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Hello, I moved to Germany several years ago to study and after that I stayed and started to work full-time. After some research I know that I should have filed returns for 2017 and 2018 (I thought my german taxes were enough) as I was full-time employed in these years and earned ~40000 EUR.
Since the end of 2018 I am a student again earning well under the filing threshold (~3000 EUR) so I believe I don’t need to file for 2019.
I can’t e-file 2017 & 2018 since these returns are too late. From what I understand I need to print and file forms 2555-EZ and the FBAR, am I missing something or is there another form necessary? I’m planning to move back in the coming year so I’m trying to get my affairs in order. Thank you for the help, there are so many resources but I’m still a bit confused!
Hello, I moved to Germany several years ago to study and after that I stayed and started to work full-time. After some research I know that I should have filed returns for 2017 and 2018 (I thought my german taxes were enough) as I was full-time employed in these years and earned ~40000 EUR.
Since the end of 2018 I am a student again earning well under the filing threshold (~3000 EUR) so I believe I don’t need to file for 2019.
I can’t e-file 2017 & 2018 since these returns are too late. From what I understand I need to print and file forms 2555-EZ and the FBAR, am I missing something or is there another form necessary? I’m planning to move back in the coming year so I’m trying to get my affairs in order. Thank you for the help, there are so many resources but I’m still a bit confused!
For 2017, you’ll file Form 1040 and then can either take the FEIE (foreign earned income exclusion) on Form 2555 or 2555-EZ or the Foreign Tax Credit (FTC) on Form 1116.
The new tax law went into affect starting in 2018, so for 2018, you’ll file Form 1040 and any of applicable schedules. Form 2555-EZ was no longer available starting in 2018 so you’ll need to file either Form 2555 or Form 1116.
Regarding the FBAR, you only need to file that for each year that you had over $10k aggregated at any time during the year in non-US financial accounts. This form is filed with the FinCEN (US Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network), not with the IRS. It’s NOT a tax-related document.
I was in the same situation last week, and i got my situation straighten out
I live in Germany as well, and I didn’t file for 2018 because i was a student and earned too little to file. But due to the coronavirus stimulus that I would like to receive, i filed my 2018 tax return via mail. Turbotax has an option that lets you download a software and fill out your 2018 return, and then print out the return to mail (you can’t e-file for 2018 and later returns)
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