Different tax years UK vs US

[Toby_Lee]

Hi,

I filed as a NRA in 2019 but will be filing as a RA for 2020. I am originally from the UK and came to the US in late 2019. The tax year in the UK is April to April. I received a tax refund in the UK in April 2020 for work I did when I was in the UK in 2019.

Since this year I will be taxed in the US on my worldwide income, will the UK tax refund in 2020 be taxable in the US, or will it be deemed as income from 2019?

[DanielV01]

Chances are you don't have anything to claim.  If you filed a 2019 US nonresident return, you would not have claimed a credit for tax paid to the UK, so a refund of UK tax is not considered income.  And if any of the refund is due to the months of overlap (January to April of 2020), subtract that amount of refund from any tax you paid to the UK during that period before claiming any Foreign Tax Credit.  Otherwise, it is not taxable at all.

[Toby_Lee]

Thank you for clarifying. I didn't earn any income in the UK beyond July 2019. The refund I received in April 2020 was for over-taxation of work conducted in the UK between April 2019-July 2019. Therefore, if I understood you correctly, none of the refund I got in 2020 should be subject to US taxation for my 2020 return. Is that correct?