On Tue, 1 Jul 2008 12:19:25 EDT, "removeps-groups[at]yahoo.com"
<removeps-groups[at]yahoo.com> wrote:

- quote -


2009 is a separate year. What happens then depends on the facts for
that year. You do not use the 2008 calculation to figure the tax in
2009. For 2009, he either qualifies as a bona fide resident or uses a
new 12-month period.

Lanny K. Williams, CPA
Nawarat, Williams & Co., Ltd.
Income Tax Services for Expatriate Americans

--
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On Jun 28, 3:28 pm, L K Williams <la...[at]loxinfo.co.th> wrote:

- quote -

If he's out of the country for all of 2009 as well, does get get to
claim only 1/12 or 100% of the 2009 annual exclusion?

--
<< ------------------------------------------------------- > << The foregoing was not intended or written to be used, > << nor can it used, for the purpose of avoiding penalties > << that may be imposed upon the taxpayer. > << > << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting posts > << to this newsgroup as well as our anti-spamming policy > << are at www.asktax.org. > << Copyright (2007) - All rights reserved. > << ------------------------------------------------------- >

On Sun, 29 Jun 2008 17:33:42 EDT, Katie <katiej_1958[at]yahoo.com> wrote:

- quote -

Thanks for your reply, Katie!

--
<< ------------------------------------------------------- > << The foregoing was not intended or written to be used, > << nor can it used, for the purpose of avoiding penalties > << that may be imposed upon the taxpayer. > << > << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting posts > << to this newsgroup as well as our anti-spamming policy > << are at www.asktax.org. > << Copyright (2007) - All rights reserved. > << ------------------------------------------------------- >

On Sun, 29 Jun 2008 12:12:52 EDT, L K Williams <lanny[at]loxinfo.co.thwrote:


- quote -

Mr. Williams,

Yes, now it's clear. Thank you very much! It seems that your previous
reply did not arrive to my newsgroup server. Do you or any of your
affiliates have an office in Houston?

--
<< ------------------------------------------------------- > << The foregoing was not intended or written to be used, > << nor can it used, for the purpose of avoiding penalties > << that may be imposed upon the taxpayer. > << > << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting posts > << to this newsgroup as well as our anti-spamming policy > << are at www.asktax.org. > << Copyright (2007) - All rights reserved. > << ------------------------------------------------------- >

On Jun 29, 7:15*am, Alex <a...[at]netropolis.net> wrote:
- quote -


Alex, under the laws of most states, each spouse's income and property
belong to that spouse, subject to certain rights on the death of a
spouse or dissolution of the marriage. These are separate property
states. By contrast, 9 states (including Texas) treat property
received by either spouse during the marriage as property of the
marital community, Property acquired during the marriage with
community funds is community property.

Since you are domiciled in Texas, a community property state, in the
absence of a prenuptial agreement to the contrary, all of your current
earnings belong 1/2 to you and 1/2 to your wife, and vice versa. In
addition, income from property accumulated during your marriage is
community income, and I believe under Texas law, income from separate
property (e.g., property either spouse owned before the marriage that
has not been commingled with marital property, or property received by
one spouse by gift or inheritance and not commingled) is also
community income.

However, since Texas has no individual income tax, you have nothing to
worry about with respect to state taxes. The community property rules
would affect you, however, if you and your spouse were to file
separate federal income tax returns, or if (perish the thought) your
marriage were dissolved.

Katie in San Diego

--
<< ------------------------------------------------------- > << The foregoing was not intended or written to be used, > << nor can it used, for the purpose of avoiding penalties > << that may be imposed upon the taxpayer. > << > << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting posts > << to this newsgroup as well as our anti-spamming policy > << are at www.asktax.org. > << Copyright (2007) - All rights reserved. > << ------------------------------------------------------- >

On Sun, 29 Jun 2008 10:15:31 EDT, Alex <alex[at]netropolis.net> wrote:

- quote -

I thought I had answered the question.

But, since my answer was not understood, I'll try again.

Again, i'll repeat my warning that you are not eligible for the
exclusion if you are employed by the US government. If you work for a
private contractor, under contract to the government, you can claim
the exclusion.

The physical presence rule, which is what you are asking about, says
that you must be "physically present" in one or more foreign countries
for a period of 335 days during " any twelve-month period." Generally,
this would begin on the day after you leave the US and end one year
later. So, if you went overseas on February 1, the 12-month period
begins on February 2 and ends on February 1 of the following year.
Spend 335 days outside the US (this does not have to be in just one
country) and you meet this requirement.

If you meet the requirements above, your maximum exclusion is
pro-rated between the two years. You can claim up to 11/12 of the
maximum in the first year. Remember, it is the maximum allowable
exclusion that is allocated, not the actual earnings. So, if you earn
less than about $79,000 (the actual amount would depend on the exact
dates) you would still be able to exclude 100%.

In the second year, you would not have to use the same 12-month
period, so the computations would be different.

Does this make it clear?

Lanny K. Williams, CPA
Nawarat, Williams & Co., Ltd.
Income Tax Services for Expatriate Americans

--
<< ------------------------------------------------------- > << The foregoing was not intended or written to be used, > << nor can it used, for the purpose of avoiding penalties > << that may be imposed upon the taxpayer. > << > << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting posts > << to this newsgroup as well as our anti-spamming policy > << are at www.asktax.org. > << Copyright (2007) - All rights reserved. > << ------------------------------------------------------- >

On Sat, 28 Jun 2008 19:50:48 EDT, Katie <katiej_1958[at]yahoo.com> wrote:


- quote -

Katie,
I live in Texas where there's no state income tax. I did not quite
understand what did you mean under "community property state" -
perhaps "community property estate"? We live in the rented apartment,
my wife keeps paying the rent, so I don't expect any problems in that
direction. I only wish someone would answer my original question.
Several people in our team in Baghdad (that's where we're located) are
also first-time expats like myself and are waiting for some guidance
in this respect. I hope that Mr. L.K. Williams or someone else who is
qualified and knowledgeable in this field will find time to answer my
original question.

Alex
Baghdad, Iraq

--
<< ------------------------------------------------------- > << The foregoing was not intended or written to be used, > << nor can it used, for the purpose of avoiding penalties > << that may be imposed upon the taxpayer. > << > << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting posts > << to this newsgroup as well as our anti-spamming policy > << are at www.asktax.org. > << Copyright (2007) - All rights reserved. > << ------------------------------------------------------- >

On Sat, 28 Jun 2008 23:53:14 EDT, John Levine <johnl[at]iecc.com> wrote:

- quote -


No, you cannot claim the exclusion based on expectation. If you file
your return, claiming the exclusion before you qualify, IRS will
disallow the exclusion and assess the additional tax. You can request
an extension good until 30 days after you expect to qualify or file
your return without the exclusion and then amend it when you do.

Lanny K. Williams, CPA
Nawarat, Williams & Co., Ltd.
Income Tax Services for Expatriate Americans

--
<< ------------------------------------------------------- > << The foregoing was not intended or written to be used, > << nor can it used, for the purpose of avoiding penalties > << that may be imposed upon the taxpayer. > << > << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting posts > << to this newsgroup as well as our anti-spamming policy > << are at www.asktax.org. > << Copyright (2007) - All rights reserved. > << ------------------------------------------------------- >

- quote -

Can you claim the exclusion if you expect to be away for 335 days? I
currently live in the US but expect to move to another country around
September 1, and don't expect to be spending 30 days/yr in the US.

When I file my 2008 taxes, can I claim the exclusion for 4/12 of 2008
even though I haven't been out of the country for 330 days yet?

R's,
John

--
<< ------------------------------------------------------- > << The foregoing was not intended or written to be used, > << nor can it used, for the purpose of avoiding penalties > << that may be imposed upon the taxpayer. > << > << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting posts > << to this newsgroup as well as our anti-spamming policy > << are at www.asktax.org. > << Copyright (2007) - All rights reserved. > << ------------------------------------------------------- >

On Jun 28, 2:51*pm, Alex <a...[at]netropolis.net> wrote:
- quote -


Alex, be sure you have checked into your state income tax status as
well. Not all states conform to the foreign earned income exclusion,
and depending on the laws of your state, you may continue to be taxed
as a resident during your absence. In addition, if your domicile is
in a community property state, your wife (who remains a resident) may
be subject to tax on her community 1/2 of your foreign earnings.

You may already have determined your state tax status, but I brought
it up just in case.

Katie in San Diego

--
<< ------------------------------------------------------- > << The foregoing was not intended or written to be used, > << nor can it used, for the purpose of avoiding penalties > << that may be imposed upon the taxpayer. > << > << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting posts > << to this newsgroup as well as our anti-spamming policy > << are at www.asktax.org. > << Copyright (2007) - All rights reserved. > << ------------------------------------------------------- >

On Sat, 28 Jun 2008 17:51:17 EDT, Alex <alex[at]netropolis.net> wrote:

- quote -


I hate to be a spoil sport, but the first sentence of your post
indicates that you are not eligible for the exclusion. If you are an
employee of the US government, the foreign earned income exclusion is
not available to you. Only non-government people qualify. If you are
an independent contractor, then you would be OK buy you would still
owe self-employment tax on your earnings.

The rule on physical presence is that you must be physically present
in one or more foreign countries for 335 days out of any 12-month
period. Note that phrasing - any 12-month period. So, in your case,
the maximum exclusion would be 11/12 of $86,400 for one year and 1/12
for the second year. You claim the exclusion on two tax returns.

The exclusion is individual, not joint, so you qualify even if your
spouse does not.

Lanny K. Williams, CPA
Nawarat, Williams & Co., Ltd.
Income Tax Services for Expatriate Americans

--
<< ------------------------------------------------------- > << The foregoing was not intended or written to be used, > << nor can it used, for the purpose of avoiding penalties > << that may be imposed upon the taxpayer. > << > << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting posts > << to this newsgroup as well as our anti-spamming policy > << are at www.asktax.org. > << Copyright (2007) - All rights reserved. > << ------------------------------------------------------- >

Greetings,

I started working as an expatriat for the US government agency on
February 1 this year. I was on vacation in the US for 21 days,
including the flying time to and from the country. I realize that in
order to claim the tax exemption on first $80,000 or so of the gross
income I have to be outside of the US for at least 330 days. My
question is, how this time is counted - from January till December,
that is, during the tax year, or from the time I started my
employment - in such a case, from February 1 this year till February 1
next year?

If the first rule is true, then it seems I won't be able to claim the
tax relief, since I was home the whole month of January, even though I
did not work at that time, as I was busy preparing for my departure,
plus my vacation time, which overally exceeds 35 days.

If the second rule is true, it seems that I still may come home for
another vacation to be eligible, as long as the total time in the US
from February 1 till February 1 next year does not exceed 35 days.

My wife is working in the US while I'm overseas. Can we file a joint
return and I can still be eligible for the tax relief?

How can I prove to the IRS, in case of an audit, that I really was out
of the country for the required period of time? Entry/exit stamps in
the passport? In this a case someone who has his passport stolen and
replaced (such things unfortunately do happen) cannot claim the tax
relief for that year?

Thanks in advance,

Alex

--
<< ------------------------------------------------------- > << The foregoing was not intended or written to be used, > << nor can it used, for the purpose of avoiding penalties > << that may be imposed upon the taxpayer. > << > << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting posts > << to this newsgroup as well as our anti-spamming policy > << are at www.asktax.org. > << Copyright (2007) - All rights reserved. > << ------------------------------------------------------- >