# Never filed my taxes



## Renee236 (Apr 16, 2012)

Hi guys! Nice to see I'm not the only one who didn't know I needed to file taxes in the US (or an FBAR for that matter). I've been living in Europe since I was 7 y.o. now 35  
I don't want to exclude the option of ever moving back to the US, does anyone have any ideas on how to get started or should I just find a good accountant? I have been self-employed for the past 5 years. 
Thanks for your help!


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

Living overseas, you may not need to use an accountant to file your US taxes. If your earned income falls within the limits of the foreign earned income exclusion, the forms are relatively simple. 

Usually, the best thing to do is to start with the current year's filing. (This means the 2011 tax year, which is due June 15th.) On the IRS website (Internal Revenue Service) go to the Forms and Publications section and download Publication 54, which is for overseas taxpayers. For detailed information about how US taxes work, download Publication 17 (but be aware that much of the information contained in that one is far, far more than you need to worry about).

Once you have the current year's filing prepared and sent in, then start working on a few back filings. Strictly speaking, you should probably do 3 years (based on the statute of limitations for income tax filings). If these all show 0 or only small amounts due, you should be all right. 

There is a new filing requirement called the FATCA, which is for those with foreign financial accounts (bank accounts or investment assets) with a value greater than $200,000 (single) or $400,000 (for a married couple filing together). If you need to file this, (see the instructions in Pub. 17) you may want to go back 6 years because of the statute of limitations for these filings.

You can contact the IRS office in Paris for more information Internal Revenue Service | Embassy of the United States Paris, France They have links on that site to a number of very helpful publications.
Cheers,
Bev


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## Renee236 (Apr 16, 2012)

Thanks for your advice, I appreciate it. I looked in to the IRS site, but I couldn't really figure out which forms I need being self employed. It seemed to differ from the other ones. But honestly taxes are not my talent in any country! I'll try calling the overseas office.


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

Renee236 said:


> Thanks for your advice, I appreciate it. I looked in to the IRS site, but I couldn't really figure out which forms I need being self employed. It seemed to differ from the other ones. But honestly taxes are not my talent in any country! I'll try calling the overseas office.


There is self-employed and "self-employed" - the notion of self-employment in the US really is that you just hang up your sign and away you go. If your business is registered in the Netherlands and pays its own taxes, then you can usually handle your situation as if you were employed by your business and drawing a salary.

Don't know how the Netherlands works, but here in France, there are a number of different ways to register a business - and most of them count as being "employed" even if you are the only employee.
Cheers,
Bev


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