How to file US taxes as an American citizen living abroad with zero income?
Title: How to file US taxes as an American citizen living abroad with zero income? 1 I've been living in Germany for about 8 months now and I'm getting anxious about my tax obligations back home. When I was in the US and between jobs, I didn't file taxes because H&R Block told me there was no need since I had no income. But now I'm in a different situation - I'm abroad with essentially no possessions (just renting a small apartment here) and still have zero income from both Germany and the US. I'm worried the rules might be different for expats. Do US citizens living abroad still need to file even with zero income? I don't own property back in the States anymore and I'm not making any money here either (living off savings). I keep hearing about FBAR and FATCA and all these scary-sounding requirements, but do they apply to someone like me who isn't earning anything? Any advice would be appreciated! I don't want to accidentally break any IRS rules just because I moved overseas.
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Edison Estevez
8 You do need to file a US tax return if you're a US citizen living abroad, even with zero income, IF you meet the filing threshold. However, if your income is below the filing threshold, you're not required to file. For 2024 taxes (filed in 2025), the standard filing threshold for a single person is $13,850. If you truly have zero income from all sources worldwide (including interest, dividends, capital gains, etc.), then you're below the threshold and technically don't need to file. That said, there are some good reasons to file anyway: establishing a record that you were compliant, starting the statute of limitations clock, and potentially claiming refundable tax credits if you qualify. Regarding FBAR - this is only required if you have foreign financial accounts that exceeded $10,000 in aggregate at any point during the year. If your bank accounts abroad never totaled $10,000, you don't need to file an FBAR.
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Edison Estevez
•15 Thanks for the information! If I do decide to file even though I'm under the threshold, would I need to do anything special on the tax forms to show I'm living abroad? And what about state taxes? I was last living in California before I moved overseas.
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Edison Estevez
•8 If you choose to file, you'd complete a standard Form 1040, and since you're abroad, you should include Form 2555 (Foreign Earned Income Exclusion) even if you have zero income - this establishes your status as living abroad. For state taxes, it depends on whether you've established residency abroad or if California still considers you a resident. California is notoriously aggressive about maintaining tax residency. To break California residency, you generally need to show you've permanently moved with no intention to return. If you've kept a driver's license, voter registration, or other ties to California, they might still consider you a resident. If you've truly severed ties and established a permanent home abroad, you can file a final California return indicating you've moved.
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Edison Estevez
12 I was in a similar situation a few years ago when I moved to Singapore with zero income initially. I struggled with understanding all the expat tax requirements until I found taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai). It was super helpful for analyzing my specific situation as an American abroad. The AI tool specifically looks at your international status and walks you through what forms you need (or don't need) to file based on your unique situation. It told me exactly which thresholds applied to me and identified that I didn't need to file an FBAR because my accounts were under $10k, but I did need to file a regular return because of some investment income I had forgotten about. It also explained the foreign housing exclusion that might be useful when you do start earning income abroad.
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Edison Estevez
•18 How does taxr.ai handle the physical presence test vs. the bona fide residence test for qualifying for the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion? I'm splitting time between two countries and never sure which test to use.
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Edison Estevez
•5 Does it actually help with filing the taxes or just tells you what to do? I've used TurboTax before but they seem pretty clueless about international situations.
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Edison Estevez
•12 The tool has a specific questionnaire about your time abroad that walks through both the physical presence test (330 days outside the US in a 12-month period) and the bona fide residence test (established residence in a foreign country for an entire tax year). It analyzes which one would be more beneficial in your situation and recommends the appropriate one to use. For split time situations, it's especially helpful because it counts your qualifying days precisely. As for filing, it doesn't replace tax preparation software, but it gives you specific guidance on which forms you need and how to complete them correctly. It explains exactly what information needs to go where, which is especially helpful for international situations that regular tax software often handles poorly. I used the guidance from taxr.ai and then implemented it in FreeTaxUSA which was much cheaper than TurboTax and worked fine for my expat situation.
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Edison Estevez
18 Just wanted to report back after trying taxr.ai that was mentioned earlier. It was actually really helpful for my complicated situation with zero US income but some foreign pension stuff. It analyzed my situation and confirmed I was below the filing threshold, but recommended filing anyway to start the statute of limitations. The most valuable part was that it explained exactly how to handle my foreign bank accounts and which ones needed to be reported. It even generated a checklist of forms I needed. For anyone living abroad dealing with US taxes, I'd definitely recommend checking it out. Saved me hours of research and probably a lot of mistakes too.
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Edison Estevez
3 If you do find out you need to file or want to check on previous years' requirements, getting through to the IRS from abroad is nearly impossible. I tried calling their international number for weeks from Australia. After spending a fortune on international calls and getting disconnected repeatedly, I found Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) and watched their demo at https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c. They somehow get you connected to an actual IRS agent, usually within 15-30 minutes. I was skeptical because calling the IRS directly meant hours on hold if I got through at all. But it actually worked - they called me back when an agent was available, and I finally got answers about my FBAR filing requirements from an actual IRS representative. For expats dealing with time zone differences and expensive international calls, this service is a game-changer.
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Edison Estevez
•9 I'm confused how this works? How can a third party get you through to the IRS faster? Sounds kinda sketchy tbh. Wouldn't the IRS have the same wait times for everyone?
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Edison Estevez
•22 Yeah right... and what did this magical service cost you? There's no way someone can just "skip the line" with a government agency. I've been trying to reach the IRS for months about my overseas accounts.
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Edison Estevez
•3 It's actually pretty straightforward - they use an automated system that continuously calls the IRS until they get through, then they connect you when an agent answers. They don't "skip the line" - they just have technology that does the waiting for you so you don't have to sit on hold for hours. The best part is that when you're overseas, you don't have to worry about dropped international calls or staying up all night to catch the IRS during their open hours. You just get a call when they've reached an agent. For me, I scheduled it during my evening (their morning) and got a call back about 20 minutes later with an IRS agent ready to answer my questions about FBAR requirements.
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Edison Estevez
22 Ok I have to eat my words about Claimyr from my previous comment. After continuing to fail getting through to the IRS myself for another week, I finally gave in and tried it. I was completely shocked when they called me back in about 40 minutes with an actual IRS agent on the line. I explained my situation about living abroad with dormant US accounts and questioned if I needed to report them. The agent confirmed I only needed to file FBAR if my foreign accounts exceeded $10k at any point in the year, and gave me specific guidance on how to handle my particular situation. Saved me literally weeks of frustration trying to get through on my own from Thailand. The time zone difference made it nearly impossible to call during their business hours, and when I did, I'd just get disconnected after hours on hold.
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Edison Estevez
10 One thing nobody has mentioned yet - if you have foreign bank accounts that total over $10,000 at any point during the year, you need to file an FBAR (FinCEN Form 114) even if you have zero income and don't need to file a tax return! It's completely separate from the tax filing. I found this out the hard way and had to do back filings for several years. The penalties for not filing FBAR can be really steep, even if you owe no taxes.
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Edison Estevez
•19 Omg yes this! I'm an American in Switzerland and the FBAR thing is so important. My question though - do retirement accounts count toward the $10k threshold? I have a small Swiss pension that I'm required to pay into as an employee here.
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Edison Estevez
•10 Yes, retirement accounts generally do count toward the FBAR threshold. Any financial account you have a financial interest in or signature authority over needs to be included when calculating if you've hit the $10,000 aggregate threshold. That includes checking and savings accounts, investment accounts, pension accounts, mutual funds, and even some insurance policies with cash value. The $10,000 threshold is for the combined total of all your foreign accounts at any point during the year - even if it was just for one day.
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Edison Estevez
7 Would recommend checking if you qualify for the Streamlined Foreign Offshore Procedures if you haven't been filing while abroad. It lets you catch up on filing requirements without penalties if you can certify your failure to file was non-willful. I used it after living in Japan for 3 years and realizing I should have been filing.
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Edison Estevez
•11 Does the Streamlined procedure require you to pay taxes for those previous years if you were under the filing threshold anyway? Like if I made less than $12k each year?
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Serene Snow
•No, if you were truly under the filing threshold (like making less than $12k), you wouldn't owe any taxes for those years even through the Streamlined procedure. The main benefit is that it clears up your compliance status with the IRS and eliminates any potential penalties for not filing. You'd still need to file the actual returns for the required years (usually 3 years of tax returns and 6 years of FBARs if applicable), but if you had no tax liability due to low income, you'd owe $0. The process mainly establishes that you're now compliant and weren't willfully avoiding your filing obligations. It's basically a way to get current with the IRS without facing penalties, even if you technically didn't need to file due to income thresholds.
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Giovanni Colombo
Great thread with lots of helpful info! I'm in a similar situation - been living in the UK for 6 months with no income. One thing I wanted to add that might help others: even if you don't need to file a tax return due to the income threshold, you should still consider filing Form 8938 (FATCA) if your foreign financial assets exceed certain thresholds. For someone living abroad and filing single, you need to file Form 8938 if your foreign financial assets exceed $200,000 on the last day of the year OR more than $300,000 at any point during the year. This is separate from FBAR and has different thresholds. Most people with zero income probably won't hit these thresholds, but it's worth knowing about if you have any investments or larger savings accounts abroad. The penalties for not filing Form 8938 when required can be significant too. Also, if you're planning to stay abroad long-term, it might be worth establishing your tax residency status early even with zero income, as it can affect future filing requirements when you do start earning.
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Amara Nnamani
•This is really helpful! I had no idea about Form 8938 being separate from FBAR. The thresholds you mentioned ($200k/$300k) are way higher than the FBAR $10k threshold, so that's a relief for someone in my situation with minimal savings. Your point about establishing tax residency status early is interesting - could you elaborate on how that works? I'm planning to stay in Germany long-term but wasn't sure if there were any specific steps I should take now to document my residency status for future tax purposes.
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