Filing late for 2021 overseas. What steps should I take?

ninjaaron — Mon, 23 Feb 2026 11:16:43 GMT

I am an American citizen with permanent residence in Germany and I forgot to file my taxes in 2021. Filing for me is just a formality because Germany and the US have an agreement that means I only pay taxes in the US if I make less than $100,000 a year, which I do not. However, I am still obligated to file every year.

This year, I forgot to do it. I can't use TurboTax to file online for 2021 anymore and, I don't have a computer with Windows or macOS (I'm a Linux user) to download the software.

I'm not sure what to do at this point. Should I just get the forms I need and fill them out and mail them in?

Re: Filing late for 2021 overseas. What steps should I take?

Anonymous_ — Mon, 02 Jan 2023 16:18:26 GMT

@pk

Re: Filing late for 2021 overseas. What steps should I take?

pk — Tue, 03 Jan 2023 05:24:50 GMT

@ninjaaron having read through your post , below are my comments on the situation:

(a) you are absolutely correct in that your foreign earned income may be eligible for exclusion from US taxes up to a maximum ( for tax year 2021 it was US$108,700 ). However to be eligible for this exclusion there are few requirements -- 1. your tax home must be foreign; 2. you must meet "bona-fide resident test" (-- needs IRS approval) OR Physical Presence Test ( 330 days foreign presence in any continuous 12 month test period that includes the tax year in question; 3. your earnings must be either from employment in a foreign/ local entity or self-employment abroad i.e. income source must be foreign and 4. You must file a return to be able to take advantage of foreign earned income exclusion / foreign tax credit or deduction.

(b) I think TurboTax does have the capability to allow tax preparation for one year past on on-line { because many need to amend their past & filed return } , but I am not familiar with the process. Suggest strongly that you contact customer service and they should be able to make the facility available to you. Let me know if you need help on this and I will try to find more info for you .

(c) Can you do this by yourself -- yes. Download the forms -- 1040, its numbered schedules, instructions, 2555 and 1116. If you are able to provide more scenario info -- {{ When did you leave USA and when arrived in Germany, if you are married is your spouse a US citizen or German i.e. are you planning to file MFJ or MFS, how are you employed ( local / US services, US entity remote or what ), your approx total gross income ( before German taxes ) etc. etc. --- please no personally identifiable info -- this is open board. etc. etc. }} then we should be able to guide you to exact forms and schedule you would need --- then you should be able to use pencil/ calc. or excel spreadsheet to work out the form entries.

I hope this helps -- is there more I can do for you.

Grusse

topic Filing late for 2021 overseas. What steps should I take? in Get your taxes done using TurboTax

Filing late for 2021 overseas. What steps should I take?

Re: Filing late for 2021 overseas. What steps should I take?

Re: Filing late for 2021 overseas. What steps should I take?