2555 physical presence test #days computation and validation

[bartleby]

Line 18 on the 2555 form is a bit confusing.

Turbo Tax does not appear to calculate the "days present in country" based on the date ranges entered for time spent out of the tax home.

Nor does it appear to validate whether the # days disqualifies the user for the physical presence test.

For example, I entered a three month date range within my 12 month period, and specified "days present in country" as 300.  Turbo Tax shows no errors for the return.

Additionally, for the same twelve month period, it's not clear what the "left" date should be if I arrive in the foreign country on 12/01/2025 and leave on 01/31/2026. The number of days in the country would seem to be 62, which might then fail the physical presence test calculation, even though only 31 of the days are within the twelve month period.

These seem like mechanical calculations that should trigger an error, unless this section is treated as supporting information and not validated by the IRS programs.

I can likely avoid this problem by shifting the twelve month period, but that seems like a "work around".

[MarilynG1 · Accepted solution]

TurboTax's behavior regarding Form 2555, Line 18 is often described as "supporting information" that requires manual calculation by the user rather than automated validation by the software. It does not always cross-reference your travel dates with the 330-day requirement, which is why it may not trigger an error even if your entries appear contradictory.

Since you can't enter a date after 12/31/2025, this complicates things also.

Here's some detailed info that may help you in calculating your physical presence.

 Tax Tips for Resident and Non-Resident Aliens

@bartleby 

[bartleby]

Thanks very much, Marilyn.  We were able to work around our issue, although I'm surprised there is not better Turbo Tax documentation, or a disclaimer,  especially if this is something that the IRS could check mechanically. That said, the IRS documentation did not seem to address the scenario.

Also, we were able to enter a 2026 "Date left".