@AO4 wrote:
My question: can one exclude most but not all of one's foreign income, pay regular taxes on the remaining portion of NON-excluded income, and make IRA contributions against the NON-excluded income?
No. If you use the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion, that covers all eligible income. It is not an option to pick-and-choose how much you apply it to. You would only qualify if some of your earned income does not fall under the exclusion.
