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

You need an ITIN for your kids in order to claim them - but if all your salary income is covered by the FEIE it really won't be worth the bother to get them the ITIN. 

You are supposed to include a Schedule B - though you can leave the top sections blank if they don't apply. It's the questions about your financial accounts that are "required" - though I have not heard of any serious repercussions if people have forgotten to include the Sched B.

I'm not at home so can't check what line 78 is - but unless you've got very significant "passive" income (i.e. interest, investments, other non-salary stuff) your net tax bill should be $0.
Cheers,
Bev


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## Nononymous (Jul 12, 2011)

One thing to note is that according to the timeline in your first post, your children are not US citizens, as you don't meet the rules for passing on citizenship. This will save them from a lifetime of US tax filing, which is a good thing. I'm not sure whether the fact of their non-citizenship changes your deductions - which don't really matter since your income is well below the FEIE exclusion - but it would mean that you can't attempt to actually be paid tax credits for them.

If you have no plans to return to the US you can of course simply choose to ignore the filing requirement, unless your bank has some requirement that you prove compliance. At your income you would owe no US taxes, and it sounds like your bank balances are low enough that there might be no FATCA reporting. The risks of non-compliance sound very, very low in your case. (That being said I admit to knowing nothing about how this might play out in Saudi Arabia; in Canada we've had assurances from our government that dual citizens will be protected from any US attempts to collect taxes, fines or penalties.)


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