More US tax questions

Hi all,

I’m currently sub-contracting work, self-employed and I would like to start filing my US taxes for line of credit. Since I have never filed my taxes before, I would like to know which forms I will need. I know I at least need to file Tax Form 2555. I think 1040 is mandatory also. Do I also need 1099-MISC for self-employment? Or is that only if you’re within the US? Any help appreciated.

Thanks.

Have you considered contacting H&R Block?

P.S. The 2003 U.S. Treasury reporting rate of exchange for Taiwan is NT$34.238 = US $1.00

A tad late to see the rep who was at the AIT last week, but the contact information is still valid and may hopefully be of some use…

ait.org.tw/en/news/pressrele … 1&GROUP=PR

If you are self employed you must file a separate form for self-employment tax, and it doesn’t matter if you are in the US or in another country, you have to pay this no matter where you are.

There are also places in Taiwan that help you with your US income taxes, but as I know they are pricey. I beleive you can get a list of these on the AIT website.

I thought the “self-employment” tax was actually the employers contribution to Social Security. If you don’t have to pay Social Security tax while you are overseas, why would you have to pay the employers contribution?

Yes it’s the employers contribution, but if you are self-employed that means you are the employer! And if I remember correctly I still had to contribute even though I was an employee, but it’s been too long now to recall it.

Maybe these sites will help you:

irs.gov/businesses/small/int … 28,00.html
irs.gov/businesses/small/int … 55,00.html
irs.gov/businesses/small/art … 46,00.html
irs.gov/businesses/small/

I definitely stand corrected…IRS Publication 533, page 4, states "if you are a self-employed U.S. citizen…living outside the United States, in most cases you must pay SE tax.

Think of it as a positive thing and a benefit because at least you are earning social security points not working in the US, under normal circumstances you would not get anything. If you choose to stay overseas for many many years 10+ it will have great benefits, at least if you decide to retire you will get more from SS.

Does anyone know if you have to file for the foreign earned income exclusion if your income was less than 7800 us dollars. i don’t have any payslips or means to procure them but my actual unproven income is less than the standard deduction so actually I don’t even have to file right??
I’d like to file just to keep in touch with my old irs buddies.

I called the irs info line a number of times and have got differrent information each time.

right now i think the best thing to do is file a 1040ez and claim an income of 7800 along with a letterexplaining the situation.
any advice?
thanks

I would still file, each person you talk to you will get a different answer. It’s better to be safe. Also regarding the earned income exclusion, you may be better off not taking it, you may not have to pay taxes anyway if it’s less than $7800, I am not sure what the maximum amount you can earn this year is without being taxed. It doesn’t matter where the money comes from. Why would you need to write them a letter explaining the situation?

I have would haveto explain that I’m an idiot and dont know how to file anything other than a 1040ez

actully the situation becomes more complex.
i’m married to a non us resident or citizen but I still have to either claim mariied filing seperatly(3200 deduction)
or married filing joint(12800 but i’ll haveto claim her income)
i’m sure either way I wont have to pay taxes but i need to show a minimum income to sponser her so she can return home with me

oh yea and also i recently deposited a not so small sum of money in a cd account in the states. if they add it up i might get looked at funnilyish.

If your wife is not a US citizen you don’t have to claim her income, you can file as married filing separately. I don’t understand why you need her income to show minimum income unless your income was less than 125% of the poverty line and this is her first time applying for citizen ship in the US, in that case, yes you need to have 125% above the poverty line to show you can support her. I don’t know your situation but generally you don’t need to file joint if your spouse is not a US citizen, but it seems maybe your situation is slightly different…

If you have a nonresident alien spouse AND another dependent, you may be able to file as “Head of Household”. See this thread:

[Does Taiwanese spouse need to file US tax return?