DIY Expat Tax Filing Online

Monday, April 15, 2024 is Tax Day, the deadline to file your 2023 tax return. The program has been around since 2003, but you’re forgiven if you haven’t heard of it. The IRS estimates that 70% of all taxpayers qualify for the program, but only a small percentage of taxpayers have used it. You can narrow them down to a manageable number by setting standards.

Get to know them, because not understanding them or claiming them incorrectly can result in penalties and over-taxation.
The IRS said most states without an income tax as well as states that have the ability to develop a state-run tax filing service (or already have one) are participating in the pilot.
For this category, we reviewed each platform to determine which provided the simplest process for completing users’ tax forms.
Check out the expatriate tax returns reviews in the next sections below.
This trips up a lot of American expatriates looking to claim the FEIE.

If a tax software company does not include the FBAR, this is a problem. You can get severe monetary penalties – up to $10,000 – from the IRS if you don’t file the FBAR. It is slightly different, in that rather than providing a form for expats to fill in, it asks a series of questions and populates the tax forms based on the answers. Another very important factor when comparing US tax software for expats is customer support, as expats very often have questions about using the software, as well as about US filing from abroad. If they can’t easily speak to someone who is knowledgeable in both of these areas, the process will be difficult. If you’re a multi-year filer, after you answer a few basic questions you can schedule a phone consultation with your tax advisor to confirm your price and have any questions answered.

Get help with U.S. taxes for expats with H&R Block’s Expat Tax Services

Therefore, if you’re a U.S. citizen or U.S. resident alien, you’ll be subject to U.S. income taxes regardless of where you earned the income. Most importantly, when choosing the best US tax software for expats- you need to make sure it includes the Foreign Bank Account Report or FBAR. The FBAR is one of the most critical forms an American expat taxpayer needs to fill out every year if they qualify. The first consideration for expats is whether a software contains all of the forms that expats need. These include those already mentioned (IRS Forms 2555, 1116, and 8938, and FinCEN Form 114 for FBAR filing), as well as forms for claiming tax treaty provisions and avoiding double social security taxation. Get started with H&R Block—the experts on U.S. taxes for expats.

A “full day” counts as 24 hours starting at midnight, and you need to be in the foreign country for every minute of those 24 hours. The rules around interest on owed taxes or penalties for filing late or paying late will vary, depending on your state filing requirements. If you reside in a country that has a lot of U.S. expats, you may find tax firms in larger cities that offer U.S. tax services.

A Software Made Only for US Citizens Abroad

Expatriates living abroad are generally required to file U.S. taxes as they would stateside. However, you’ll get an extra two months to file and pay your federal taxes. Under “resourced by treaty” agreements, all of your income, including any money you made in the U.S., counts as income from the treaty country when figuring out the taxes you owe it.

Tax Changes: IRS Updates for US Taxpayers Overseas

We found this very useful for someone who feels mostly confident filing their taxes but wants some reassurance they’re doing it right. We called TaxSlayer’s support line, and the hold time was less than 2 minutes. We spoke with Mardae, a customer service representative who was helpful and professional. He answered our questions within minutes and provided step-by-step guidance to enter the form into the program. For expats accustomed to filing their tax return by April 15, there are plenty of reasons why you still might want to.

However, if you don’t need to pay taxes, then you can relax and file by June 15. H&R Block Expat Tax Services gives U.S. expat clients the option to choose how they file. Whether they want to have an advisor prepare their taxes or take control of their taxes through DIY filing, H&R Block can provide the expertise expats need. To learn more about the expat DIY tax service or to get started filing taxes today, visit hrblock.com/expat.

Exactly which forms each expat needs depends on their particular situation, including where they live, how long they’ll be living there, their income level, where their income is sourced, and their wider finances. The first form TurboTax has available is Form 2555, also known as Foreign Earned Income Exclusion (FEIE), which allows you to exclude a certain amount of foreign earned income from any US tax. TurboTax is designed specifically for US taxpayers living and working in America.

To qualify, you must have been in a foreign country for 330 full days out of the year—the “full days” is where U.S. expats get tripped up. If, for example, you’re on a 12-hour trans-oceanic flight, those 12 hours may not count toward your full 330 days because you’re technically in international airspace. https://turbo-tax.org/ While yes, U.S. citizens file a yearly tax return even if they live abroad, U.S. expats don’t usually end up owing anything. Did you know Americans overseas still have to pay U.S. expat taxes? Find out the top 20 things you should know if you’re filing taxes as an expat with the tax pros at H&R Block.

Many expats don’t realize they’re required to file taxes every year. Fortunately, the IRS offers an amnesty program for expats who haven’t filed taxes in three years or more. Answer simple questions and us tax software for expats TurboTax Free Edition takes care of the rest. If you paid more than you owe, whether you’re an expat or not, you’re generally entitled to a tax refund but you will need to file a return to get it.

Eligible taxes include income tax you paid to local and provincial governments. They do not include sales, value-added, real estate or luxury taxes paid to a foreign government. When counting the number of days you’re present in the U.S. during the three-year period, you don’t include every single day. Instead, count only a fraction of the days in two of the three years.

This ensures that accountants and U.S. expats are aware of any changes that impact their tax obligations. If you are a U.S. citizen or resident living or traveling outside the United States, you are generally required to file an income tax return using Form 1040 in the same way as individuals residing in the United States. In the U.S., tax forms are filed in the current year for the previous year. Intuit, the owner of TurboTax, spent more than $11 million on federal lobbying between 2008 and 2012. Intuit “opposes IRS government tax preparation”, particularly allowing taxpayers to file pre-filled returns for free, in a system similar to the established ReadyReturn service in California.