This publication discusses special tax rules for U.S. citizens and resident aliens who work abroad or who have income earned in foreign countries. As a U.S. citizen or resident alien, your worldwide income generally is subject to U.S. income tax, regardless of where you are living. Also, you are subject to the same income tax filing requirements that apply to U.S. citizens or residents living in the United States.

Filing information. Chapter 1 contains general filing information, such as:

• Whether you must file a U.S. tax return,
• When and where to file your return,
• How to report your income if it is paid in foreign currency,
• How to determine your filing status if your spouse is a nonresident alien, and
• Whether you must pay estimated tax.

If you own stock in a foreign corporation or have an interest in a foreign partnership, you may have to file information returns. See the instructions under Information Returns and Reports in chapter 1.

Withholding tax. Chapter 2 discusses the withholding of income taxes and social security and Medicare taxes from the pay of U.S. citizens and resident aliens. It will help you determine if the correct amounts of taxes are being withheld and how to adjust your withholding if too much or too little is being withheld.

Self-employment tax. Chapter 3 discusses who must pay self-employment tax and who is exempt from self-employment tax.

Foreign earned income exclusion and housing exclusion and deduction. Chapter 4 discusses income tax benefits that might apply if you meet certain requirements while living abroad. You may qualify to treat up to $76,000 of your income as not taxable by the United States. You may also be able to either deduct part of your housing expenses from your income or treat a limited amount of income used for housing expenses as not taxable by the United States. These benefits are called the foreign earned income exclusion and the foreign housing deduction and exclusion.

To qualify for either of the exclusions or the deduction, you must have a tax home in a foreign country and earn income from personal services performed in a foreign country. These rules are explained in chapter 4.

If you are going to exclude or deduct your income as discussed above, you must file Form 2555 or Form 2555-EZ. You will find an example with filled-in Forms 2555 and 2555-EZ in this publication.

Exemptions, deductions and credits. Chapter 5 discusses exemptions, deductions and credits you may be able to claim on your return. These are generally the same as if you were living in the United States. However, if you choose to exclude foreign earned income or housing amounts, you cannot deduct or exclude any item or take a credit for any item that is related to the amounts you exclude. Among the topics discussed in chapter 5 are:

• Exemptions you can claim,
• Contributions you can deduct,
• Moving expenses you can deduct, and
• Foreign taxes you can either deduct or take a credit for.

Tax treaty benefits. Chapter 6 discusses some benefits that are common to most tax treaties and explains how to get help if you think you are not getting a treaty benefit to which you are entitled. It also explains how to get copies of tax treaties.

How to get tax help. Chapter 7 is an explanation of how to get information and assistance from the IRS.

Questions and answers. Answers to frequently asked questions are presented in the back of the publication.

Comments and suggestions. We welcome your comments about this publication and your suggestions for future editions.

You can e-mail us while visiting our web site at www.irs.gov/help/email2.html.

You can write to us at the following address:

Internal Revenue Service
Technical Publications Branch
W:CAR:MP:FP:P
1111 Constitution Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20224

We respond to many letters by telephone. Therefore, it would be helpful if you would include your daytime phone number, including the area code, in your correspondence.

First | Next

Publication Index | 2000 Tax Help Archives | Tax Help Archives | Home