Am i an Expat?

[ericgrosman]

how does the IRS define one to be an expat? I have NOT renounced citizenship, but i simply reside/lived outside the US for more than 330 days of the year. When i file, I still use a US address though.

1. Does this mean i get an automatic extension or do i need to fill out paperwork to receive the expat status?
2. I’m almost finishes completing TTax online.  If I file an extension, will it reset and make me do it over again?
3. I see there is a easy-extension.turbotax website.  shall I use this or just go through my normal TTax account.
4. Is TTax going to charge me for filing the extension?  I might not need to file since I have no income in the US.  In that case, is there a way to do this at no cost on the gov. site?

[pk]

@ericgrosman , if you are abroad on 15th of April  ( Tax Day ), you get an automatic extension to June 15th, but the Payment date remains the same.

If you have a foreign tax home then your  Foreign Earned Income  may be eligible for Exclusion from US taxes or other ways to avoid / mitigate effects of double taxation.

Which country are you in ?

[ericgrosman]

I’m in Costa Rica.  I have no income in the States, but I do receive a very small amount of interest from my foreign account with over 10k in it.  TTax says i can not file electronically this year anyhow and I wont owe any payments since I don’t have income…right?

Do i really have to pay TTax for such a basic filing, especially if i have to do the FBAR on my own anyhow?  It is there a free method of doing this?

[Vanessa A]

If you do not have self employment income of more than $400 or taxable income (over $13,850) then you do not need to file a tax return. Therefore, you would not need to pay TurboTax.  You can exit out of the return, if you do not need to file. 

[pk]

@ericgrosman , agreeing with my colleague @Vanessa A  reply to your post ( that you may not need to file a return at all), I would just to make sure that your US return  as a citizen of US covers your world income ( i.e. all incomes no matter where generated ).   I recognize that living in many countries  outside of US is often quite  lower than that in US,  but you still need some source of income ( or eat into your savings ) --- please make sure that you are indeed considering all earnings   before you walk away from filing US return.

Is there more one of us can do for you ?