Quick tax question for you fellow expats

LOGS

Well-Known Member
I'm being sent back to the states for my 1900D type very shortly but something have come to mind. It's the 330 days outside the country in a year. I know if you only do 329, well your screwed and your gonna owe taxes. My question is, is that 330 days count on a calender year, so Jan 1 - Jan 1, or just 365 days. I got over here Oct. 1, took vacaction home from Dec 23 - Jan 5. So I need to know if all those days or going to count or just the 5 days in Jan. Hope this makes sense?

=Jason-
 
Get good tax advice, from a professional. Depending on things your time spent at training may not count against you as being back in the USA. It depends on many factors.
 
Get good tax advice, from a professional. Depending on things your time spent at training may not count against you as being back in the USA. It depends on many factors.

Really? Well looks like I'm staying up late to make a phone call. Thanks for the info.

=Jason-
 
I'm being sent back to the states for my 1900D type very shortly but something have come to mind. It's the 330 days outside the country in a year. I know if you only do 329, well your screwed and your gonna owe taxes. My question is, is that 330 days count on a calender year, so Jan 1 - Jan 1, or just 365 days. I got over here Oct. 1, took vacaction home from Dec 23 - Jan 5. So I need to know if all those days or going to count or just the 5 days in Jan. Hope this makes sense?

=Jason-


It's 330 days in a foreign country in any 365 day period. Do you have an Indian residence visa? If so, then you'd be covered once you lived in India for an entire calendar year regardless of the number of days spent in the USA ( within reason ).

Read IRS publication 54

Read the wording carefully on the 330 day thing because it's misunderstood by most people:

330 full days. Generally, to meet the physical presence test, you must be physically present in a foreign country or countries for at least 330 full days during a 12-month period. You can count days you spent abroad for any reason. You do not have to be in a foreign country only for employment purposes. You can be on vacation.


You do not meet the physical presence test if illness, family problems, a vacation, or your employer's orders cause you to be present for less than the required amount of time.


Exception. You can be physically present in a foreign country or countries for less than 330 full days and still meet the physical presence test if you are required to leave a country because of war or civil unrest. See Waiver of Time Requirements, later.


Full day. A full day is a period of 24 consecutive hours, beginning at midnight.


Travel. When you leave the United States to go directly to a foreign country or when you return directly to the United States from a foreign country, the time you spend on or over international waters does not count toward the 330-day total.


Example.

You leave the United States for France by air on June 10. You arrive in France at 9:00 a.m. on June 11. Your first full day of physical presence in France is June 12.


Passing over foreign country.

If, in traveling from the United States to a foreign country, you pass over a foreign country before midnight of the day you leave, the first day you can count toward the 330-day total is the day following the day you leave the United States.


Example.

You leave the United States by air at 9:30 a.m. on June 10 to travel to Kenya. You pass over western Africa at 11:00 p.m. on June 10 and arrive in Kenya at 12:30 a.m. on June 11. Your first full day in a foreign country is June 11.


Change of location. You can move about from one place to another in a foreign country or to another foreign country without losing full days. If any part of your travel is not within any foreign country and takes less than 24 hours, you are considered to be in a foreign country during that part of travel.


Example 1.

You leave Ireland by air at 11:00 p.m. on July 6 and arrive in Sweden at 5:00 a.m. on July 7. Your trip takes less than 24 hours and you lose no full days.


Example 2.
You leave Norway by ship at 10:00 p.m. on July 6 and arrive in Portugal at 6:00 a.m. on July 8. Since your travel is not within a foreign country or countries and the trip takes more than 24 hours, you lose as full days July 6, 7, and 8. If you remain in Portugal, your next full day in a foreign country is July 9.


In United States while in transit.

If you are in transit between two points outside the United States and are physically present in the United States for less than 24 hours, you are not treated as present in the United States during the transit. You are treated as traveling over areas not within any foreign country.


Typhoonpilot
 
Also there are other tests which can be applied. Such as permanent residence status and so forth. For instance I have a lease in my name in Russia and a few other things. This changes some of the requirements. IRS Pub 54 is full of info. Just make sure you get a CPA which understands the dealings of an expat.
 
In IRS PUB54 look under the bona fide residence test. If you meet that then you can come to the USA for certain stays. Good luck.
 
Get good tax advice, from a professional. Depending on things your time spent at training may not count against you as being back in the USA. It depends on many factors.

Ugg still trying to figure this one out. Have training next month that I really really really don't want to count against my 330 days. Any suggestions on a tax guy I can find online? I was planning on just finding someone when i went home but looks like I might not have enough time for that.

=Jason-
 
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