us internal revenue service: p54--1999

8/14/2019 US Internal Revenue Service: p54--1999

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ContentsImportant Changes for 1999 ............. 1

Important Reminders ......................... 2

Introduction ........................................ 2

1. Filing Information .......................... 2Filing Requirements ........................ 3Nonresident Spouse Treated as a

Resident ................................... 5Estimated Tax ................................. 6Information Returns and Reports ... 6

2. Withholding Tax ........................... 7Withholding .................................... 730% Flat Rate Withholding ............. 8Social Security and Medicare Taxes 8

3. Self-Employment Tax .................... 10Who Must Pay Self-Employment

Tax? ......................................... 10Exemption From Social Security and

Medicare Taxes ....................... 11

4. Foreign Earned Income andHousing: Exclusion-Deduction .. 11

Who Qualifies for the Exclusionsand the Deduction? ................. 11Requirements .................................. 11Foreign Earned Income Exclusion . 18Foreign Housing Exclusion or

Deduction ................................. 20Form 2555 and Form 2555EZ ...... 21

5. Exemptions, Deductions, andCredits .......................................... 27

Exclusion vs. Deduction ................. 27

Exemptions ..................................... 27Contributions ................................... 27

Moving Expenses ........................... 27Individual Retirement Arrangements 29

Taxes of Foreign Countries and U.S.Possessions ............................. 29

How To Report Deductions ............ 30

6. Tax Treaty Benefits ....................... 31

The Purpose of Tax Treaties .......... 31Common Benefits ........................... 31

Competent Authority Assistance .... 32Obtaining Copies of Tax Treaties ... 32

7. How To Get More Information ..... 32Services Available Only Outside the

United States ........................... 33Taxpayer Advocate Services .......... 33

Questions and Answers .................... 35

Index .................................................... 41

Important Changes for1999Foreign earned income exclusion in-creased. For 1999, the maximum amountof foreign earned income that you may beable to exclude from your U.S. gross incomehas increased to $74,000.

Photographs of missing children. TheInternal Revenue Service is a proud partnerwith the National Center for Missing and Ex-ploited Children. Photographs of missing

Departmentof theTreasury

InternalRevenueService

Publication 54Cat. No. 14999E

Tax Guide forU.S. Cit izensandResident AliensAbroad

For use in preparing

1999 Returns


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children selected by the Center may appearin this publication on pages that would other-wise be blank. You can help bring thesechildren home by looking at the photographsand calling 1800THELOST (18008435678) if you recognize a child.

Important RemindersSocial security numbers for dependents.

You generally must list on Form 1040 or Form1040A the social security number (SSN) ofany person for whom you claim an exemption.You do not need an SSN for a child who wasborn in 1999 and died in 1999. Instead of anSSN, attach a copy of the child's birth certif-icate and write Died in column (2) of line 6cof your Form 1040 or Form 1040A.

If your dependent does not have and isnot eligible to get an SSN, you must list thedependent's individual taxpayer identificationnumber (ITIN) instead of an SSN. See Socialsecurity numberunder Exemptionsin chapter5.

Form 2555EZ. You may be able to file Form2555EZ, Foreign Earned Income Exclusion,

if: You had foreign earned income of

$74,000 or less, and

Your return is not for a short year.

Form 2555EZ has fewer lines than Form2555, Foreign Earned Income. For more in-formation, see Form 2555EZin chapter 4.

Foreign income tax withheld. If a foreignemployer withheld taxes from your pay anddid not pay those taxes to the U.S. Treasury,you cannot claim those taxes on your U.S.income tax return as federal income taxwithheld. You cannot claim those taxes asfederal income tax withheld even if the

amount is reported on your Form W2, Wageand Tax Statement.You may be able to claim a foreign tax

credit or a foreign tax deduction based on theamount withheld and paid to a foreign taxauthority. See Taxes of Foreign Countriesand U.S. Possessionsin chapter 5.

Change of address.

If you change your mailing address,be sure to notify the Internal RevenueService using Form 8822, Change of

Address. Mail it to the Internal Revenue Ser-vice Center for your old address (addressesfor the Service Centers are on the back of theform). If you are changing both your homeand business addresses, you only need to

complete one form.

IntroductionThis publication discusses the special taxrules for U.S. citizens and resident alienswho work abroad or who have income earnedin foreign countries. As a U.S. citizen or resi-dent alien, your worldwide income generallyis subject to U.S. income tax, regardless ofwhere you are living. Also, you are subjectto the same income tax filing requirementsthat apply to U.S. citizens or residents livingin the United States.

Filing information. Chapter 1 contains gen-eral filing information, such as:

Whether you must file a U.S. tax return,

When and where to file your return,

How to report your income if it is paid inforeign currency,

How to determine your filing status if yourspouse is a nonresident alien, and

Whether you must pay estimated tax.

If you own stock in a foreign corporation orhave an interest in a foreign partnership, youmay have to file information returns. See theinstructions under Information Returns andReportsin chapter 1.

Withholding tax. Chapter 2 discusses thewithholding of income taxes and social secu-rity and Medicare taxes from the pay of U.S.citizens, resident aliens, and nonresident al-iens. It will help you determine if the correctamounts of taxes are being withheld and howto adjust your withholding if too much or toolittle is being withheld.

Self-employment tax. If you are self-employed, you generally are required to pay

self-employment tax. Chapter 3 discusseswho must pay self-employment tax and whomay be exempt from self-employment tax.

Foreign earned income exclusion andhousing exclusion and deduction. Thereare income tax benefits that might apply if youmeet certain requirements while livingabroad. You may qualify to treat up to$74,000 of your income as not taxable by theUnited States. You may also be able to eitherdeduct part of your housing expenses fromyour taxable income or treat a limited amountof income used for housing expenses as nottaxable by the United States. These benefitsare called the foreign earned income exclu-sion and the foreign housing deduction andexclusion.

To qualify for either of the exclusions orthe deduction, you must have a tax home ina foreign country and earn income from per-sonal services performed in a foreign country.These rules are explained in chapter 4.

If you are going to exclude or deduct yourincome as discussed above, you must fileForm 2555 or Form 2555EZ. You will findan example with filled-in Forms 2555 and2555EZ in this publication.

Exemptions, deductions and credits. If youare a U.S. citizen or resident alien living out-side the United States, you are generally al-lowed the same exemptions, deductions andcredits as those living in the United States.However, if you choose to exclude foreign

earned income or housing amounts, youcannot deduct or exclude any item or take acredit for any item that is related to theamounts you exclude. Among the topics dis-cussed in chapter 5 are:

Exemptions you can claim,

Contributions you can deduct,

Moving expenses you can deduct, and

Foreign taxes you can either deduct ortake a credit for.

Tax treaty benefits. Chapter 6 discussessome benefits that are common to most taxtreaties and explains how to get help if you

think you are not getting a benefit to whichyou are entitled. It also explains how to getcopies of tax treaties.

How to get more information. Chapter 7 isan explanation of how to get information (in-cluding forms and publications) and assist-ance from the IRS.

Questions and answers. Answers to fre-quently asked questions are presented in theback of the publication.

1.

FilingInformation

TopicsThis chapter discusses:

Whether you have to file a return, When to file your return and pay any tax

due,

How to treat foreign currency,

Where to file your return,

When you can treat your nonresidentspouse as a resident,

When you may have to make estimatedtax payments, and

Information returns and reports you mayhave to file.

Useful Items

You may want to see:

Publication

3 Armed Forces' Tax Guide

501 Exemptions, Standard Deduction,and Filing Information

505 Tax Withholding and EstimatedTax

519 U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens

520 Scholarships and Fellowships

Form (and Instructions)

1040ES Estimated Tax for Individuals

1040XAmended U.S. Individual IncomeTax Return

2350 Application for Extension of TimeTo File U.S. Income Tax Return

2555 Foreign Earned Income

2555EZ Foreign Earned Income Exclu-sion

2688 Application for Additional Exten-sion of Time To File U.S. Indi-vidual Income Tax Return

4868 Application for Automatic Exten-sion of Time To File U.S. Indi-vidual Income Tax Return

Page 2 Chapter 1 Filing Information


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5471 Information Return of U.S. Per-sons With Respect To CertainForeign Corporations

8822 Change of Address

SS5 Application for a Social SecurityCard

TD F 9022.1 Report of Foreign Bankand Financial Accounts

W7 Application for IRS Individual

Taxpayer Identification NumberSee chapter 7 for information about get-

ting these publications and forms.

Filing RequirementsIf you are a U.S. citizen or resident alien livingor traveling outside the United States, yougenerally are required to file income tax re-turns, estate tax returns, and gift tax returnsand pay estimated tax in the same way asthose residing in the United States.

Your income, filing status, and age gen-erally determine whether you must file a re-

turn. Generally, you must file a return for 1999if your gross income is at least the amountshown for your filing status in the followingtable:

Gross income. This includes all income youreceive in the form of money, goods, property,and services that is not exempt from tax.

In determining whether you must file areturn, you must consider as gross incomeany income that you exclude as foreignearned income or as a foreign housingamount. If you must file a return and you ex-clude all or part of your income under theserules, you must prepare Form 2555, dis-cussed later. You may be able to file Form2555EZ if you are claiming only the foreignearned income exclusion.

Self-employed individuals. If you areself-employed, your gross income includesthe amount on line 7 of Schedule C (Form1040), Profit or Loss From Business, or line1 of Schedule C-EZ (Form 1040), Net ProfitFrom Business.

CAUTION

!If your net self-employment income is$400 or more, you must file a returneven if your gross income is below the

amount for filing purposes listed above.

65 or older. You are 65 on the day beforeyour 65th birthday. If your 65th birthday is onJanuary 1, you would be 65 on December 31of the previous year.

When To File and PayIf you file on the calendar year basis, the duedate for filing your return is April 15 of thefollowing year. (Because April 15, 2000, fallson Saturday, the due date for your 1999 re-turn will be April 17.) If you file on a fiscal yearbasis (a year ending on the last day of anymonth except December), the due date is 3months and 15 days after the close of yourfiscal year. In general, the tax shown on yourreturn should be paid by the due date of thereturn, without regard to any extension of time

for filing the return.

CAUTION

!A tax return delivered by the U.S. mailor a designated delivery service thatis postmarked or dated by the delivery

service on or before the due date is consid-ered to have been filed on or before that date.This rule does not apply if a return is filed late.A return postmarked or date marked after thedue date is not considered filed until it is re-ceived by Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

You can use certain private delivery ser-vices designated by the IRS to meet thetimely mailing as timely filing/payingrule fortax returns and payments. The IRS publishesa list of the designated private delivery ser-vices in September of each year.

ExtensionsYou can be granted an extension of time tofile your return. In some circumstances, youcan also be granted an extension of time tofile and pay any tax due.

However, if you pay the tax due after theregular due date, interest will be charged fromthe regular due date until the date the tax ispaid.

Automatic 2month extension. You maybe allowed an automatic 2month extensionto file your return and pay any federal incometax that is due. You will be allowed the ex-tension if you are a U.S. citizen or resident

and on the regular due date of your return:

1) You are living outside of the UnitedStates and Puerto Rico and your mainplace of business or post of duty is out-side the United States and Puerto Rico,or

2) You are in military or naval service onduty outside the United States andPuerto Rico.

If you use a calendar year, the regular duedate of your return is April 15.

Service in a combat zone. If you servedin a combat zone or qualified hazardous dutyarea, see Extension of deadlinein Publication3.

Married taxpayers. If you file a joint re-turn, either you or your spouse can qualify forthe automatic extension. If you and yourspouse file separate returns, this automaticextension applies only to the spouse whoqualifies.

How to get the extension. To use thisautomatic 2-month extension, you must at-tach a statement to your return explainingwhich of the two situations listed earlier qual-ified you for the extension.

Extensions beyond 2 months. If you areunable to file your return within the automatic2-month extension period, you may be ableto get an additional 2-month extension of timeto file your return, for a total of 4 months.

This additional 2-month extension of timeto file is notan extension of time to pay. SeeTime to pay not extended, later.

4month extension. If you are not able tofile your 1999 return by the due date, you maybe able to get an automatic 4-month exten-sion of time to file. To get this automatic ex-tension, you must file Form 4868 or pay thetax due by credit card (see the form in-structions).

CAUTION!

You may not be eligible. You cannot

use the automatic 4-month extensionof time to file if:

You want the IRS to figure your tax, or

You are under a court order to file by theregular due date.

When to file. Generally, you must re-quest the 4-month extension by the regulardue date for your return.

2-month extension. If you qualify for the2-month extension discussed above becauseyour tax home and abode are outside theUnited States and Puerto Rico, that extension

and the 4-month extension start at the sametime. You do not have to request the 4-monthextension until the new due date allowed bythe first extension, but the total combinedextension will still only be 4 months from theregular due date.

Time to pay not extended. A 4-monthextension of time to file is not an extensionof time to pay. You must make an accurateestimate of your tax and send any necessarypayment with your Form 4868 or pay the taxdue by credit card. If you find you cannot paythe full amount due with Form 4868, you canstill get the extension. You will owe intereston the unpaid amount.

You also may be charged a penalty forpaying the tax late unless you have reason-able cause for not paying your tax when due.Interest and penalties are assessed (charged)from the original due date of your return.

Extension beyond the 4 months. If youqualify for the 4-month extension and youlater find that you are not able to file within the4-month extension period, you may be ableto get 2 more months to file, for a total of 6months.

You can apply for an extension beyondthe 4-month extension either by sending aletter to the IRS or by filing Form 2688. Youshould request the extension early so that, ifrefused, you still will be able to file on time.Except in cases of undue hardship, Form2688 or a request by letter will not be ac-cepted until you have first used the 4-month

extension. Form 2688 or your letter will notbe considered if you send it after the ex-tended due date.

To get an extension beyond the automatic4-month extension, you must give all the fol-lowing information.

The reason for requesting the extension.

The tax year to which the extension ap-plies.

The length of time needed for the exten-sion.

Whether another extension for time to filehas already been requested for this taxyear.

Filing Status AmountSingle ....................................................... $7,050

65 or older ........................................... $8,100Head of household .................................. $9,100

65 or older ........................................... $10,150Qualifying widow(er) ................................ $9,950

65 or older ........................................... $10,800Married filing jointly .................................. $12,700

Not living with spouse at end of year .. $2,750One spouse 65 or older ...................... $13,550Both spouses 65 or older .................... $14,400

Married filing separately .......................... $2,750

If you are the dependent of another taxpayer, see

the instructions for Form 1040 for more informationon whether you must file a return.

Chapter 1 Filing Information Page 3


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You can sign the request for this extension,or it can be signed by your attorney, CPA,enrolled agent, or a person with a power ofattorney. If you are unable to sign the requestbecause of illness or for another good reason,a person in close personal or business re-lationship to you can sign the request.

Extension granted. If your application forthis extension is approved, you will be notifiedby the IRS. Attach the notice to your returnwhen you file it.

If an extension is granted and the IRS laterdetermines that the statements made on yourrequest for this extension are false or mis-leading and an extension would not havebeen granted based on the true facts, theextension is null and void. You may have topay the failure-to-file penalty if you file afterthe regular due date.

Extension not granted. If your applica-tion for this extension is not approved, youmust file your return by the extended due dateof the automatic extension. You may be al-lowed to file within 10 days of the date of thenotice you get from the IRS if the end of the10-day period is later than the due date. Thenotice will tell you if the 10-day grace periodis granted.

Further extensions. You generally cannotget an extension of more than 6 months.However, if you are outside the United Statesand meet certain tests, you may be able toget a longer extension. See Bona fide resi-dence or physical presence test not yet met,next.

Bona fide residence or physical presencetest not yet met. You can get an extensionof time to file your tax return if you need thetime to meet either the bona fide residencetest or the physical presence test to qualify foreither the foreign earned income exclusionor the foreign housing exclusion or deduction.The tests, the exclusions, and the deductionare explained in chapter 4.

You should request an extension if allthree of the following apply.

1) You are a U.S. citizen or resident.

2) You expect to meet either the bona fideresidence test or the physical presencetest, but not until after your tax return isdue.

3) Your tax home is in a foreign country (orcountries) throughout your period ofbona fide residence or physical pres-ence, whichever applies.

Generally, if you are granted an extension,it will be to 30 days beyond the date on whichyou can reasonably expect to qualify undereither the bona fide residence test or thephysical presence test. However, if you havemoving expenses that are for services per-formed in 2 years, you may be granted anextension to 90 days beyond the close of theyear following the year of first arrival in theforeign country.

How to get extension. To obtain an ex-tension, you should file Form 2350 with theInternal Revenue Service Center, Philadel-phia, PA 192550002, the local IRS repre-sentative, or other IRS employee.

You must file Form 2350 by the due datefor filing your return. Generally, if both yourtax home and your abode are outside theUnited States and Puerto Rico on the regulardue date of your return and you file on a cal-

endar year basis, the due date for filing yourreturn is June 15.

What if tests not met. If you obtain anextension of time and unforeseen eventsmake it impossible for you to satisfy either thebona fide residence test or the physicalpresence test, you should file your income taxreturn as soon as possible because you mustpay interest on any tax due after the regulardue date of the return (even though an ex-tension was granted).

CAUTION!

You should make any request for an

extension early, so that if it is deniedyou still can file your return on time.

Otherwise, if you file late and additional taxis due, you may be subject to a penalty.

Return filed before test met. If you filea return before you meet the bona fide resi-dence test or the physical presence test, youmust include all income from both U.S. andforeign sources and pay the tax on that in-come. If you later qualify for the foreignearned income exclusion, the foreign housingexclusion, or the foreign housing deductionunder the bona fide residence or physicalpresence rules, you can file a claim for refundof tax on Form 1040X. The refund will be thedifference between the amount of tax already

paid and the tax liability as figured after theexclusion or deduction.

Foreign CurrencyYou must express the amounts you report onyour U.S. tax return in U.S. dollars. If you re-ceive all or part of your income or pay someor all of your expenses in foreign currency,you must translate the foreign currency intoU.S. dollars. How you do this depends onyour functional currency. Your functionalcurrency generally is the U.S. dollar unlessyou are required to use the currency of aforeign country.

You must make all federal income taxdeterminations in your functional currency.

The U.S. dollar is the functional currency forall taxpayers except some qualified businessunits. A qualified business unit is a separateand clearly identified unit of a trade or busi-ness that maintains separate books and rec-ords. Unless you are self-employed, yourfunctional currency is the U.S. dollar.

Even if you are self-employed and havea qualified business unit, your functional cur-rency is the dollar if any of the following apply.

You conduct the business in dollars.

The principal place of business is locatedin the United States.

You choose to or are required to use thedollar as your functional currency.

The business books and records are notkept in the currency of the economic en-vironment in which a significant part ofthe business activities is conducted.

If your functional currency is the U.S. dol-lar, you must immediately translate into dol-lars all items of income, expense, etc. (in-cluding taxes), that you receive, pay, oraccrue in a foreign currency and that will af-fect computation of your income tax. Use theexchange rate prevailing when you receive,pay, or accrue the item. If there is more thanone exchange rate, use the one that mostproperly reflects your income. You can gen-erally get exchange rates from banks andU.S. Embassies.

If your functional currency is not the U.S.dollar, make all income tax determinations inyour functional currency. At the end of theyear, translate the results, such as incomeor loss, into U.S. dollars to report on your in-come tax return.

Blocked IncomeYou generally must report your foreign in-come in terms of U.S. dollars and, with oneexception (see Fulbright grants later), youmust pay taxes due on it in U.S. dollars.

If, because of restrictions in a foreigncountry, your income is not readily convertibleinto U.S. dollars or into other money or prop-erty that is readily convertible into U.S. dol-lars, your income is blocked or deferrableincome. You can report this income in one oftwo ways:

1) Report the income and pay your federalincome tax with U.S. dollars that youhave in the United States or in someother country, or

2) Postpone the reporting of the incomeuntil it becomes unblocked.

If you choose to postpone the reportingof the income, you must file an information

return with your tax return. For this informa-tion return, you should use another Form1040 labeled Report of Deferrable ForeignIncome, pursuant to Rev. Rul. 74351. Youmust declare on the information return thatthe deferrable income will be included in tax-able income in the year that it becomes un-blocked. You also must state that you waiveany right to claim that the deferrable incomewas includible in income for any earlier year.

You must report your income on your in-formation return using the foreign currency inwhich you received that income. If you haveblocked income from more than one foreigncountry, include a separate information returnfor each country.

Income becomes unblocked and report-

able for tax purposes when it becomes con-vertible, or when it is converted, into dollarsor into other money or property that is con-vertible into U.S. currency. Also, if you useblocked income for your personal expensesor dispose of it by gift, bequest, or devise, youmust treat it as unblocked and reportable.

If you have received blocked income onwhich you have not paid the tax, you shouldcheck to see whether that income is stillblocked. If it is not, you should take immediatesteps to pay the tax on it, file a declarationor amended declaration of estimated tax, andinclude the income on your tax return for theyear in which the income became unblocked.

If you choose to postpone reportingblocked income and in a later tax year youwish to begin including it in gross income al-though it is still blocked, you must obtain thepermission of the IRS to do so. To apply forpermission, file Form 3115, Application forChange in Accounting Method. You alsomust request permission from the IRS onForm 3115 if you have not chosen to defer thereporting of blocked income in the past, butnow wish to begin reporting blocked incomeunder the deferred method. See the in-structions for Form 3115 for information.

Fulbright grants. All income must be re-ported in U.S. dollars. In most cases, the taxmust also be paid in U.S. dollars. If, however,at least 70% of your Fulbright grant has beenpaid in nonconvertible foreign currency



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(blocked income), you can use the currencyof the host country to pay part of the U.S. taxthat is based on the blocked income. To de-termine the amount of the tax that you canpay in foreign currency get Publication 520.Details of these arrangements may also beobtained from the U.S. Educational Founda-tions or Commissions in foreign countries.

Where To FileIf any of the following situations apply to you,you should file your return with the:

Internal Revenue Service CenterPhiladelphia, PA 192550215.

1) You claim the foreign earned incomeexclusion.

2) You claim the foreign housing exclusionor deduction.

3) You claim the exclusion of income forbona fide residents of American Samoa.

4) You live in a foreign country or U.S.possession and have no legal residenceor principal place of business in theUnited States.

The exclusions and the deduction are ex-plained in chapter 4.If you do not know where your legal resi-

dence is and you do not have a principalplace of business in the United States, youcan file with the Philadelphia Service Center.The address for the Philadelphia ServiceCenter is shown above.

However, you should not file with thePhiladelphia Service Center if you are a bonafide resident of the Virgin Islands or a residentof Guam or the Commonwealth of the North-ern Mariana Islands on the last day of yourtax year.

Resident of Virgin Islands

If you are a bona fide resident of the

Virgin Islands on the last day of yourtax year (even if your legal residence

or principal place of business is in the UnitedStates), you must file your return with theVirgin Islands and pay your tax on income youhave from all sources to the:

Virgin Islands Bureau of Internal Revenue9601 Estate ThomasCharlotte AmalieSt. Thomas, Virgin Islands 00802.

Non-Virgin Islands resident with Virgin Is-lands Income. If you are a U.S. citizen orresident and you have income from sourcesin the Virgin Islands or income effectivelyconnected with the conduct of a trade or

business in the Virgin Islands, and you arenot a bona fide resident of the Virgin Islandson the last day of your tax year, you must fileidentical tax returns with the United Statesand the Virgin Islands. File the original returnwith the United States and file a copy of theU.S. return (including all attachments, forms,and schedules) with the Virgin Islands Bureauof Internal Revenue.

The amount of tax you must pay to theVirgin Islands is figured by the followingcomputation:

Total tax on U.S. return(after certain adjustments)

V.I. AGI

Worldwide AGI

Form 8689, Allocation of Individual IncomeTax to the Virgin Islands, is used for thiscomputation. You must complete this formand attach it to your return. You should payany tax due to the Virgin Islands when you fileyour return with the Virgin Islands Bureau ofInternal Revenue.

You should file your U.S. return with theInternal Revenue Service Center, Philadel-phia, PA 192550215.

Resident of Guam

If you are a resident of Guam on thelast day of your tax year, you shouldfile a return with Guam and pay your

tax on income you have from all sources tothe:

Department of Revenue and TaxationGovernment of GuamP.O. Box 23607GMF, GU 96921.

However, if you are a resident of theUnited States on the last day of your tax year,you should file a return with the United Statesand pay your tax on income you have fromall sources to the Internal Revenue Service

Center, Philadelphia, PA 192550215.See Publication 570, Tax Guide for Indi-

viduals With Income From U.S. Possessions,for information about the filing requirementsfor residents of Guam.

Resident of the Commonwealth of theNorthern Mariana Islands

If you are a resident of the Common-wealth of the Northern Mariana Is-lands on the last day of your tax year,

you should file a return with the NorthernMariana Islands and pay your tax on incomeyou have from all sources to the:

Division of Revenue and Taxation

Commonwealth of the Northern MarianaIslandsP.O. Box 5234, CHRBSaipan, MP 96950.

However, if you are a resident of theUnited States on the last day of your tax year,you should file a return with the United Statesand pay your tax on income you have fromall sources to the Internal Revenue ServiceCenter, Philadelphia, PA 192550215.

See Publication 570 for information aboutthe filing requirements for residents of theCommonwealth of the Northern Mariana Is-lands.

Terrorist or Military ActionU.S. income taxes are forgiven for U.S. Gov-ernment military or civilian employees whodie as a result of wounds or injuries sustainedoutside the United States in a terrorist or mil-itary action directed against the United Statesor its allies. The taxes are forgiven for thedeceased employee's tax years beginningwith the year immediately before the year inwhich the injury or wounds were incurred andending with the year of death.

If the deceased government employeeand the employee's spouse had a joint in-come tax liability for those years, the tax mustbe divided between the spouses to determinethe amount forgiven.

For more information on how to have thetax forgiven or how to claim a refund of taxalready paid, see Publication 559, Survivors,Executors, and Administrators.

Nonresident SpouseTreated as a ResidentIf, at the end of your tax year, you are married

and one spouse is a U.S. citizen or a residentalien and the other is a nonresident alien, youcan choose to treat the nonresident as a U.S.resident. This includes situations in which oneof you is a nonresident alien at the beginningof the tax year, but a resident alien at the endof the year, and the other is a nonresidentalien at the end of the year.

If you make this choice, the following tworules apply.

1) You and your spouse are treated, forincome tax purposes, as residents forall tax years that the choice is in effect.

2) You must file a joint income tax return forthe year you make the choice.

This means that neither of you can claim taxtreaty benefits as a resident of a foreigncountry for a tax year for which the choice isin effect. You can file joint or separate returnsin years after the year in which you make thechoice.

Example 1. Pat Smith has been a U.S.citizen for many years. She is married toNorman, a nonresident alien. Pat and Normanmake the choice to treat Norman as a resi-dent alien by attaching a statement to their

joint return. Pat and Norman must report theirworldwide income for the year they make thechoice and for all later years unless thechoice is ended or suspended. Although Patand Norman must file a joint return for the

year they make the choice, they can file eitherjoint or separate returns for later years.

Example 2. Bob and Sharon Williams aremarried and both are nonresident aliens. InJune of last year, Bob became a resident al-ien and remained a resident for the rest of theyear. Bob and Sharon both choose to betreated as resident aliens by attaching astatement to their joint return for last year.Bob and Sharon must report their worldwideincome for last year and all later years unlessthe choice is ended or suspended. Bob andSharon must file a joint return for last year,but they can file either joint or separate re-turns for later years.

Social Security Number(SSN)If your spouse is a nonresident alien and youfile a joint or separate return, your spousemust have either an SSN or an individualtaxpayer identification number (ITIN).

To get an SSN for your spouse, apply ata social security office or U.S. consulate. Youmust complete Form SS5. You must alsoprovide original or certified copies of docu-ments to verify your spouse's age, identity,and citizenship.

If your spouse is not eligible to get anSSN, he or she can file Form W7 with theIRS to apply for an ITIN.

Chapter 1 Filing Information Page 5


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How To Make the ChoiceAttach a statement, signed by both spouses,to your joint return for the first tax year forwhich the choice applies. It should containthe following:

1) A declaration that one spouse was anonresident alien and the other spousea U.S. citizen or resident alien on the lastday of your tax year, and that youchoose to be treated as U.S. residentsfor the entire tax year, and

2) The name, address, and social securitynumber (or individual taxpayer identifi-cation number) of each spouse. (If onespouse died, include the name and ad-dress of the person making the choicefor the deceased spouse.)

You generally make this choice when youfile your joint return. However, you can alsomake the choice by filing a joint amendedreturn on Form 1040 or Form 1040A. Be sureto write the word Amended across the topof the amended return. If you make thechoice with an amended return, you and yourspouse must also amend any returns that youmay have filed after the year for which youmade the choice.

You generally must file the amended jointreturn within 3 years from the date you filedyour original U.S. income tax return or 2 yearsfrom the date you paid your income tax forthat year, whichever is later.

Suspending the ChoiceThe choice to be treated as a resident aliendoes not apply to any later tax year if neitherof you is a U.S. citizen or resident alien at anytime during the later tax year.

Example. Dick Brown was a resident al-ien on December 31, 1995, and married toJudy, a nonresident alien. They chose to treatJudy as a resident alien and filed joint 1995

and 1996 income tax returns. On January 10,1997, Dick became a nonresident alien. Judyhad remained a nonresident alien throughoutthe period. Dick and Judy can file joint orseparate returns for 1997. However, sinceneither Dick nor Judy is a resident alien at anytime during 1998, their choice is suspendedfor that year. If either has U.S. source incomeor foreign source income effectively con-nected with a U.S. trade or business in 1998,they must file separate returns as nonresidentaliens. If Dick becomes a resident alien againin 1999, their choice is no longer suspended.For years their choice is not suspended, theymust include income received from both U.S.and foreign sources in their income for eachtax year.

Ending the ChoiceOnce made, the choice to be treated as aresident applies to all later years unless sus-pended (as explained above) or ended in oneof the ways shown in Figure 1A.

If the choice is ended for any of the rea-sons listed in Figure 1A, neither spouse canmake a choice in any later tax year.

TIPIf you do not choose to treat yournonresident spouse as a U.S. resi-dent, you may be able to use head

of household filing status. To use this status,you must pay more than half the cost ofmaintaining a household for certain depen-

dents or relatives other than your nonresidentalien spouse. For more information, seePublication 501.

Estimated TaxThe requirements for determining who mustpay estimated tax are the same for a U.S.citizen or resident abroad as for a taxpayer inthe United States. For current instructions onmaking your estimated tax payments, seeForm 1040ES.

If you had a tax liability for 1999, you mayhave to pay estimated tax for 2000. Gener-ally, you must make estimated tax paymentsfor 2000 if you expect to owe at least $1,000in tax for 2000 after subtracting your with-holding and credits, and you expect yourwithholding and credits to be less than thesmaller of:

1) 90% of the tax to be shown on your 2000tax return, or

2) 100% of the tax shown on your 1999 taxreturn. (The return must cover all 12months.)

If less than two thirds of your gross incomefor 1999 or 2000 is from farming or fishingand your adjusted gross income for 1999 ismore than $150,000 ($75,000 if you aremarried and file separately), substitute 106%for 100% in (2) above. See Publication 505for more information.

CAUTION

!As this publication was being pre-pared for print, Congress was con-sidering legislation that would in-

crease the percentage (from 106%) thathigher income taxpayers would have to de-posit in 2000 in order to avoid an estimatedtax penalty. For more information about thisand other important tax changes, see Publi-cation 553, Highlights of 1999 Tax Changes.

The first installment of estimated tax isusually due on April 15 of the tax year. Be-cause April 15, 2000, falls on Saturday, thefirst installment for 2000 is due on April 17.

When figuring your estimated gross in-come, subtract amounts you expect to ex-clude under the foreign earned income ex-clusion and the foreign housing exclusion. Inaddition, you can reduce your income by yourestimated foreign housing deduction. How-ever, if the actual amount of the exclusion ordeduction is less than you estimate, you mayhave to pay a penalty on the underpaymentof estimated tax.

Information Returnsand ReportsIf you acquire or dispose of stock in a foreigncorporation, own a controlling interest in aforeign corporation, or acquire or dispose ofany interest in a foreign partnership, you mayhave to file an information return. You alsomay have to file an information return if youtransfer property to a foreign trust, or if youhave transferred property to a foreign trustwith at least one U.S. beneficiary. You mayhave to file reports if you ship currency to orfrom the United States or if you have an in-terest in a foreign bank or financial account.

Form 5471. Form 5471 must generally befiled by certain U.S. shareholders of con-trolled foreign corporations and by certainshareholders, officers, and directors of foreignpersonal holding companies. Form 5471 mustalso be filed by officers, directors, andshareholders of U.S. entities that acquire,dispose of, or are involved in the reorganiza-tion of a foreign corporation.

If it is required, you must file Form 5471at the time you file your income tax return.More information about the filing of Form5471 can be found in the instructions for thisinformation return.

Form 3520. Form 3520, Annual Return ToReport Transactions With Foreign Trusts andReceipt of Certain Foreign Gifts, is used toreport:

Certain transactions with foreign trusts,and

Receipt of certain large gifts or bequestsfrom certain foreign persons.

It must be filed by:

U.S. persons that are treated as ownersof any portion of a foreign trust for U.S.income tax purposes under sections 671through 679 (the grantor trust rules) toreport certain information,

U.S. persons to provide information aboutdistributions received from foreign trusts,and

Other individuals as listed in the Form3520 instructions.

You must file the form with your incometax return by the due date (including exten-sions) of your return. Also, send a copy of theform to the Internal Revenue Service Center,Philadelphia, PA 19255.

Form 4790. Form 4790, Report of Interna-tional Transportation of Currency or Monetary

Instruments, must be filed by each personwho physically transports, mails, ships, orcauses to be physically transported, mailed,or shipped, into or out of the United States,currency or other monetary instruments total-ing more than $10,000 at one time. The filingrequirement also applies to any person whoattempts to transport, mail, or ship the cur-rency or monetary instruments or attempts tocause them to be transported, mailed, orshipped. Form 4790 must also be filed bycertain recipients of currency or monetary in-struments.

The term monetary instruments includescoin and currency of the United States or ofany other country, money orders, traveler'schecks, investment securities in bearer formor otherwise in such form that title passesupon delivery, and negotiable instruments(except warehouse receipts or bills of lading)in bearer form or otherwise in such form thattitle passes upon delivery. The term includesbank checks, and money orders that aresigned, but on which the name of the payeehas been omitted. The term does not includebank checks, or money orders made payableto the order of a named person that have notbeen endorsed or that bear restrictiveendorsements.

A transfer of funds through normal bank-ing procedures (wire transfer) which does notinvolve the physical transportation of currencyor bearer monetary instruments is not re-quired to be reported on Form 4790.



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Figure 1-A. Ending the Choice

Revocation

Death

Legal separation

Inadequate records

Either spouse can revoke the choice for any tax year.

The revocation must be made by the due date for filing the tax return for that tax year.

The spouse who revokes must attach a signed statement declaring that the choice is being

revoked.

The statement revoking the choice must include the following:

The name, address, and social security number (or taxpayer identification number) of each

spouse.

The name and address of any person who is revoking the choice for a deceased spouse.

A list of any states, foreign countries, and possessions that have community property laws inwhich either spouse is domiciled or where real property is located from which either spouse

receives income.

If the spouse revoking the choice must file a return, attach the statement to the return for the first

year the revocation applies.

If the spouse revoking the choice does not have to file a return, but does file a return (for

example, to obtain a refund), attach the statement to the return.

If the spouse revoking the choice does not have to file a return and does not file a claim for

refund, send the statement to the Internal Revenue Service Center where the last joint return was

filed.

The death of either spouse ends the choice, beginning with the first tax year following the year

the spouse died.

If the surviving spouse is a U.S. citizen or resident and is entitled to the joint tax rates as a

surviving spouse, the choice will not end until the close of the last year for which these joint rates

may be used.

If both spouses die in the same tax year, the choice ends on the first day after the close of the

tax year in which the spouses died.

A legal separation under a decree of divorce or separate maintenance ends the choice as of the

beginning of the tax year in which the legal separation occurs.

The Internal Revenue Service can end the choice for any tax year that either spouse has failed to

keep adequate books, records, and other information necessary to determine the correct income

tax liability, or to provide adequate access to those records.

Recipients. Each person who receivescurrency or other monetary instruments from

a place outside the United States for which areport has not been filed by the shipper mustfile Form 4790.

It must be filed within 15 days afterreceipt with the Customs officer incharge at any port of entry or depar-

ture, or by mail with the:

Commissioner of CustomsAttention: Currency TransportationReportsWashington, DC 20229.

Shippers or mailers. If the currency orother monetary instrument does not accom-pany a person entering or departing theUnited States, Form 4790 can be filed by mailwith the Commissioner of Customs at theabove address. It must be filed by the dateof entry, departure, mailing, or shipping.

Travelers. Travelers carrying currencyor other monetary instruments with them mustfile Customs Form 4790 with the Customsofficer in charge at any Customs port of entryor departure when entering or departing theUnited States.

Penalties. Civil and criminal penalties areprovided for failure to file a report, supply in-formation, and for filing a false or fraudulent

report. Also, the entire amount of the currencyor monetary instrument may be subject to

seizure and forfeiture.More information about the filing of Form

4790 can be found in the instructions on theback of the form.

Form TD F 9022.1. Form TD F 9022.1must be filed if you had any financial interestin, or signature or other authority over, abank, securities, or other financial account ina foreign country. You do not have to file thereport if the assets are with a U.S. militarybanking facility operated by a U.S. financialinstitution or if the combined assets in theaccount(s) are $10,000 or less during theentire year.

You must file this form by June 30 eachyear with the Department of the Treasury atthe address shown on the form. Form TD F9022.1 is not a tax return, so do not attachit to your Form 1040.

2.

Withholding Tax


Withholding income tax from the pay ofU.S. citizens,

Withholding tax at a flat rate, and

Social security and Medicare taxes.

Useful ItemsYou may want to see:

Publication

505 Tax Withholding and EstimatedTax

Form (and Instructions) 673 Statement for Claiming Benefits

Provided by Section 911 of theInternal Revenue Code

W4 Employee's Withholding Allow-ance Certificate

See chapter 7 for information about get-ting these publications and forms.

WithholdingU.S. employers generally must withhold U.S.income tax from the pay of U.S. citizens per-

Chapter 2 Withholding Tax Page 7


8/44

forming services in a foreign country unlessthe employer is required by foreign law towithhold foreign income tax.

Your employer, however, is not requiredto withhold U.S. income tax from the portionof your wages earned abroad that are equalto the foreign earned income exclusion andforeign housing exclusion if your employerhas good reason to believe that you willqualify for these exclusions.

Statement. You can give a statement to your

employer indicating that you will meet eitherthe bona fide residence test or the physicalpresence test and indicating your estimatedhousing cost exclusion.

You can get copies of an acceptablestatement (Form 673) by writing to:

Internal Revenue ServiceAssistant Commissioner (International)Attn: OP:IN:D:CS950 L'Enfant Plaza South, SWWashington, DC 20024.

You can use Form 673 only if you are aU.S. citizen. You do not have to use the form.

You can prepare your own statement. Seethe next page for a copy of Form 673.You must give the statement to your em-

ployer and not to the IRS.Generally, the receipt of a signed state-

ment from you that includes a declarationunder penalties of perjury is considered au-thority for your employer to discontinue with-holding. However, if your employer has rea-son to believe that you will not qualify for anexclusion of income, your employer mustdisregard the statement and withhold the tax.

If your employer has information aboutpay you received from any other source out-side the United States, it must be consideredin determining whether your foreign earnedincome is more than the limit on the exclu-sion.

Your employer should withhold taxes fromany wages you earn for working in the UnitedStates.

Foreign tax credit. If you plan to take a for-eign tax credit, you may be eligible for addi-tional withholding allowances on Form W4.You can take these additional withholding al-lowances only for foreign tax credits attribut-able to taxable salary or wage income. SeePublication 505 for further information.

Withholding from pension payments. U.S.payers of benefits from employer deferredcompensation plans, individual retirementplans, and commercial annuities generallymust withhold income tax from the paymentsor distributions they make to you. Withholdingwill apply unless you choose exemption fromwithholding. You cannot choose either ex-emption unless you provide the payer of thebenefits with a residence address in theUnited States or a U.S. possession or certifyto the payer that you are not a U.S. citizenor resident alien or someone who left theUnited States to avoid tax.

Checking your withholding. Before youreport U.S. income tax withholding on yourtax return, you should carefully review all in-formation documents, such as Form W2 andForm 1099. Compare other records, such asfinal pay records or bank statements, with

Form W2 or Form 1099 to verify the with-holding on these forms. Check your U.S. in-come tax withholding even if you pay some-one else to prepare your tax return. You maybe assessed penalties and interest if youclaim more than your correct amount of with-holding.

30% Flat Rate

WithholdingGenerally, U.S. payers of income other thanwages, such as dividends and royalties, arerequired to withhold tax at a flat 30% (or lowertreaty) rate on payments of this income tononresident aliens. If you are a U.S. citizenor resident and this tax is withheld in errorfrom payments to you because you have aforeign address, you should notify the payerof the income to stop the withholding. UsePart II of Form W9, Request for TaxpayerIdentification Number and Certification, tonotify the payer.

You can claim the tax withheld in error asa withholding credit on your tax return if theamount is not adjusted by the payer of theincome.

Social Securityand Medicare TaxesSocial security and Medicare taxes may applyto wages paid to an employee regardless ofwhere the services are performed.

General InformationIn general, U.S. social security and Medicaretaxes apply to payments of wages for ser-vices performed as an employee:

1) Within the United States, regardless of

the citizenship or residence of either theemployee or the employer,

2) Outside the United States on or in con-nection with an American vessel or air-craft, regardless of the citizenship orresidence of either the employee or theemployer, provided thateither:

a) The employment contract is enteredinto within the United States, or

b) The vessel or aircraft touches at aU.S. port while the employee isemployed on it,

3) Outside the United States, as providedby an applicable binational social se-curity agreement(discussed later),

4) Outside the United States by a U.S. citi-zen or a U.S. resident alien for anAmerican employer (defined later), or

5) Outside the United States by a U.S. citi-zen or U.S. resident alien for a foreignaffiliate of an American employer undera voluntary agreement entered into be-tween the American employer and theU.S. Treasury Department.

American vessel or aircraft. An Americanvessel is any vessel documented or num-bered under the laws of the United States,and any other vessel whose crew is employedsolely by one or more U.S. citizens or resi-

dents or U.S. corporations. An American air-craft is an aircraft registered under the lawsof the United States.

American employer. An American employerincludes any of the following employers.

1) The U.S. Government or any of its in-strumentalities.

2) An individual who is a resident of theUnited States.

3) A partnership of which at least two-thirdsof the partners are U.S. residents.

4) A trust of which all the trustees are U.S.residents.

5) A corporation organized under the lawsof the United States, any U.S. state, orthe District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, theVirgin Islands, Guam, or American Sa-moa.

Foreign affiliate. A foreign affiliate of anAmerican employer is any foreign entity inwhich the American employer has at least a10% interest, directly or through one or moreentities. For a corporation, the 10% interestmust be in its voting stock, and for any otherentity the 10% interest must be in its profits.

Form 2032, Contract Coverage Under Ti-tle II of the Social Security Act, is used byAmerican employers to extend social securitycoverage to U.S. citizens and residentsworking abroad for foreign affiliates of theAmerican employers. Coverage under anagreement in effect on or after June 15, 1989,cannot be terminated.

Excludable meals and lodging. Social se-curity tax does not apply to the value of mealsand lodging provided to you for the conven-ience of your employer and excluded fromyour income.

Binational Social Security

(Totalization) AgreementsThe United States has entered into agree-ments with several foreign countries to coor-dinate social security coverage and taxationof workers who are employed in those coun-tries. These agreements are commonly re-ferred to as totalization agreements and arein effect with the following countries.

Austria.

Belgium.

Canada.

Finland.

France.

Germany.

Greece.

Ireland.

Italy.

Luxembourg.

The Netherlands.

Norway.

Portugal.

Spain.

Sweden.

Switzerland.

The United Kingdom.

Page 8 Chapter 2 Withholding Tax


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673Statement For Claiming Benefits Provided

by Section 911 of the Internal Revenue Code

Form OMB No. 1545-1022

(Rev. March 1997)

Department of the Treasury Internal Revenue Service

(See Instructions on Reverse)

The following statement, when completed and furnished by a citizen of the United States to his or her employer, permits the employer toexclude from income tax withholding all or a part of the wages paid for services performed outside the United States.

Name (please print) Social security number

I expect to qualify for the foreign earned income exclusion under either the bona fide residence or physical presence test for calendar

year or fiscal year beginning and ending .

Please check applicable box

Bona Fide Residence Test

I am a citizen of the United States. I have been a bona fide resident of and my tax home has been located in

(foreign country or countries) for an uninterrupted period which includes an entire

tax year that began on ,19 .

I expect to remain a bona fide resident and retain my tax home in a foreign country (or countries) until the end of the tax year for which

this statement is made. Or if not that period, from the date of this statement until , 19 .

I have not stated to the authorities of any foreign country named above that I an not a resident of that country. Or, if I made such astatement, the authorities of that country thereafter made a determination to the effect that I am a resident of that country.

Based on the facts in my case, I have good reason to believe that for this period of foreign residence I will satisfy the tax home and thebona fide foreign residence requirements prescribed by the section 911(d)(1)(A) of the Internal Revenue Code and qualify for the exclusion Codesection 911(a) allows.

(date)

(date within tax year)

Physical Presence Test

I am a citizen of the United States. Except for occasional absences that wont disqualify me for the benefit of section 911(a) of the Internal

Revenue Code, I expect to be present in and maintain my tax home in (foreign country or countries) for

a 12-month period that includes the entire tax year . Or, if not the entire year, for the part of the tax year beginning on

,19 , and ending on , 19 .

Based on the facts in my case, I have good reason to believe that for this period of presence in a foreign country or countries, I willsatisfy the tax home and the 330 full-day requirements within a 12-month period under section 911(d)(1)(B).

Estimated Housing Cost

(1) Rent

(2) Utilities (other than telephone Charges)

(3) Real & Personal Property Insurance

(4) Occupancy tax not deductible under section 164

(5) Nonrefundable fees paid for securing a leasehold

(6) Household Repairs

(7) Add lines 1 through 6

(8) Estimated Base Housing Amount for my qualifying period is

(9) Subtract line 8 from line 7. This is your estimated housing cost amount

I understand that this total, plus the total reported on any other statements outstanding with other employers, should not be more thanmy expected housing cost amount exclusion.

If I become disqualified for the exclusions, I will immediately notify my employer and advise what part, if any, of the period I am qualifiedfor.

I understand that any exemption form income tax withholding permitted by reason of furnishing this statement is not a determination bythe Internal Revenue that any amount paid to me for any services performed during the tax year is excludable form gross income under theprovisions of Code section 911(a).

Your Signature Date

Cat. No. 10183Y Form 673 Page 1 (Rev. 03-97)

Chapter 2 Withholding Tax Page 9


10/44

Under these agreements, dual coverage anddual contributions (taxes) for the same workare eliminated. The agreements generallymake sure that you pay social security taxesto only one country.

Generally, under these agreements, youwill only be subject to social security taxes inthe country where you are working. However,if you are temporarily sent to work in a foreigncountry, and your pay would otherwise besubject to social security taxes in both theUnited States and that country, you generallycan remain covered only by U.S. social se-curity. You can get more information on anyspecific agreement by contacting the UnitedStates Social Security Administration. If youhave access to the internet, you can get moreinformation at:

http://www.ssa.gov/international

To establish that your pay in a foreigncountry is subject only to U.S. socialsecurity tax and is exempt from for-

eign social security tax, your employer in theUnited States should write to the:

U.S. Social Security Administration

Office of International ProgramsP.O. Box 17741Baltimore, MD 21235.

Your employer should include the follow-ing information in the letter.

1) Your name.

2) Your U.S. social security number.

3) Your date and place of birth.

4) The country of which you are a citizen.

5) The country of your permanent resi-

dence.

6) The name and address of your employerin the United States and in the foreigncountry.

7) The date and place you were hired.

8) The beginning date and the expectedending date of your employment in theforeign country.

If you are permanently working in a foreigncountry with which the United States has asocial security agreement and, under theagreement, your pay is exempt from U.S.social security tax, you or your employershould get a statement from the authorizedofficial or agency of the foreign country veri-fying that your pay is subject to social securitycoverage in that country.

If the authorities of the foreign country willnot issue such a statement, either you or youremployer should get a statement from theU.S. Social Security Administration, Office ofInternational Programs, at the above address,that your wages are not covered by the U.S.social security system.

This statement should be kept by youremployer because it establishes that your payis exempt from U.S. social security tax. Onlywages paid on or after the effective date ofthe agreement can be exempt from U.S. so-cial security tax.

3.

Self-EmploymentTax


Who must pay self-employment tax, and

Who is exempt from self-employment tax.


Publication

533 Self-Employment Tax

517 Social Security and Other Infor-mation for Members of the Clergyand Religious Workers


Schedule SE Self-Employment Tax

Form 4361 Application for ExemptionFrom Self-Employment Tax forUse by Ministers, Members ofReligious Orders and ChristianScience Practitioners

Form 1040PR Planilla Para LaDeclaracin de la ContribucinFederal Sobre el Trabajo porCuenta Propia

Form 1040SS U.S. Self-EmploymentTax Return

See chapter 7 for information about get-ting these publications.

Who Must PaySelf-Employment Tax?If you are abroad and you are a self-employedU.S. citizen or resident, other than a U.S. cit-izen employee of an international organiza-tion, foreign government, or wholly owned in-strumentality of a foreign government, yougenerally are subject to the self-employmenttax. This is a social security and Medicare taxon net earnings from self-employment of $400or more a year. For 1999 the tax is on netearnings of $400 or more up to $72,600 forthe social security portion. All net earningsare subject to the Medicare portion. Your netself-employment income is used to figure yournet earnings from self-employment. Netself-employment income usually includes allbusiness income less all business deductionsallowed for income tax purposes. Netearnings from self-employment is a portionof net self-employment income. This amountis figured on Schedule SE (Short ScheduleSE (Section A), line 4, or Long Schedule SE(Section B), line 6). The actual self-employ-ment tax is figured on net earnings from self-employment.

Employed by a U.S. church. If you wereemployed by a U.S. church or a qualifiedchurch-controlled organization that chose ex-emption from social security and Medicaretaxes and you received wages of $108.28 ormore from the organization, the amounts paidto you are subject to self-employment tax.However, you can choose to be exempt fromsocial security and Medicare taxes if you area member of a recognized religious sect. SeePublication 517.

Effect of exclusion. You must take all ofyour self-employment income into account infiguring your net earnings from self-employ-ment, even income that is exempt from in-come tax because of the foreign earned in-come exclusion.

Example. You are in business abroad asa consultant and qualify for the foreign earnedincome exclusion. Your foreign earned in-come is $95,000, your business deductionstotal $27,000, and your net profit is $68,000.You must pay social security tax and Medi-care tax on your net earnings even thoughyou can exclude all of your earned income.

Optional method. You can use the nonfarm

optional method if you are self-employed andyour net nonfarm profits are less than $1,733and less than 72.189% of your gross nonfarmincome. You must have had $400 of netself-employment earnings in at least 2 of the3 immediately preceding tax years. You can-not choose to report less than your actual netearnings from nonfarm self-employment. Youcannot use the nonfarm optional method formore than 5 tax years. Use Long ScheduleSE (Section B). For more details get Publi-cation 533.

Members of the clergy. Although membersof the clergy may be employees in performingtheir ministerial services, they are treated asself-employed for self-employment tax pur-

poses. Their U.S. self-employment tax isbased upon net earnings from self-employ-ment figured without regard to the foreignearned income exclusion or the foreignhousing exclusion.

Members of the clergy are covered auto-matically by social security and Medicare.You can receive exemption from coverage foryour ministerial duties if you conscientiouslyoppose public insurance due to religious rea-sons or if you oppose it due to the religiousprinciples of your denomination. You mustfile Form 4361 to apply for this exemption.

This subject is discussed in further detailin Publication 517.

Puerto Rico, Guam, Commonwealth of theNorthern Mariana Islands, American Sa-moa, or Virgin Islands. If you are a U.S.citizen or resident and you own and operatea business in Puerto Rico, Guam, the Com-monwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands,American Samoa, or the Virgin Islands, youmust pay tax on your net earnings from self-employment (if they are $400 or more) fromthose sources. You must pay the self-employment tax whether or not the income isexempt from U.S. income taxes (or whetheror not you must otherwise file a U.S. incometax return). Unless your situation is describedbelow, attach Schedule SE (Form 1040) toyour U.S. income tax return.

If you do not have to file Form 1040 withthe United States and you are a resident of:

Page 10 Chapter 3 Self-Employment Tax


11/44

Puerto Rico,

Guam,

The Commonwealth of the NorthernMariana Islands,

American Samoa, or

The Virgin Islands,

figure your self-employment tax on eitherForm 1040PR or Form 1040SS, whichever

applies.You must file these forms with the Internal

Revenue Service Center, Philadelphia, PA192550215.

Exemption FromSocial Security andMedicare TaxesThe United States may reach agreementswith foreign countries to eliminate dual cov-erage and dual contributions (taxes) to social

security systems for the same work. SeeBinational Social Security (Totalization)Agreementsin chapter 2 under Social Secu-rity and Medicare Taxes. As a general rule,self-employed persons who are subject todual taxation will only be covered by the so-cial security system of the country where theyreside. For more information on how anyspecific agreement affects self-employedpersons, contact the United States SocialSecurity Administration.

If you are a U.S. citizen permanentlyworking in a foreign country with which theUnited States has a social security agreementand you are exempt under the agreementfrom U.S. self-employment tax, you shouldget a statement from the authorized official

or agency of the foreign country verifying thatyou are subject to social security coverage inthat country.

If the authorities of the foreign countrywill not issue a statement, you shouldget a statement that your earnings are

not covered by the U.S. social security sys-tem from the:

U.S. Social Security AdministrationOffice of International ProgramsP.O. Box 17741Baltimore, MD 21235.

Attach a photocopy of either statement toyour federal income tax return each year youare exempt. Also enter Exempt, see attachedstatement, on the line for self-employmenttax on your return.

If you believe that your self-employmentearnings should be exempt from foreign so-cial security tax and subject only to U.S.self-employment tax, you should request acertificate of coverage from the United StatesSocial Security Administration, Office ofInternational Policy. The certificate will es-tablish your exemption from the foreign socialsecurity tax.

4.

Foreign EarnedIncome andHousing:

Exc lusion -Deduction


Who qualifies for the foreign earned in-come exclusion, the foreign housing ex-clusion, and the foreign housing de-duction,

How to figure the foreign earned incomeexclusion, and

How to figure the foreign housing exclu-sion and the foreign housing deduction.


Publication

519 U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens

596 Earned Income Credit


1040XAmended U.S. Individual IncomeTax Return

2555 Foreign Earned Income

2555EZ Foreign Earned Income Exclu-sion

See chapter 7 for information about get-ting these publications and forms.

Who Qualifies for theExclusions and theDeduction?If you meet certain requirements, you mayqualify for the foreign earned income andforeign housing exclusions and the foreignhousing deduction.

If you are a U.S. citizen or a resident alienof the United States and you live abroad, youare taxed on your worldwide income. How-ever, you may qualify to exclude from incomeup to $74,000 of your foreign earnings. Inaddition, you can exclude or deduct certainforeign housing amounts. See ForeignEarned Income Exclusionand Foreign Hous-ing Exclusion or Deduction, later.

You may also be entitled to exclude fromincome the value of meals and lodging pro-vided to you by your employer. See Exclusionof Meals and Lodging, later.

RequirementsTo claim the foreign earned income exclusion,the foreign housing exclusion, or the foreignhousing deduction, you must have foreignearned income, your tax home must be in aforeign country, and you must be one of thefollowing:

A U.S. citizen who is a bona fide residentof a foreign country or countries for an

uninterrupted period that includes an en-tire tax year,

A U.S. resident alien who is a citizen ornational of a country with which theUnited States has an income tax treatyin effect and who is a bona fide residentof a foreign country or countries for anuninterrupted period that includes an en-tire tax year, or

A U.S. citizen or a U.S. resident alien whois physically present in a foreign countryor countries for at least 330 full daysduring any period of 12 consecutivemonths.

See Publication 519 to find out if you

qualify as a U.S. resident alien for tax pur-poses and whether you keep that alien statuswhen you temporarily work abroad.

If you are a nonresident alien married toa U.S. citizen or resident, and both you andyour spouse choose to treat you as a resi-dent, you are a resident alien for tax pur-poses. For information on making the choice,see the discussion in chapter 1 under Non-resident Spouse Treated as a Resident.

Waiver of minimum time requirements.The minimum time requirements for bona fideresidence and physical presence can bewaived if you must leave a foreign countrybecause of war, civil unrest, or similar ad-verse conditions in that country. See Waiver

of Time Requirements, later.

Tax Homein Foreign CountryTo qualify for the foreign earned income ex-clusion, the foreign housing exclusion, or theforeign housing deduction, your tax homemust be in a foreign country throughout yourperiod of bona fide residence or physicalpresence abroad. Bona fide residence andphysical presence are explained later.

Tax HomeYour tax home is the general area of yourmain place of business, employment, or postof duty, regardless of where you maintainyour family home. Your tax home is the placewhere you are permanently or indefinitelyengaged to work as an employee or self-employed individual. Having a tax home ina given location does not necessarily meanthat the given location is your residence ordomicile for tax purposes.

If you do not have a regular or main placeof business because of the nature of yourwork, your tax home may be the place whereyou regularly live. If you have neither a regu-lar or main place of business nor a placewhere you regularly live, you are consideredan itinerant and your tax home is whereveryou work.

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Figure 4-A. Can I Claim the Exclusion or Deduction?

Do you have foreignearned income?

Is your tax home in aforeign country?

Are you a U.S. citizen?Are you a U.S. residentalien?

Were you a bona fideresident of a foreigncountry or countries foran uninterrupted periodthat includes an entiretax year?

Are you a citizen ornational of a country withwhich the Unted Stateshas an income tax treatyin effect?

You CAN claim theforeign earned incomeexclusion and theforeign housingexclusion or the foreignhousing deduction.

Were you physicallypresent in a foreigncountry or countries forat least 330 full daysduring any period of 12consecutive months?

You CANNOT claim the foreign earned income exclusion, theforeign housing exclusion, or the foreign housing deduction.

You are not considered to have a taxhome in a foreign country for any period inwhich your abode is in the United States.However, your abode is not necessarily in theUnited States while you are temporarily in theUnited States. Your abode is also not neces-sarily in the United States merely becauseyou maintain a dwelling in the United States,whether or not your spouse or dependentsuse the dwelling.

Abode has been variously defined asone's home, habitation, residence, domicile,or place of dwelling. It does not mean yourprincipal place of business. Abode has adomestic rather than a vocational meaning

and does not mean the same as tax home.The location of your abode often will dependon where you maintain your economic, family,and personal ties.

Example 1. You are employed on anoffshore oil rig in the territorial waters of aforeign country and work a 28-day on/28-dayoff schedule. You return to your family resi-dence in the United States during your offperiods. You are considered to have anabode in the United States and do not satisfythe tax home test in the foreign country. Youcannot claim either of the exclusions or thehousing deduction.

Example 2. For several years, you werea marketing executive with a producer ofmachine tools in Toledo, Ohio. In Novemberof last year your employer transferred you toLondon, England, for a minimum of 18months to set up a sales operation forEurope. Before you left, you distributed busi-ness cards showing your business and homeaddresses in London. You kept ownership ofyour home in Toledo but rented it to anotherfamily. You placed your car in storage. InNovember of last year, you moved yourspouse, children, furniture, and family pets toa home your employer rented for you inLondon.

Shortly after moving, you leased a car,and you and your spouse got British drivinglicenses. Your entire family got library cardsfor the local public library. You and yourspouse opened bank accounts with a Londonbank and secured consumer credit. You

joined a local business league, and both youand your spouse became active in theneighborhood civic association and workedwith a local charity. Your abode is in Londonfor the time you live there, and you satisfy thetax home test in the foreign country.

Temporary or IndefiniteAssignment

The location of your tax home often dependson whether your assignment is temporary orindefinite. If you are temporarily absent fromyour tax home in the United States on busi-ness, you may be able to deduct your away-from-home expenses (for travel, meals, andlodging) but you would not qualify for the for-eign earned income exclusion. If your newwork assignment is for an indefinite period,your new place of employment becomes yourtax home, and you would not be able to de-duct any of the related expenses that you

have in the general area of this new workassignment. If your new tax home is in a for-eign country and you meet the other require-ments, your earnings may qualify for the for-eign earned income exclusion.

If you expect your employment away fromhome in a single location to last, and it doeslast, for 1 year or less, it is temporary unlessfacts and circumstances indicate otherwise.If you expect it to last for more than 1 year,it is indefinite. If you expect it to last for 1 yearor less, but at some later date you expect itto last longer than 1 year, it is temporary (inthe absence of facts and circumstances indi-cating otherwise) until your expectationchanges.

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Foreign CountryTo meet the bona fide residence test or thephysical presence test, you must live in or bepresent in a foreign country. A foreign coun-try usually is any territory (including the airspace and territorial waters) under the sover-eignty of a government other than that of theUnited States.

The term foreign country includes theseabed and subsoil of those submarine areasadjacent to the territorial waters of a foreigncountry and over which the foreign country

has exclusive rights under international lawto explore and exploit the natural resources.The term foreign country does not in-

clude Puerto Rico, Guam, the Commonwealthof the Northern Mariana Islands, the VirginIslands, or U.S. possessions such as Ameri-can Samoa. For purposes of the foreignearned income exclusion, the foreign housingexclusion, and the foreign housing deduction,the terms foreign, abroad, and overseasrefer to areas outside the United States,American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealthof the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico,the Virgin Islands, and the Antarctic region.

American Samoa,Guam, and theCommonwealth of theNorthern Mariana IslandsResidence or presence in a U.S. possessiondoes not qualify you for the foreign earnedincome exclusion. You may, however, qualifyfor the possession exclusion.

American Samoa. There is a possessionexclusion available to individuals who arebona fide residents of American Samoa forthe entire tax year. Gross income fromsources within American Samoa, Guam, orthe Commonwealth of the Northern MarianaIslands may be eligible for this exclusion. In-come that is effectively connected with theconduct of a trade or business within those

possessions also may be eligible for this ex-clusion. Use Form 4563, Exclusion of Incomefor Bona Fide Residents of American Samoa,to figure the exclusion.

Guam and the Commonwealth of theNorthern Mariana Islands. New exclusionrules will apply to residents of Guam and theCommonwealth of the Northern Mariana Is-lands if, and when, new implementationagreements take effect between the UnitedStates and those possessions.

For more information, see Publication 570.

Puerto Ricoand Virgin IslandsResidents of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Is-lands are not entitled to the possession ex-clusion (discussed above) or to the exclusionof foreign earned income or the exclusion ordeduction of foreign housing amounts underthe bona fide residence or physical presencerules discussed later.

Puerto Rico. Generally, if you are a U.S.citizen who is a bona fide resident of PuertoRico for the entire tax year, you are not sub-

ject to U.S. tax on income from Puerto Ricansources. This does not include amounts paidfor services performed as an employee of theUnited States. However, you are subject toU.S. tax on your income from sources outside

Puerto Rico. You cannot deduct expensesallocable to the exempt income.

Bona Fide Residence TestThe bona fide residence test applies to U.S.citizens and to any U.S. resident alien who isa citizen or national of a country with whichthe United States has an income tax treaty ineffect.

Bona fide residence. To see if you meet the

test of bona fide residence in a foreign coun-try, you must find out if you have establishedsuch a residence.

Your bona fide residence is not neces-sarily the same as your domicile. Yourdomicile is your permanent home, the placeto which you always return or intend to return.

Example. You could have your domicilein Cleveland, Ohio, and a bona fide residencein London if you intend to return eventually toCleveland.

The fact that you go to London does notautomatically make London your bona fideresidence. If you go there as a tourist, or ona short business trip, and return to the UnitedStates, you have not established bona fideresidence in London. But if you go to London

to work for an indefinite or extended periodand you set up permanent quarters there foryourself and your family, you probably haveestablished a bona fide residence in a foreigncountry, even though you intend to returneventually to the United States.

You are clearly a transient in the first in-stance. However, in the second, you are aresident because your stay in London ap-pears to be permanent. If your residency isnot as clearly defined as either of these illus-trations, it may be more difficult to decidewhether you have established a bona fideresidence.

Determination. Questions of bona fideresidence are determined according to each

individual case, taking into account such fac-tors as your intention or the purpose of yourtrip and the nature and length of your stayabroad.

You must show the Internal RevenueService (IRS) that you have been a bona fideresident of a foreign country or countries foran uninterrupted period that includes an entiretax year. The IRS decides whether you qualifyas a bona fide resident of a foreign countrylargely on the basis of facts you report onForm 2555. File this form with your incometax return on which you claim the exclusionof foreign earned income. IRS cannot makethis determination until you file Form 2555.

Statement to foreign authorities. You arenot considered a bona fide resident of a for-eign country if you make a statement to theauthorities of that country that you are not aresident of that country and the authoritieshold that you are not subject to their incometax laws as a resident.

If you have made such a statement andthe authorities have not made a final decisionon your status, you are not considered to bea bona fide resident of that foreign country.

Special agreements and treaties. The in-come tax exemption provided in a treaty orother international agreement will not in itselfprevent you from being a bona fide residentof a foreign country. Whether a treaty pre-vents you from becoming a bona fide resident

of a foreign country is determined under allprovisions of the treaty, including specificprovisions relating to residence or privilegesand immunities.

Example 1. You are a U.S. citizen em-ployed in the United Kingdom by a U.S. em-ployer under contract with the U.S. ArmedForces. You do not qualify for special statusunder the North Atlantic Treaty Status ofForces Agreement. You are subject to UnitedKingdom income taxes and mayqualify as abona fide resident.

Example 2. You are a U.S. citizen in theUnited Kingdom who qualifies as an em-ployee of an armed service or as a memberof a civilian component under the NorthAtlantic Treaty Status of Forces Agreement.You do notqualify as a bona fide resident.

Example 3. You are a U.S. citizen em-ployed in Japan by a U.S. employer undercontract with the U.S. Armed Forces. You aresubject to the agreement of the Treaty ofMutual Cooperation and Security between theUnited States and Japan. You do notqualifyas a bona fide resident.

Example 4. You are a U.S. citizen em-ployed as an official by the United Nations

in Switzerland. You are exempt from Swisstaxation on the salary or wages paid to youby the United Nations. This does not preventyou from qualifying as a bona fide resident ifyou meet allthe requirements for that status.

Effect of voting by absentee ballot. If youare a U.S. citizen living abroad, you can voteby absentee ballot in any elections held in theUnited States without risking your status asa bona fide resident of a foreign country.

However, if you give information to thelocal election officials about the nature andlength of your stay abroad that does notmatch the information you give for the bonafide residence test, the information given inconnection with absentee voting will be con-

sidered in determining your status, but will notnecessarily be conclusive.

Uninterrupted period including entire taxyear. To qualify for bona fide residence, youmust reside in a foreign country for an unin-terrupted period that includes an entire taxyear. An entire tax year is from January 1through December 31 for taxpayers who filetheir income tax returns on a calendar yearbasis.

During the period of bona fide residencein a foreign country, you can leave the countryfor brief or temporary trips back to the UnitedStates or elsewhere for vacation or business.To keep your status as a bona fide residentof a foreign country, you must have a clear

intention of returning from such trips, withoutunreasonable delay, to your foreign residenceor to a new bona fide residence in anotherforeign country.

Example 1. You are the Lisbon repre-sentative of a U.S. employer. You arrived withyour family in Lisbon on November 1, 1997.Your assignment is indefinite, and you intendto live there with your family until your com-pany sends you to a new post. You imme-diately established residence there. On April1, 1998, you arrived in the United States tomeet with your employer, leaving your familyin Lisbon. You returned to Lisbon on May 1,and continue living there. On January 1,1999, you completed an uninterrupted period

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of residence for a full tax year (1998), and youmay qualify as a bona fide resident of a for-eign country.

Example 2. Assume that in Example 1,you transferred back to the United States onDecember 13, 1998. You would not qualifyunder the bona fide residence test becauseyour bona fide residence in the foreign coun-try, although it lasted more than a year, didnot include a full tax year. You may, however,qualify for the foreign earned income exclu-s

us internal revenue service: p54--1999

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