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One thing nobody mentioned yet about the FEIE - if your tax home is in a foreign country, you might also qualify under the Bona Fide Residence Test instead of just Physical Presence. It's less about counting days and more about proving you're truly residing in Singapore. Things like having a permanent residence there, involvement in the local community, intentions to stay long-term, etc. The benefit is that short trips back to the US (like your Christmas visit) don't affect your qualification as much. The downside is it's more subjective and documentation-heavy. But something to consider if you're planning to stay in Singapore long-term!
That's interesting! I do have a 2-year lease here and a Singapore employment pass. Would that help establish bona fide residence? The physical presence test seems more straightforward but I'm wondering if bona fide residence might be better long-term since I do plan to visit home occasionally.
Yes, your 2-year lease and Singapore employment pass are excellent proof for the Bona Fide Residence test! Other helpful documentation would include local bank accounts, driver's license (if you have one), utility bills in your name, and evidence of community involvement. You're right that physical presence is more straightforward for your first year, but bona fide residence gives you more flexibility for visits home in future years. The key is demonstrating that Singapore is truly your tax home and center of life. Once established, you can generally maintain bona fide residence status even with more substantial visits to the US, as long as your trips are temporary and you clearly intend to return to Singapore.
Don't forget about state taxes! The FEIE only applies to federal taxes. Depending on which state you lived in before moving abroad, you might still owe state income tax even while living in Singapore. Some states like California and Virginia are notorious for trying to claim you as a resident unless you've completely severed all ties.
This is so true. I'm from California and even after moving to Germany for work, they kept considering me a CA resident because I kept my driver's license and had some investment property there. Had to pay state taxes on top of everything else until I officially "moved" to Florida first (on paper) before heading overseas again.
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Has anyone else found that TurboTax automatically directs you to Form 1116 once your foreign taxes exceed the $600 threshold (for MFJ)? I'm trying to decide whether it's worth filling out that form or just taking the deduction to avoid the headache. I've got about $750 in foreign taxes this year.
Yes, TurboTax does push you to Form 1116 once you exceed the threshold, but DON'T take the deduction just to avoid the form! I made that mistake last year with $820 in foreign taxes. Taking the deduction instead of the credit cost me around $600 in missed tax savings (I'm in the 32% bracket, so the deduction was way less valuable than the credit). Form 1116 seems intimidating but isn't that bad once you get into it. Most of your dividend-related foreign taxes just go into the "passive income" category, and TurboTax will guide you through it step by step.
Thanks for the advice! I was leaning toward just taking the deduction to avoid dealing with another form, but $600 in missed savings is definitely worth spending an extra 30 minutes on Form 1116. I'm in a similar tax bracket, so I'd probably be leaving similar money on the table. Is it true that I need to categorize dividends from different countries separately, or can I just lump all my foreign dividend taxes into one entry on Form 1116?
One thing nobody's mentioned yet is that if you decide to take the foreign tax credit with Form 1116, you'll need to track any excess credits that can carry forward if you can't use them all this year. This happens if your foreign tax credit is limited because your foreign-source income is taxed at a higher rate abroad than it would be in the US. I learned this the hard way when I missed out on carrying forward about $430 in excess credits from 2023 because I didn't track it properly. Those carryforward credits are valid for 10 years!
Is there a specific form or worksheet for tracking the carryforward amounts? I'm worried I might have some excess credits from previous years that I didn't claim. Does TurboTax automatically carry these forward if you used it in previous years?
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Another possible cause for the F-8962-070 rejection that nobody mentioned yet - check if you accidentally entered information from your 1095-B or 1095-C instead of your 1095-A. They look similar but serve totally different purposes. Only the 1095-A is used for the premium tax credit calculations. Also, if your income changed significantly during the year, make sure you're calculating your annual household income correctly on Form 8962. A friend of mine kept getting rejected because she wasn't including her spouse's unemployment income in the calculation.
Does unemployment count toward MAGI for premium tax credit purposes? I thought it didn't since it's not earned income?
Unemployment compensation absolutely counts toward your MAGI (Modified Adjusted Gross Income) for premium tax credit purposes. That's a common misconception. Even though unemployment isn't earned income for some tax purposes, it is considered taxable income and does factor into your MAGI calculation for Form 8962. This trips up a lot of people, especially if they had unemployment for part of the year while also having marketplace coverage.
Has anyone successfully fixed this through their tax software's help line instead of calling the IRS? I'm using H&R Block online and wondering if I should try their support first. Been staring at these forms for days trying to figure out where the mismatch is.
I called TurboTax support for this exact issue last month and they were useless. The rep just read me the same instructions I'd already seen in the software. Waste of 40 minutes.
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Another quick solution: sometimes changing tax software helps with these weird form errors. I switched from TurboTax to FreeTaxUSA this year because TurboTax was giving me the same error about Box 18/19. FreeTaxUSA let me enter the W-2 exactly as it was (with Box 18 blank) without any error messages. Sometimes different tax software programs have different validation rules. Worth trying if you're stuck!
Did you find FreeTaxUSA to be as thorough as TurboTax though? I'm always worried about missing deductions or credits if I use the free options.
I actually found FreeTaxUSA to be more flexible with unusual tax situations while still being thorough with deductions and credits. The interface isn't as polished as TurboTax, but it asks all the same questions about deductions and actually explained certain tax concepts better. The best part is that it was significantly cheaper. Federal filing is free, and state was only $15 compared to the $70+ that TurboTax wanted to charge me. I didn't feel like I missed out on any deductions or credits - they all seemed to be covered in their interview process.
If anyone's still stuck with this issue, there's a workaround in TurboTax. If you click on "See more help" when it gives you the error, there's actually an "override" button that lets you continue with Box 18 blank. It's not super obvious, but it is there. I just finished my taxes with the same exact situation (Box 19 filled, Box 18 empty) using this method.
Thank you! This is exactly what I needed. Just found the override button and it worked perfectly. Saved me from having to switch software or pay for help.
Klaus Schmidt
Don't forget to look at Healthcare.gov options! Since losing your job is a qualifying life event, you can enroll now outside of open enrollment. Depending on your current income while unemployed, you might qualify for significant premium subsidies. My husband and I saved almost $450/month by getting him an individual plan through the marketplace vs adding him to my employer plan as a domestic partner. The coverage wasn't identical but it was close enough for our needs.
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Aisha Patel
•I second this. When I lost my job last year, I qualified for a plan that was only $87/month with a $1000 deductible because of the subsidies. WAY cheaper than COBRA or going on my partner's plan. Definitely worth checking out.
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LilMama23
I work in benefits administration and wanted to add some clarity here. The imputed income is specifically for the value of benefits that cover non-tax dependents. The way it typically works: 1. The employer calculates the "fair market value" of covering the domestic partner 2. They subtract what the employee pays post-tax for this coverage 3. The difference is added as imputed income to the employee's W-2 I recommend your fiancée ask HR for a detailed breakdown of how they calculated the $1,675.21 figure. That seems unusually high unless it's including multiple benefits (medical, dental, vision, etc.) or it's a very premium health plan.
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