@Anonymous wrote:
Thanks @Opus 17 ! I am planning to pay US income taxes normally. It sounds like there is NO tax implication if it's less than 330 days, and I plan to pay the full US income taxes, keep my house and banks?
There are no US tax implications, you pay US tax as usual. You may also owe Malayasia income tax, and if you do, you will need to include an extra form on your US tax return to claim the credit. (Turbotax will do this automatically.)
Now, you could still owe more tax than if you worked in the US, if Malaysian tax rates are higher. For example, suppose the Malaysian tax on the income you earn while in that country is $5,000, and the US income tax on the same earnings is $4,000. You pay $5000 to Malaysia and the US taxes you $4000 but gives you a $4000 credit (the maximum credit is what the US tax would have been for that money) so your effective income tax rate is whichever country is the highest.
And unfortunately, you probably also will continue to owe state income tax, if you maintain your residence there and your move to Malaysia is temporary.
You will be required to declare to the IRS any foreign bank accounts you own that are worth more than $10,000 (US) using the online FBAR form, but no tax is owed, it's just a report. And if you move more than $10,000 (US) between banks, the banks will be required to file a report. Again, no tax is owed, but if you are moving money around and decide to move $5,000 x 4 transactions instead of $20,000 all at once, that can sometimes be considered a crime called "Structuring" to avoid the $10,000 reporting rule.
That's all I can think of.
