# Taxes in the USA



## jjsmith (Sep 25, 2014)

Hi,

Here is my situation. I'm not a US citizen. I moved to US (California) in Aug-2013 from Dubai (became a resident). I'm here in the states on a work via. My question is around taxes on income I earned in Dubai.

Part of my salary in Dubai was commission. I got paid for my quarterly commission while I was in the United States. This money was earned while in Dubai, and gets paid at end of quarter (got paid in Sept while in the states, but earned during Dubai). 

Based on my filing, I had to report this amount as income. It seems unfair I pay taxes on money not earned in the states. Is there anyway around this?


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

For the most part, US taxation is cash-basis - i.e. you pay taxes based on when you received your income, not necessarily when you earned it. I'm not aware of any way to exclude this income, but perhaps someone with more experience with such things will have an idea.
Cheers,
Bev


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## BBCWatcher (Dec 28, 2012)

Practically every country taxes your worldwide income received while you're their resident, but you would receive a credit for the foreign income tax paid on that income. There's nothing at all unusual about that arrangement.

What is unusual is that the UAE doesn't (yet) have a general income tax.

Note that if that income was paid by a foreign employer, you do not pay U.S. payroll tax (self-employment tax, i.e. Social Security and Medicare tax) on that income. Only income tax. That's a significant tax break all by itself.


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