tom169

People need to discover auto drafts into investments/savings account.

Rete

I had an automatic savings account with my bank and I still got a refund each year from the federal and state governments. Never a large amount but I liked it and liked knowing that I would not have to pay out a few hundred dollars on April 15th.

After all, you certainly aren't going to be earning much interest on a mere $15-$25 per biweekly paycheck.

tom169

Sure, but that's only a refund of $650. We're talking thousands here.

Still, $650 invested appropriately last year could have become $800. Rather it be in my pocket than an inefficient machine's.

minhan

Hi, just checking whether any expat brings your money from overseas investment into USA and how do you report your gains / losses? We moved here 4 years ago and decided to bring out savings that put in our retirement accounts to the US. We have some gains from those years and we're not sure how we report them.

PBRlad

Thanks for making this topic, I just joined the forum and we are about to do taxes together as a married couple for the first time.

It seems like turbo tax is the best option and has a easy step by step guide and is probably cheaper than walking into a tax firm to get it all done!

I moved in May 2017 on a k1, we got married and I filed AOS, after waiting for my ead I started working in November 2017 in the US.

A few questions that hopefully some may be able to answer

1. In terms of filing as I have not received my green card yet, is my status a non-resident alien for tax purposes? We plan on filling married joint.

2. Am I correct as a new resident apart from the taxes the other forms to do are FBAR and foreign income exclusion, can the fbar be done on turbo tax or does it take you to an external site to complete?

3. In terms of foreign earned income exclusion I understand all money earned from my job in the UK for the year 2017 to be reported.

If I received a small bursary each month for University in the UK due to my household income being low does this get reported or no?


4. I believe I saw a diagram previously explaining UK pension plans and what gets reported. Am I correct in saying if my employer auto enrolled me in a plan where a few quid gets taken out from your pay check and put into a pension plan. Does this get reported or no as it's employer based and not a government entity pension plan...?



I guess after the first year, filing taxes gets easier?

tom169

I'm not anywhere near a tax expert, but I went through this last year DIY.

IRS and USCIS define residency differently. If you plan on filing MFJ then you need to elect to be a resident for the entire year if you don't already match one of the requirements.

https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/nonresident-alien-spouse

FBAR is always done separately. It's not for the IRS.

I would assume yes, but don't know for sure.

Not sure.

Well you won't have foreign income to worry about, but once you expand your US investments it can get quite laborious.

PBRlad

Thanks for the reply Tom,

Yeah the one about bursary is a tricky one I can't find too much online relating to a foreign bursary. I didn't have to pay for tuition fees (Scotland) nor did I have a loan but was eligible for a bursary to help contribute with transit costs and supplies etc

From reading the IRS link am i correct in saying as I haven't received a green card i haven't switched from NRA to RA at the end of the year. Is filing as a NRA the safest option rather than US Resident as I don't have my GC.

Rete

Fine and dandy if you have the $650 upfront to invest and didn't have to wait to accumulate that amount from the minor amount given through tax withdrawals per pay period. Another point is that not everyone, myself anyway, knows squat all about 'investment' which is the only way you could possible earn $150 in a year on a mere $650. Certainly won't earn that in a bank now would you.

And yes, I understood the OP was talking about thousands. But next year he won't be getting thousands back, not because he had too much withheld, but because he will not have moving expenses to lighten his tax burden. More likely than not, I would bet they take the standard deduction for their 2018 return.

tom169

You may find it very tax advantageous to elect to be a resident alien for the entire year and then report your worldwide earnings. You can then file married file jointly.

This is what I did the year I arrived. All it took extra was filing via post and including a statement explaining signed by me and the wife.

I just had printed out a boilerplate example I found online.

Your other option from the sounds of it would be a dual status return and both filing married filing separately.

Cook_County

I am not following how you could file as a full year NRA if you met the substantial presence test? It sounds as if you need to file a dual status return.

tom169

Google S&P 500 Index Fund if you're wanting a fund that basically follows the stock market. Probably the easiest investment one could make.

PBRlad

Apologies Cook County, All this taxes malarkey has me a bit baffled. I have been present since May 2017 so for over 7 months so I would meet the substantial presence test.

PBRlad

Am I correct in saying as I have been resident since May 2017 I have been present for over 7 months and meet a residency test for tax purposes which allows me to file as a resident alien despite not having a GC in possession but a EAD card.

Furthermore, I found this online https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc421

I was looking at the tax free section and it states that it's tax free if it's for textbooks and supplies etc, though is the statement above it for those currently enrolled or is it still tax free for me as I have graduated?

tom169

You have passed the substantial presence test and were a tax resident from the day you entered the US. This would make you a dual status resident. You can only file married file separately.

However, you could elect to be a resident for the entire year and file married file jointly. This is what I did even though I was like you and had no green card.

I have no idea about your other question.

PBRlad

Cheers for the reply again Tom

Is the main difference with the two that the latter you include worldwide income and the first you don't. You mentioned you had a statement and posted it does Turbo Tax not allow you to enter a statement or file electronically in this situation.

With the second question I believe it is tax free as it was used towards textbooks, hopefully someone in a similar situation can chime in