Foreign Earned Income Exclusion (FEIE) Question for 2025 Filing

Thanks for the thorough explanation! I'm still a bit confused about the 330-day requirement - is that based on the calendar year or can it be any consecutive 12-month period? Since I arrived in March 2024, would I count days from March 2024 to March 2025? Also, if FICA taxes still apply, roughly how much would that be on my income? I'm trying to budget for my tax bill.

The 330-day requirement can be met during any consecutive 12-month period, not just the calendar year. So yes, you could use March 2024 to March 2025 as your qualifying period. On Form 2555, you'll specify the exact 12-month period you're using. For FICA taxes, you'll pay 6.2% for Social Security (on the first $168,600 for 2025) and 1.45% for Medicare (on all earnings). So on $95,000, that's approximately $5,890 for Social Security and $1,378 for Medicare, totaling about $7,268. There's also an additional 0.9% Medicare tax if your income exceeds $200,000, but that doesn't apply in your situation.

How accurate is it really? I've been burned by tax software before claiming to understand expat taxes but then giving me wrong info. Does it actually understand all the weird FEIE edge cases? I bounce between Thailand and Vietnam and no one seems to get my situation right.

I'm curious about the housing deduction part. I'm in London and my rent is insane! Like $4000/month insane. Can taxr.ai figure out how much of that I can claim? My current accountant says I'm maxed out but I feel like I'm missing something.

It's definitely more accurate than general tax software for expat situations. It specifically focuses on all international tax scenarios and gets updated whenever tax laws change. For your Thailand/Vietnam situation, it would analyze your travel patterns and tell you exactly which days count toward your physical presence test. For London housing, it absolutely would help. The Foreign Housing Exclusion has different limits based on location, and high-cost cities like London have a much higher allowable amount. The tool breaks down the specific limits for your location and calculates your maximum possible deduction based on your actual expenses, often finding thousands more than general accountants might.

Wait, how does this even work? Does it just dial for you or something? I'm confused about what problem this is actually solving...

Sorry but this sounds like BS. There's no way to "skip the line" with the IRS. I've been trying for months to get through about my foreign tax credit issues. If this actually worked, everyone would be using it. Sounds like a scam to me.

It doesn't just dial for you - they use their system to navigate through all the IRS phone menus and wait on hold for you. When they actually reach a live person, they call you and connect you directly to that agent. So you don't waste hours listening to hold music or getting disconnected. I was skeptical too, but it really does work. They're not "skipping the line" - they're just waiting in it for you. The IRS doesn't have any special queue for them. Think of it like having someone stand in a physical line on your behalf, then calling you when they reach the front. They're especially useful for reaching specialized departments like international tax services where the wait times are usually the worst.

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.

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.