Understanding the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion
This article organizes the original guidance on understanding the foreign earned income exclusion into clear sections for easier reading and reference.
Overview
This opening section presents the main context from the original post.
In a previous blog post, we discussed some of the tax options available when a U.S. taxpayer goes overseas for employment. A popular option is to use the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion (FEIE).
The FEIE is especially useful now that the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) makes other options, at least for the near future, no longer beneficial (see our blog post on the effects of the TCJA on reporting options). In this blog post, we will discuss the FEIE in more depth.
What is the FEIE?
This section keeps the original guidance focused on what is the feie?.
If you are a U.S. citizen or a resident alien of the United States and you live abroad, you are taxed on your worldwide income the same as if you were living in the United States. You might also be taxed by the foreign country on the same income.
However, you may qualify to exclude from income an amount of your foreign earnings, up to $104,100 for 2018. In addition, you may exclude or deduct certain foreign housing amounts.
Alternatively, you might also be entitled to exclude from income the value of meals and lodging provided to you by your employer. You claim the FEIE by filing Form 2555 with your individual income tax return.
What are the benefits?
This section keeps the original guidance focused on what are the benefits?.
Take a simplified example of a professor who is assigned to teach in a foreign country. Her salary is $200,000, and she incurs $45,000 of qualified housing expenses in the foreign country.
She has no other income or deductions and she qualifies for the FEIE. If she does not claim the FEIE, her federal taxes would be $46,000.
If she excludes the full amount of income and housing expenses she is eligible to claim, her federal tax will be $20,500; a savings of $25,500.
Who is eligible?
This section keeps the original guidance focused on who is eligible?.
To claim the FEIE and the foreign housing exclusion or deduction, you must meet all three of the following requirements:
- Your tax home must be in a foreign country.
- You must have foreign earned income.
- You must be one of the following: a U.S. citizen who is a bona fide resident of a foreign country for an uninterrupted period that includes an entire tax year, a U.S. resident alien who is a citizen or national of a country with which the United States has an income tax treaty in effect and who is a bona fide resident of a foreign country for an uninterrupted period that includes an entire tax year, or a U.S. citizen or a U.S. resident alien who is physically present in a foreign country for at least 330 full days during any period of 12 consecutive months.
We can help
This section keeps the original guidance focused on we can help.
Ensuring you meet the requirements can be complicated. How you determine your tax home to meet the qualifications is beyond the scope of this blog post; however, the International Tax Group at Bowers has the knowledge and experience to guide you through the intricacies of qualifying for and claiming the FEIE.
If you are on an overseas assignment or are expecting to be, contact us as soon as possible. We can help you come up with a strategic plan to maximize your tax savings when spending time abroad.
By Cliff Acheson, CPA
Related Resources
These resources connect the article topic with related Bowers service pages and approved professional reading.
FAQ
The questions below summarize the main points already covered in the article.
What is the main focus of Understanding the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion?
The article focuses on understanding the foreign earned income exclusion and organizes the original guidance into sections for easier review.
What topics does the article cover first?
The article begins with what is the feie? and then continues through the remaining points in the original post.
Which additional areas are included?
Additional sections include what are the benefits?, who is eligible?, we can help.
Does the post include action items or reminders?
Yes. The original post includes listed items that have been kept in list format for easier scanning.
Was the original post wording changed?
The revision keeps the author wording and updates the structure so the post is easier to read online.