Why sign in to the Community?

  • Submit a question
  • Check your notifications
Sign in to the Community or Sign in to TurboTax and start working on your taxes
Returning Member
posted Feb 15, 2020 1:33:21 PM

lived in foreign country

lived in foreign country starting at in October 2018 and moved back in December 2019. How do I amend my 2018 return to reflect that I was out of the US long enough to pay taxes on money made while I was overseas?

0 4 1191
1 Best answer
Expert Alumni
Feb 15, 2020 2:31:46 PM

 

Did you file with TurboTax last year?  

 

If you filed with TurboTax, to amend, click here:  Amend 2018 taxes

 

If you did not file with TurboTax, and want to amend with TurboTax, here are the steps:  

  • You will need to purchase a past year TurboTax desktop program here Past Years Products and 
  • Recreate your return in exactly the way as to how it was filed, then 
  • Go through the amendment process by following the prompts.

Here are more details about the foreign earned income exclusion:

 

If you are a US citizen or resident and work physically overseas between October 2018 and December 2019, you may qualify for a foreign income exclusion or foreign income tax credit on your 2018 taxes.  Since you were present overseas for only three months ( October-December 2018), the exclusion should be pro-rated on your Form 2555 Foreign Earned Income Exclusion. For more information, click here: see  Foreign income and exclusion and Extension.  

 

To enter foreign income in the program, here are the steps:

  • Open up the program, and select Take me to my return 
  • At the right upper corner, in the search box, type in foreign income and Enter 
  • Select Jump to foreign income
  • Follow prompts to enter information
  • The program will pro-rate the exclusion 

 

If you have paid taxes to both the foreign and US tax authorities, to avoid double taxation, IRS allows you to claim a foreign tax credit on your US tax return.  To claim this foreign tax credit, you would need to file a Form 1116 Foreign Tax Credit. 

 

To enter this information in the TurboTax program, here are the steps: 

  • Open up your program,
  • At the right upper corner, in the search box, type in "foreign tax credit" and Enter
  • Select Jump to foreign tax credit

 

 

 

 

 

4 Replies
Expert Alumni
Feb 15, 2020 2:31:46 PM

 

Did you file with TurboTax last year?  

 

If you filed with TurboTax, to amend, click here:  Amend 2018 taxes

 

If you did not file with TurboTax, and want to amend with TurboTax, here are the steps:  

  • You will need to purchase a past year TurboTax desktop program here Past Years Products and 
  • Recreate your return in exactly the way as to how it was filed, then 
  • Go through the amendment process by following the prompts.

Here are more details about the foreign earned income exclusion:

 

If you are a US citizen or resident and work physically overseas between October 2018 and December 2019, you may qualify for a foreign income exclusion or foreign income tax credit on your 2018 taxes.  Since you were present overseas for only three months ( October-December 2018), the exclusion should be pro-rated on your Form 2555 Foreign Earned Income Exclusion. For more information, click here: see  Foreign income and exclusion and Extension.  

 

To enter foreign income in the program, here are the steps:

  • Open up the program, and select Take me to my return 
  • At the right upper corner, in the search box, type in foreign income and Enter 
  • Select Jump to foreign income
  • Follow prompts to enter information
  • The program will pro-rate the exclusion 

 

If you have paid taxes to both the foreign and US tax authorities, to avoid double taxation, IRS allows you to claim a foreign tax credit on your US tax return.  To claim this foreign tax credit, you would need to file a Form 1116 Foreign Tax Credit. 

 

To enter this information in the TurboTax program, here are the steps: 

  • Open up your program,
  • At the right upper corner, in the search box, type in "foreign tax credit" and Enter
  • Select Jump to foreign tax credit

 

 

 

 

 

Returning Member
Feb 15, 2020 2:56:30 PM

Thanks for the response. A small problem, on my W-2, some of the money was made in the US before I moved overseas. I didn't see a way to indicate how to differentiate the amounts.

Returning Member
Feb 15, 2020 3:31:19 PM

Wait, I see, it's now asking me to exclude income on that W-2 made in the US. Thanks again for your help!

 

 

Expert Alumni
Feb 15, 2020 3:33:37 PM

Awesome!  You are very welcome!