# Filing US Tax Returns While Abroad



## meganf0412

Hi all,

Just wondering if any yanks have useful links or info for filing US taxes once in the UK?

This year I would assume mine will be pretty straightforward as most of the year I will have lived and worked in the States, but next year I'm a little unclear how I would go about filing UK income and bank accounts. Would I be able to use turbotax as I've been doing or will my case be too complicated now?

Just trying to think of all of this in advance in case I need to set anything up before I go!

Thanks in advance for the advice!


----------



## modzy78

meganf0412 said:


> Hi all,
> 
> Just wondering if any yanks have useful links or info for filing US taxes once in the UK?
> 
> This year I would assume mine will be pretty straightforward as most of the year I will have lived and worked in the States, but next year I'm a little unclear how I would go about filing UK income and bank accounts. Would I be able to use turbotax as I've been doing or will my case be too complicated now?
> 
> Just trying to think of all of this in advance in case I need to set anything up before I go!
> 
> Thanks in advance for the advice!


If your spouse isn't American or hasn't lived in the States, you can't use Turbotax. You need to give their SS number or Taxpayer Identification Number. You can make a note on the paper form that they don't have one (can't remember the exact abbreviation off the top of my head). But Turbotax won't accept that. If your taxes are straightforward, it's not difficult to fill out the paperwork on your own.


----------



## WestCoastCanadianGirl

HI. 

I've moved this to the Expat Tax branch, as you're likely to receive more replies/better help there.


Good luck to you.


----------



## Bevdeforges

It's actually not that complicated. Turbo Tax got removed from the list of software programs that can deal with "foreign" addresses but there are 6 or 8 others out there - mostly available in a free version. E-filing can be an issue but choose a tax program that allows you to print out your forms and you can mail them in no problem.

The IRS maintains an office at the US Embassy in London, but you may find more helpful information on the website of the IRS office in Paris (at the Paris Consulate). They normally publish a list of the online programs that will take a foreign address.

You say you will have spend "most" of the year in the US. If you're working in the UK since your arrival, you may want to take a look at IRS Publication 54 to see how to take the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion (form 2555) because, if you want to go that route, you may wind up filing for extensions so that you put off filing until you have completed a full year (i.e. 12 consecutive months) outside the US in order to take the FEIE. But we'll have more information on that in the coming months here on the forum.
Cheers,
Bev


----------



## meganf0412

Thank you for the replies and thank you westcoastcanadiangirl for moving this, I didn't know there was a specific area for taxes! 

I will take a look soon at how to e-file while abroad. Has anyone had luck with a particular e-filing site? My husband does not have a SS #, and we don't own a house or car, or have much other than our incomes that will be earned in the UK to declare so to speak, so really just looking for a free (or inexpensive) and quick way to file.


----------



## meganf0412

One other question!

Will I have to include my husband's income in my taxes? I assume I would have to list it, but will THAT income be taxed? As he's never been a US citizen and it was not earned in the US etc...


----------



## modzy78

meganf0412 said:


> One other question!
> 
> Will I have to include my husband's income in my taxes? I assume I would have to list it, but will THAT income be taxed? As he's never been a US citizen and it was not earned in the US etc...


I file as Married, filing separately. So I don't have to list my husband's income. That does mean I'm not eligible to declare my student loan interest. But, since I'm not earning any money in the US or otherwise earning enough to have to pay taxes, it's a moot point. If we were filing jointly, I think I'd have to declare his income and get him a taxpayer identification number. Since he's not a US citizen and has never worked over there, I don't think it's right to put him into the system.


----------



## meganf0412

modzy78 said:


> I file as Married, filing separately. So I don't have to list my husband's income. That does mean I'm not eligible to declare my student loan interest. But, since I'm not earning any money in the US or otherwise earning enough to have to pay taxes, it's a moot point. If we were filing jointly, I think I'd have to declare his income and get him a taxpayer identification number. Since he's not a US citizen and has never worked over there, I don't think it's right to put him into the system.


Thanks again for the help! In the past I've had very simple tax returns, so this is all new to me!


----------



## Bevdeforges

The site I've had pretty good luck on is TaxAct - in fact if you file as married, filing separately, they actually give you a box to check to indicate that your spouse is not subject to US taxation and has no ITIN (tax i.d. number). Now, when you e-file that, the IRS may not accept the e-filing, but as I said earlier, you can then just print off your forms and mail them in (which is what I did this past year).

On the IRS website, they also have a section for free e-filing that points you to a bunch of sites where you can e-file for free if you meet certain income and age levels. The advantage I've found with TaxAct is that you can prepare and file for free with them no matter what - as long as you aren't in need of their "customer service." And then, even if you do want a bit of hand holding, their prices tend to be well below the rest for minimal assistance. 

Filing separately, you don't have to declare any of your spouse's income. And as far as student loan interest - if you're working and taking the FEIE, you're probably not going to owe any tax anyhow, so the interest is kind of moot.

The only place where you NRA spouse comes into the picture is if you have joint accounts with your spouse and your total foreign bank balance is $10,000 or more (including the full balance of any joint accounts) then you will have to declare them on an FBAR filing. But that's strictly an informational filing - no taxes are involved.
Cheers,
Bev


----------



## meganf0412

Bevdeforges said:


> The site I've had pretty good luck on is TaxAct - in fact if you file as married, filing separately, they actually give you a box to check to indicate that your spouse is not subject to US taxation and has no ITIN (tax i.d. number). Now, when you e-file that, the IRS may not accept the e-filing, but as I said earlier, you can then just print off your forms and mail them in (which is what I did this past year).
> 
> On the IRS website, they also have a section for free e-filing that points you to a bunch of sites where you can e-file for free if you meet certain income and age levels. The advantage I've found with TaxAct is that you can prepare and file for free with them no matter what - as long as you aren't in need of their "customer service." And then, even if you do want a bit of hand holding, their prices tend to be well below the rest for minimal assistance.
> 
> Filing separately, you don't have to declare any of your spouse's income. And as far as student loan interest - if you're working and taking the FEIE, you're probably not going to owe any tax anyhow, so the interest is kind of moot.
> 
> The only place where you NRA spouse comes into the picture is if you have joint accounts with your spouse and your total foreign bank balance is $10,000 or more (including the full balance of any joint accounts) then you will have to declare them on an FBAR filing. But that's strictly an informational filing - no taxes are involved.
> Cheers,
> Bev



That is EXACTLY the info I needed! Unfortunately for us, there won't be savings of over $10,000 after all the visa/ lawyer fees this year, ha but feeling better about filing abroad now so a big thank you!


----------



## kat2014

So if you do have to file an FBAR does your spouse need a tax id number? 

Or can you just state their name or something on the form.... I really want to avoid having my husband report his income to the US too! He's never lived in the US!


----------



## Bevdeforges

kat2014 said:


> So if you do have to file an FBAR does your spouse need a tax id number?
> 
> Or can you just state their name or something on the form.... I really want to avoid having my husband report his income to the US too! He's never lived in the US!


You only need to name your NRA spouse on the FBAR form if you have a joint bank account to report. And if he has no US SSN nor ITIN, just give either his name or indicate "NRA spouse" where they ask for his name and leave the SSN number space blank (or indicate again "NRA spouse"). 
Cheers,
Bev


----------



## kat2014

Bevdeforges said:


> You only need to name your NRA spouse on the FBAR form if you have a joint bank account to report. And if he has no US SSN nor ITIN, just give either his name or indicate "NRA spouse" where they ask for his name and leave the SSN number space blank (or indicate again "NRA spouse"). Cheers, Bev


Ok Thanks! And yes it will be a joint account. I guess we could have separate accounts ... I guess we should talk more about this... They don't tax the account correct? It's just for the IRS records?


----------



## Nononymous

1) It's not reporting income, it's reporting bank balances.

2) No, it's not taxed.

3) Yes, you should discuss with your spouse. Your options are (a) separate accounts or (b) reporting joint account balances but not identifying the spouse (no SSN or ITIN, no reporting the name).


----------



## BBCWatcher

Option 3) (b) is not per the form's instructions. That'd be called "civil disobedience."

Personally I don't see the point in refusing to disclose what is generally public information anyway (one's spouse's name) especially when that spouse adores Facebook.


----------



## Nononymous

You could also list your spouse's name as "F.U. America" on the FBAR form (or "V.I. Lenin" perhaps) and give 666-666-666 as the SSN. I rather doubt anyone looks too closely. This would be mildly satisfying.


----------



## maz57

Nononymous said:


> You could also list your spouse's name as "F.U. America" on the FBAR form (or "V.I. Lenin" perhaps) and give 666-666-666 as the SSN. I rather doubt anyone looks too closely. This would be mildly satisfying.


While I admire your spunk Nononymous, I'm not sure its a good idea to provoke the beast. I'd be inclined to stick with Bev's NRA suggestion and leave it at that. (By the way, most folks believe NRA stands for Non-resident Alien but that's not true. It actually stands for Not Really American.)


----------



## Bevdeforges

maz57 said:


> While I admire your spunk Nononymous, I'm not sure its a good idea to provoke the beast. I'd be inclined to stick with Bev's NRA suggestion and leave it at that. (By the way, most folks believe NRA stands for Non-resident Alien but that's not true. It actually stands for Not Really American.)


Lord, most folks I know think that NRA stands for National Rifle Association...
Cheers,
Bev


----------



## QueenBcp

I just tried H&R Block online to get things started today and you do not have to enter a SSN for your spouse if he is not a US citizen. Just leave it blank and the next set of questions will prompt you for more information.


----------



## Bevdeforges

QueenBcp said:


> I just tried H&R Block online to get things started today and you do not have to enter a SSN for your spouse if he is not a US citizen. Just leave it blank and the next set of questions will prompt you for more information.


It may have changed since last year, but I was able to complete my tax forms using TaxAct without filling in a SSN or ITIN for my husband. However, when I went to e-file, the IRS would not accept the returns due to the lack of a SSN for my spouse. So I printed everything off and just mailed it in. (Always the fall-back position.)
Cheers,
Bev


----------

