topic https://www.irs.gov/publications/p590a#en_US_2018_publink... in Retirement tax questions

As a US expat, when estimating my MAGI to determine Roth IRA eligibility, does the "qualifying income" EXCLUDE foreign income and housing exclusions?

mystified7 — Sat, 01 Jun 2019 20:13:56 GMT

In other words... Say salary is USD130K and housing is USD30K (in a city that has a higher cap.) Say I qualify for bonafide residency. Have income in the US of another USD10K. Does the MAGI exclude the USD103,900 + housing, driving down the number to below USD120K? I have combed the web. There are no MAGI calculators for expats.

https://www.irs.gov/publications/p590a#en_US_2018_publink...

Critter — Sat, 01 Jun 2019 20:13:57 GMT

https://www.irs.gov/publications/p590a#en_US_2018_publink1000230988

@Critter#2 Thank you. OK. I've reviewed this. Just to b...

mystified7 — Sat, 01 Jun 2019 20:13:59 GMT

@Critter#2 Thank you. OK. I've reviewed this. Just to be clear. My employer pays for my housing directly and this is reported on my income statement. Therefore, I need to add the amount my employer pays for my housing to my gross salary + rental income + interest + dividends to get my MAGI. If this (I am single) is higher than $135K, I am ineligible to contribute to a ROTH, but eligible to contribute to a traditional IRA (given that my salary + housing is more than R$140,500, because rental income and dividends cannot be considered income for ROTH purposes.) Is my reasoning correct?

forgot to add.... minus any deductions... Say $12K for...

mystified7 — Sat, 01 Jun 2019 20:14:02 GMT

forgot to add.... minus any deductions... Say $12K for single deduction and $4K capital loss..

Of you can just enter the possible contribution in the pr...

Critter — Sat, 01 Jun 2019 20:14:03 GMT

Of you can just enter the possible contribution in the program and let it tell you if any of it will be allowed ... review the worksheet in the PDF ... of course not sure if you will be able to get a contribution made at this late date.

Thanks. To be honest, I've always used Turbo Tax, so I po...

mystified7 — Sat, 01 Jun 2019 20:14:04 GMT

Thanks. To be honest, I've always used Turbo Tax, so I posed the question here. However, I don't think it's sophisticated enough to handle expat taxes, which is really frustrating, because I will end up having to spend hundreds of dollars to do my taxes, which I've now done for the past couple of years. But yes, I believe that one can contribute until April 15 for 2018.