My main source of income is working abroad, but I want to make side money self-employed online. Can I pay my online side work taxes to the US while the other goes abroad?

[jorowe25]

I will be working abroad as a teacher. I understand I still need to file these taxes in the US (as I have done in previous years when working abroad), but I will likely not have to pay taxes on them as I will be paying taxes to the country I'm working in. However, I'd like to run some blogs to make money on the side and maybe eventually turn it into my main source of income. I would prefer to pay US taxes on this as my work visa in the host country will be for my teaching job only. Is there some way to claim these taxes as if I'd earned the income in the US (I'll be targeting a US audience, making money in USD, etc.) while still claiming my other foreign earned income outside the US? I'd want to claim one source as foreign-earned income (which it is) and one as domestic. Thank you for the help in advance!

[AmeliesUncle]

It would still be Foreign Earned Income.

However, I'm a bit confused by your post.  It seems like you WANT to pay income tax on that income.  Why would you WANT to pay income tax?

[TomD8]

You may want to familiarize yourself with the IRS definitions:

https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/foreign-earned-income-exclusion-what-is-fore...

[jorowe25]

Hi AmeliesUncle! Thank you for the reply. Sorry, I might not have explained it well enough.

I understand my teaching income would be foreign earned income. I'd be paying the taxed income to the host country I'm in.

However, I am wondering if I would be paying taxes from my own personal online business (side job, not done in that country) to the host country or to the US government? I ask, because if it's something that the host country would be claiming, it would likely be violating the work visa, and I'm not trying to get into legal trouble overseas. If I can claim it as US earned income, I don't mind paying the taxes as I'd still be able to work on my website and earn income with it. Essentially, I want to claim my foreign earned income as foreign earned income, but my online side job (my own business) as income earned in the US if that's possible.

[AmeliesUncle]

All of your income is reported on your US tax return.

If you use the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion to reduce or eliminate the tax on your W-2 job, that also applies to your side business.  You can't choose to use the Exclusion on only part of your earned income.