My boyfriend and father of child pays taxes in Europe

[Gaelle3838]

Hello,

My boyfriend leaves in the US and works for an European Government here and does not pay taxes in the US. Does he still have to do his taxes even though he doesn't have a US $ paycheck?

Thank you!

Gaelle

[AdamNe]

Hello @Gaelle3838 ,

The answer to your question is not necessarily a simple one. Several factors, such as your boyfriend's residency status in the US, which European country he works for, and the nature of his income from that country's government would all play into whether he would or would not be required to pay taxes or file a tax return in the US. 

Can you provide more details? If you are not able or willing to do so in this public forum (understandably!), I suggest reaching out to our experts via the Live Help function from your TurboTax home page. 

[Gaelle3838]

Thank you , I know this is a complicated question.

Are the expert available now on the Live Help Function for free?

[AdamNe]

Yes! Live Help is available for any TurboTax Live customer. If you start your 2020 taxes now using TurboTax Live, you will see the option to access Live Help. 

[Opus 17 · Accepted solution]

Generally speaking, a person who is a US citizen or permanent resident (green card holder) must file a US tax return and pay US taxes on all their world-wide income, even if they do not live in the US.

However, someone who is a diplomatic employee of a foreign government is usually not considered a "US resident" for tax purposes, even if they physically live in the US (because they owe their allegiance to the foreign government).  That usually means they would file a non-resident tax return and only pay tax on "US-source" income.  US-source income would not include his foreign salary in this case, but could include money he makes from sale of investments or property in the US.

He can probably get tax assistance from his government.  There are some legal issues here that really require a more detailed discussion than this forum can provide.  

[Gaelle3838]

Great, you totally responded to my question. He is a diplomatic employee of a foreign government. Since he does not have any US-source income, he does not have to file anything I guess?

Also, since I'm a US citizen and working in the US, I can claim my child has head of household if I meet all the requirement?

Thank you for you help!

[xmasbaby0]

@Gaelle3838 Be careful about a suggestion I noticed above to use "TurboTax Live" to get answers to your questions.  TurboTax Live is NOT free----it is an expensive version of the online software.  

[AdamNe]

If you are unmarried, your child lives with you, and you provide over 50% of the financial support for that child, you can claim him/her as a dependent and file as Head of Household. 

I would not be confident in saying "he does not have to file anything" without having more intimate knowledge of the details. Every tax treaty is different. 

[Opus 17]

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@Gaelle3838 wrote:

Great, you totally responded to my question. He is a diplomatic employee of a foreign government. Since he does not have any US-source income, he does not have to file anything I guess?

Also, since I'm a US citizen and working in the US, I can claim my child has head of household if I meet all the requirement?

Thank you for you help!

---

As long as he does not have US source income, he does not file a US tax return.  See also chapter 10 here

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p519.pdf

You are correct that because your spouse is legally considered a non-resident, you are "considered unmarried" for purposes of filing as head of household.  But you also have to meet the test of paying "more than half" of your household expenses.  I suppose it could happen if he is a low-ranking diplomat and you are a high-ranking something else.  Just be sure you can prove it if audited.  See page 8-9 here, 

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p501.pdf

[Gaelle3838]

Where can I find the information about the tax treaty of his country?

Thanks

[Opus 17]

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@AdamNe wrote:

If you are unmarried, your child lives with you, and you provide over 50% of the financial support for that child, you can claim him/her as a dependent and file as Head of Household. 

I would not be confident in saying "he does not have to file anything" without having more intimate knowledge of the details. Every tax treaty is different. 

---

There are actually 3 different sets of rules under which a diplomatic employee is exempt from US tax, only 1 of which involves bilateral tax treaties.  See chapter 10 here,

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p519.pdf

It would certainly be up to the individual to make sure they really do meet at least one of these sets of conditions. 

[Opus 17]

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@Gaelle3838 wrote:

Where can I find the information about the tax treaty of his country?

Thanks

---

The treaty is only 1 of 3 ways he might be exempt from US tax on his foreign government income.

For specific tax treaties, see this list,

https://www.irs.gov/businesses/international-businesses/united-states-income-tax-treaties-a-to-z