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).

[davmill1015]

Hello.  I am currently having the same issue.  In the online (cloud-based) version of TT, Form 2555 "All Other Countries" is NOT listed as an option at the very end of the second country list (M-Z).   I have been filing online for several years using TT and have always been able to select the proper country (Philippines), but for tax year 2023, it is no longer an option.

I note on the 2023 Instructions for Form 2555 (Instructions for Form 2555 (2023) | Internal Revenue Service (irs.gov)) the Philippines is NOT listed and the IRS states "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 $36,000 on line 29b.", which is 30% of the Foreign Earned Income exclusion ($120,000).  

The problem is TT does not have an "All Other Countries" option and is likely pulling in the list of available countries directly from an IRS data source.  Solution:  TT online needs to include an option to manually enter the country and the $36,000 figure.  While I can certainly select "Angola - All Other" or some other country as a workaround, my concern is a mismatch between the country selected and the actual country the housing expenses were incurred.  This may allow the e-file to go through but may cause problems with IRS validation.  

Can this please be shared ASAP with TT support to implement this seemingly simple fix?

Thank you!

[DaveF1006]

At the moment, this is a known issue that is currently being investigated by Turbo Tax. Use this link to sign up for an email notification informing you when the information is resolved.