Form 2555-EZ for 2020 - Still Available or Discontinued?

The Form 2555-EZ no longer exists for 2020 or any tax year after 2018. The IRS discontinued the simplified version and now everyone must use the standard Form 2555 for claiming the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion. I understand this is frustrating as the regular Form 2555 is more complex, but the good news is that your situation (teaching English with a single income source) is fairly straightforward even with the regular form. Focus on these key sections: 1. Part I - General information about your foreign address and employer 2. Part II - Choose whether you qualify through the Bona Fide Residence Test or Physical Presence Test (as a teacher in South Korea, you'll likely use the Physical Presence Test if you've been there at least 330 days) 3. Part IV - Enter your foreign earned income 4. Part VII - Calculate your Foreign Earned Income Exclusion The other parts may not apply to your situation. Don't overthink it - just work through each applicable section one at a time.

After struggling with my foreign income taxes last year (I teach in Brazil), I discovered a tool that literally saved me hours of frustration with Form 2555. It's called taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) and it specifically helps with foreign income situations. The interface walks you through all the complicated parts of Form 2555 step by step, especially the physical presence test calculations which always confused me. I was about to pay an international tax specialist $400 when a colleague recommended this. The document analyzer feature was super helpful because it scanned my foreign pay statements and automatically identified what counted as foreign earned income. The best part is it determined I qualified for both the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion AND the Foreign Housing Exclusion, which I had no idea about before using the tool!

I just tried taxr.ai after seeing it mentioned here and wow - it actually delivered! I was struggling with exactly the same Form 2555 issues as the original poster. As an online ESL teacher working for Chinese companies while living in Mexico, my situation was complicated by frequent trips back to the US. The physical presence test calculator was a game-changer. I uploaded my passport stamps as images and it helped track my days in and out of Mexico. It confirmed I qualified under the physical presence test despite my travel. The tool even flagged that I needed to fill out the Part IX section for self-employed individuals, which I completely missed when trying to do it myself. Also helped me properly allocate my housing deduction, which I had no idea I qualified for! Definitely worth checking out if you're teaching abroad like many of us here.

For anyone struggling with Form 2555 questions, I was in the same boat last year with my teaching job in Thailand. I spent WEEKS trying to get through to the IRS international tax department with questions about my foreign housing deduction. After 30+ calls with hours on hold, I finally discovered Claimyr (https://claimyr.com). They have this system that actually gets you through to an IRS agent without the endless hold times. I was seriously doubtful, but you can see a demo of how it works at https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c and I figured I had nothing to lose after wasting so many hours. Got connected to an IRS specialist in about 20 minutes who cleared up all my Form 2555 questions and confirmed exactly how to handle my teaching income abroad. Absolutely worth it after the frustration of trying to get answers directly.

Ok I have to eat my words about Claimyr. After my skeptical comment, I decided to try it anyway because I was desperate for answers about my Form 2555 for teaching in Vietnam. I've literally tried calling the IRS International Taxpayer line 9 times over the past month, never getting through after waiting 2+ hours each time. Using the service, I got connected to an IRS agent in 37 minutes while I was teaching a class (they called me when the agent picked up). The agent confirmed that the Form 2555-EZ was indeed discontinued after 2018, and cleared up my confusion about qualifying for the physical presence test with my teaching schedule. She also explained exactly which housing expenses I could include in Part VI of Form 2555. For anyone struggling with foreign income questions and unable to get through to the IRS, this actually works. I'm genuinely shocked.

Since you're teaching in South Korea, you should also look into if there's a tax treaty between the US and South Korea that might benefit you. I teach in Spain and there are specific provisions in the US-Spain treaty for teachers. Also, don't forget to file FBAR if you have foreign bank accounts with combined balances over $10k at any point during the year. That's separate from your tax return and has massive penalties if you neglect it. Learned that one the hard way!

Has anyone found good free software for handling Form 2555? I used TurboTax last year but it charged me an extra $50 for the "foreign income" package even though I only needed basic forms. Not trying to spend a ton on tax prep when my teaching salary in Colombia isn't that high to begin with!

Just wanted to add another perspective for anyone dealing with foreign income taxes. I'm a freelance graphic designer living in Portugal, and I went through this same confusion about Form 2555-EZ last year. What really helped me was breaking down Form 2555 into smaller chunks rather than trying to tackle it all at once. I created a simple checklist: 1. Gather all foreign income documents (pay stubs, 1099s, etc.) 2. Document your physical presence days (I used a simple spreadsheet) 3. Calculate housing expenses if applicable 4. Work through each part of Form 2555 systematically The key thing I learned is that even though Form 2555 looks intimidating compared to what the EZ version probably was, most expats with straightforward situations only need to fill out about half the form. Parts like III (revocation of exclusion) and VIII (business expenses) often don't apply to teachers and remote workers. Also, definitely keep detailed records of your days in and out of the country. I wish I had started tracking this from day one instead of trying to reconstruct it later from passport stamps and flight records!

I'm also teaching abroad (in Japan) and went through this exact same frustration last year! Just to confirm what others have said - Form 2555-EZ was indeed discontinued after 2018, so you'll need to use the regular Form 2555. Don't let the length intimidate you though. As a fellow English teacher with a single income source, you'll likely only need to complete these main sections: - Part I (basic info) - Part II (qualifying test - probably Physical Presence Test since you're teaching) - Part IV (foreign earned income) - Part VI (housing expenses if you qualify) - Part VII (calculating your exclusion) Since you're in South Korea, definitely look into the US-Korea tax treaty provisions for teachers that someone mentioned earlier. There might be additional benefits available to you beyond just the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion. One practical tip: start gathering your documentation now - all pay stubs, housing receipts, and definitely create a calendar tracking your days in Korea vs any trips back to the US. The Physical Presence Test requires you to be physically present in a foreign country for 330 full days during a 12-month period, so accurate day counting is crucial. You've got this! The form looks worse than it actually is for straightforward teaching situations like ours.