Get your taxes done using TurboTax
Because the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion already brings my taxes to $0, doing this additional Foreign Housing Exclusion seems like it's not needed but TurboTax asks me anyway. I did it last year but last year I only had employer-provided housing so it was simple: I just put in the same number when it asked me how much the employer-provided housing fair market value was and then also on this page (in my screenshot) for the Foreign Housing Exclusion.
But, this year, at the beginning of the year, I had the same type of employer-provided housing (free house no rent needed to be paid) and so I marked all the forms the same way I did last year when it asked me. The fair market value of the employer-provided housing is $2746.54.
On top of that fair market value, I moved out of housing and moved in with my girlfriend (now my wife). So, I got extra CASH in my paycheck instead every month as a housing allowance/housing stipend. The amount I received for that was $1,168.80. I also had to input this on another page when it asked me how much I was given in CASH for housing.
So, my question was, do I just put in the $2746.54 since that is what the question says "Value of the rent provided by your employer". It says that is "the amount you entered previously" when it asked me the fair market value... So, I though maybe it's just the $2746.54 since the extra $1,168.80 was CASH and it doesn't mention the CASH payments on that screen (it just says rent you paid for yourself, utilities, etc. and I don't wanna itemize all that out). So, I'm not sure how to do it. Is it $2746.54? Or $2746.54 + $1,168.80? Or, it doesn't really matter? Please let me know.
Thanks guys @pk @Anonymous_
--Shane H.
