Filing (US) taxes question

Hi everyone,

Quick question. I arrived in Taiwan July of this last year (2017). I was working in the U.S. from January-June of 2017 so I need to file U.S. taxes for that year.

I have a copy of the W-2 from my job but as I’m here in Taiwan I’m not sure where I can get this done. (I’m pretty tax-dumb so I’ve always gone to H/R block) . Are there any services here in Taiwan that can help me? Or any online services you would recommend?

Also, I’m under the impression I have to file (through the US) that I was working in Taiwan the last couple months of 2017. How can I do this? I doubt my taiwan boss will give me a W-2 so I’m a little lost on how to get my 2017 taxes done when it’s both US/Taiwan work on there.

Any help or guidance would be super appreciated! Did some searching on the forum but I’m not seeing any info pertaining to this specific situation unless I’m blind.

Thanks again,
IG

What on earth is a W-2?

Yes, US citizens always have to file.
I use Turbotax. It should be able to handle the situation you describe. It’ll ask you questions about where and when you worked, then it will fill out everything automatically.
Try it out. It won’t charge you until you actually file with the government.
It shouldn’t take more than an hour unless you have a really complicated situation.

Taiwanese companies won’t give you a W-2. You’ll have to tell the US govt. how much you made in Taiwan, but you won’t have to prove it to them unless you get audited.
Remember, you will also have to file taxes in Taiwan during May. Just walk into the nearest tax office with your ARC, and they’ll do everything else for you.

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I believe you could hire @Bree for help.

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Wonderful. Thank you so much!

@IulusGrun, I’ve always used the H&R Block online software via Free File and it’s always worked great for me. You might be able to do the same. It has a section for the Foreign Earned Income Tax exclusion (which is the form I believe #2555 which you use to declare your income from Taiwan). The software might have your past W-2s and employer info saved since it sounds like you went to an H&R Block office in the past.

Also don’t forget to file your FBAR forms with the Financial Crimes division of the DOJ if you have an overseas bank account with over US$10,000. Yes, you’re a criminal now, welcome to expat life.

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@IulusGrun. You can probably get away with using the online service, but you won’t qualify for the 2555. You need the 1116. Since you haven’t filed your tw tax return yet, you will use the actual taxes withheld from your tw pay to file the form
Oanda.com is an IRS accepted currency exchange. Remember to set the average for the latter half of the year. You should be good to go. PM me if you get stuck

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Thanks so much for the help. A little confused now at the moment :confused:

So I need a 2555 form so I won’t have to pay taxes to US for income earned in Taiwan? But don’t qualify for that so I need a 1116 form? Does that mean I will now be paying double taxes?

How do I use the actual taxes withheld from tw pay to file? I don’t have any pay stubs or anything so I have no idea what has been withheld. Do you mean ‘use’ as in just ‘write down’?

The oanada website totally lost me :confused: Why am I exchanging currency? Aghhh I have no idea what I’m ‘setting’ for a half year?

Sorry. I’m totally lost now :frowning: Is there any simple way to do this for someone who has no idea how any of this works? Turbotax won’t work? Or will I need to buy or fill out a 1116 form that will make me pay tax twice?

Any help would be appreciated so thanks so much for taking the time.

Turbotax (as well as the IRS’s own https://www.taxact.com ) uses an interview interface. That means that filling out your taxes will be like sitting for an interview. You don’t have to overthink it; the questions are easy to understand and the software is very thorough.

There are some US citizens, however, who are better served going to a CPA or other tax preparer (examples could be small-business owners or if you’re in the first year of collecting retirement income, etc.)

You only have to worry about forex conversions if you (1) owe Uncle Sam anything at the end, and (2) will use Taiwan NTD to pay. I guess you might have a smaller problem if you will need to convert a return (i.e., Uncle Sam owes you) to NTD. A forex conversion might be useful if you don’t have a US bank account you can use.

The software also “knows” what kinds of tax returns will generate problems with the IRS (like an interview: I highly recommend avoiding an IRS interview). So it’s pretty safe. The software will keep asking questions until it’s happy that the IRS will be happy.

Again, though, if you have any doubts, and especially if you’re risk averse, it’s probably a good idea to let a pro handle your US income tax preparation. You’ll sleep better, and life’s too damn short.

Oh, I don’t love the taxes…

A few things to know. (1) I THINK that if you will make the 330 day test (even if you only make those days this year) then in theory this year you can file the part of the year you were in Taiwan in 2017 as a part year non-resident. Since you haven’t yet made the 330 days however I don’t know how this works (amend next year? delay six months and file?).

(2) You can file for a 6 month extension, but I think you have to pay estimated taxes.

I always screw up state taxes. It would be nice if there was a moderately price accountant for “the rest of us.” I think it would be great if anyone has advice. I also have used Turbo Tax and the H&R block software.

Oh, you’re also doing two sets of taxes, US and Taiwanese. EVENTUALLY, I believe you will report your Taiwan teacher salary (or whatever salary) as “self-employed” but you will qualify for the earned income exclusion and not pay US taxes on it. For Taiwan, your employer has probably been withholding the 20% (the rate if you live here less than half a year–it should go down to 7% in the future). Your employer and/or the tax bureau should be able to give you your salary and what has/will be taxed (Taiwan taxes are due in May). I do not know how/if your Taiwan taxes are deductible for the part of the year 2017 you were in Taiwan on your US taxes.

Ask your company’s accountant how much they withheld. If they don’t know, then they’re lying to you.
If you really can’t find out, I would assume they withheld nothing. You may get double-taxed, but it’s better than getting on the IRS’ bad side.
Check your bank deposits to see how much you were paid. If you’re you were paid under the table in cash, then there’s no paper trail for the IRS to follow (I would never encourage illegal activity though).

The IRS only deals with USD. If you were paid in NTD, you need to convert it to USD on your US tax forms.
The NTD to USD conversion fluctuates everyday. You need to use the long-term average (2nd half of 2017) conversion rate to convert NTD to USD. Do not just use today’s conversion rate.

The online services are simple and will work. You can usually try them out for free. It’s really not as complicated as you think it is. Go try one now. It really only takes an hour or two. If you get stuck at a particular question, post it here and we’ll try to help.
You don’t need to know any of the form numbers, the online services will automatically choose the right forms for you.

Edit 1: Fixed typos.

I need a real person who will not take me to the cleaners…
Please PM me recommendations.

Can tax season please be over!?!?!!? :tired_face:
tenor

I’m not doing mine till June…

Lucky you. I have filed 134 returns and have at least 100 to go before April 17th. :sob:

Hello everyone, this is my first post here after some time reading the forum.

Last year I decided to start investing in the stock market in the US. I have SSN when I studied over there many years ago. During 2017 I received a insignificant amount of stock dividends and by the end of the year I have a loss of a few hundred bucks from my attempts at buy/selling stocks.

After doing some research I found that I am considered as US non-resident alien. My question is: do I still have to file taxes since my income from the US (stock mkt) was so little (dividends) and overall I have a loss from trading?

I see the 1040NR form and schedule D and when I read it and try to fill it out it sends me to another form.

I checked other places like TurboTax etc but they to not file for US non-resident alien. Any one offer this service here in Taiwan or any place online? I am really lost as i have never filed for taxes in the US.

Do you have a green card?

No. I have just a tourist visa and a SSN from the time I studied in the US.

Also, based on the amount of day I visited the US in the past 3 years I do not qualify for substantial presence