Taxes done in philippines??

[Mike J]

3 hours ago, RickTacloban said:

Last November I married a Filipina while she was in the US.  I wonder how to file my taxes since she is not an American and has no immigration status.

When you say she has no immigration status, are you saying?  Does she have a social security number, has she overstayed her visitor visa,  does she have a green card, etc?

[KC813]

3 hours ago, RickTacloban said:

Last November I married a Filipina while she was in the US.  I wonder how to file my taxes since she is not an American and has no immigration status.

A couple of choices.  Talk to your tax advisor about getting her an ITIN, or file 2019 taxes as 'married filing separately'.

Another option is to file for an extension of time, then file 2019 jointly after she gets her social security number later in 2020.

[dj3642]

On 1/7/2020 at 10:39 PM, OnMyWay said:

Why do you feel you need to change the way you do your taxes?  If you did the taxes yourself the past few years, nothing changes because you moved here to PH, unless you have some new income here in PH.  Sounds like you might be filing a paper 1040EZ by mail.  You can do that and mail it from here.

However, for most people, the online services work better than mailing a hard copy.  Less chance of it getting lost.

I also don't know what Federal Tax Exemption you are referring to.  Nothing changes because you moved to the Philippines, unless you have income in the Philippines.

.. i actually do have some interest from the banks here on my savings. so i am guessing i have to file taxes here in the philippines as well. the federal tax exemption i am talking about is.. something you are able to apply for granting you up to 90000 free from reporting to US if you make money here. we MAY start a business here and so i am sure we will need to get this credit.. 

[dj3642]

On 1/7/2020 at 8:48 PM, davewe said:

FreeTaxUSA for me. Very easy. For what you describe it will take you little more than a few minutes. In reality you probably do not need to file but I always do out of habit.

from what i understand. from all the things i found online.. . even if you have no- income you still need to file a tax form. its letting the IRS know you are still here..  this is my first round of this.. so its all new.. 

[dj3642]

actually all. its called Foreign Earned Income Exclusion.. not the other one i said./ .

[davewe]

51 minutes ago, dj3642 said:

from what i understand. from all the things i found online.. . even if you have no- income you still need to file a tax form. its letting the IRS know you are still here..  this is my first round of this.. so its all new.. 

As I understand it most all rules for filing are the same whether you live in the US or abroad. As I said I always file out of habit, but here's the rules:

"Not all Americans need to file a federal tax return. Those who don’t earn enough in income aren’t required to by law. Whether you make the cut depends on your filing status and age.

Single filers must file a return if they earn at least:: $12,000 if under 65; $13,600 if 65 or older

Married filing jointly filers must file a return if they earn at least:: $24,000 if both spouses are under 65; $25,300 if one spouse is under 65 and one is 65 or older; $26,600 if both spouses are 65 or older"

[Arizona Kid]

On 1/7/2020 at 1:37 PM, Tommy T. said:

I have used Turbo-Tax - the free service offered through the IRS for two years running - and it has been brilliant. I won't give details, but I have a few sources of income and this service worked fine. The main thing you need is to have online or paper statements of all your income - that's the most difficult part of it.

I am adding in an edit here... Last year I figured my taxes manually using all the IRS tax instructions and forms info and then again using TurboTax. My calculations showed higher income and tax payment than the online computer program. That's what really sold me on it. Two years running and no questions from IRS...

You did not explain what exemption you are referring to, so I really don't know about that. Again... consider trying Turbo-Tax because it seemed to work for all of my relatively straightforward needs. And, no... I am not an agent or trying to sell that product (which was free anyway) - just trying to assist...

Cheers!

I've tried using Turbo Tax here in the Phills. For some reason it won't let me complete the process because I'm in a foreign country. What's your secret? 

[Tommy T.]

34 minutes ago, Arizona Kid said:

I've tried using Turbo Tax here in the Phills. For some reason it won't let me complete the process because I'm in a foreign country. What's your secret? 

Perhaps it is because I maintain a mailing address in USA? I use a mail forwarding service to send me notices or small parcels.

[Arizona Kid]

4 minutes ago, Tommy T. said:

Perhaps it is because I maintain a mailing address in USA? I use a mail forwarding service to send me notices or small parcels.

Maybe I'll try it again. If you have an ISP outside of the USA and they let you file..I must have done something wrong. Maybe it's the fact that I have a Fleet Post Office address that screws me up. Regardless, I always figure out how to get it done.

[Tommy T.]

6 minutes ago, Arizona Kid said:

Maybe I'll try it again. If you have an ISP outside of the USA and they let you file..I must have done something wrong. Maybe it's the fact that I have a Fleet Post Office address that screws me up. Regardless, I always figure out how to get it done.

Well, some of the other guys have mentioned several other programs earlier in this thread. So I would try one of those that they say works? Best of luck. And you don't have to worry about it for another four months... I did mine last day on the 15th date in USA - not a great plan on my part, but it worked...

Actually I was technically 1 hour late, but maybe because I didn't owe they let it ride?

Edited January 9, 2020 by Tommy T.