Form 2555 is not allowing me to pick "All Other Countries" under Part 6 in order to claim the housing exclusion

[clodomir-claude]

Specifically I'm referring to the "Enter Location Information". Not all countries  are listed. The IRS anticipates and allows taxpayers to enter "All Other Countries"

[KurtL1]

The "Enter Location" entry is referring to Part VI - Line 29a on Form 2555.

Per the Form 2555 Instructions. Line 29a. Enter the city or other location (if applicable) and the country where you incurred foreign housing expenses during the tax year only if your location is listed in the TABLE at the end of the instructions; otherwise, leave this line blank.

Review the table in the instructions. If your country is listed, you are not required to enter any information on this line. 

[clodomir-claude]

Hi Thanks for the reply. However, if I leave it blank I automatically lose my housing exclusion. I have been doing my taxes on TurboTax for over 5 years now, and it's the first time Im having this issue. The form has to allow to pick a country that is not listed, by doing so it should automatically populate 29b. No ability to pick "All Other Country",  no number in 29b, no way to qualify for housing exclusion. 

IRS specifically states in Form 2555 Instructions: 

If the location in which you incurred housing
expenses is not listed in the table, and the
number of days in your qualifying period is
365, enter $31,770 on line 29b. 

[BillM223]

There is a workaround for the missing "All Other Counties". If you will choose "Angola-All other" (or any "X-All other" where X is the name of a country in the list), then the $31,770 amount will appear on line 29b, and if you are eligible, you will get your housing exclusion.

[GoBuckeyes]

I have the same issue.  The work around gets me past the error screen - but is confusing to show one country of residence and a different country for the housing exclusion.  Seems like a simple programming fix to 1) not confuse the users, and 2) not distort the facts.

[BillM223]

The update for "All Other Countries" has been made to the Online product. 

Note that the entry is called "All other countries not listed", and it is found at the very end of the second country list (M-Z).