Form 2555 line 44 foreign earned income from UK need clarification

[eily-cournoyer]

I am a US citizen lived in UK for past several years (self employed) moved back permanently to US in August.  After business expenses only made 60000 for the year (only income).  I qualify for Foreign Earned Income Exclusion.  The UK tax year is April 5-April 6.  I already paid the NIC (UK version of self employment tax) for Jan-March, but have not paid April -Dec 2024 due to the tax season. 

I am very confused after many hours with chat GPT and other reading in circles what I put for line 44 and what exactly it means.  Also would be open to advice about what I should do about self employment tax (as I plan to pay NIC owed to the UK once their tax year completes).  My plan was to pay the US self employment tax and then file and amended return later.  Curious on other peoples thoughts ?  Anyone have an idea what proof the IRS needs of NIC proof are UK tax returns sufficient. 

Thanks so much!!! 

[DaveF1006]

No. Since the US has a totalization agreement with UK, you do not need to report this as self-employment income as the agreement helps to avoid double social security taxation. Do not report this as a Schedule C in your return. 

You do need to report your income to the US however but you may qualify for the exclusion based on the Physical Presence Test or the Bonafide resident test. Your income of $60,000 is well within the parameter of the exclusion.  

Here is where to report this.

1. Click on Federal 
2. Click on Wages and Income 
3. Click on I'll choose what I work on (if shown)
4. Scroll down to Less Common Income
5. On Foreign Earned Income and Exclusion, click on the start or update button