I was just reminded that this might be useful info to those of you living overseas and looking at that April 15 deadline with dread... This one lets you off the hook for two months *including* freedom to pay if you owe.

You can get an automatic 6 month extension of filing (but if you owe, it's due on time)

http://www.irs.gov/publications/p54/ch01.html
Automatic 2-month extension.
You are allowed an automatic 2-month extension to file your return and pay any federal income tax that is due if you are a U.S. citizen or resident alien, and on the regular due date of your return:
You are living outside of the United States and Puerto Rico and your main place of business or post of duty is outside the United States and Puerto Rico, or

You are in military or naval service on duty outside the United States and Puerto Rico.


If you use a calendar year, the regular due date of your return is April 15. Even if you are allowed an extension, you will have to pay interest on any tax not paid by the regular due date of your return.

That entire page has some helpful tips for those of you living abroad.

See also:
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f4868.pdf
Taxpayers “out of the country.” If, on the regular due date of your return, you are “out of the country” and a U.S. citizen or resident, you are allowed 2 extra months to file your return and pay any amount due without requesting an extension.
For a calendar year return, this is June 15, 2007. File this form and be sure to check the box on line 8 if you need an additional 4 months to file your return.
If you are “out of the country” and are a U.S. citizen or resident, you may qualify for special tax treatment if you meet the foreign residence or presence tests. If you do not expect to meet either of those tests by the due date of your return, request an extension to a date after you expect to qualify using Form 2350, Application for Extension of Time To File U.S. Income Tax Return. See Pub. 54, Tax Guide for U.S. Citizens and Resident Aliens Abroad.
“Out of the country” means either:
1. You live outside the United States and Puerto Rico and your main place of work is outside the United States and Puerto Rico, or
2. You are in military or naval service outside the United States and Puerto Rico.
If you qualify as being “out of the country,” you will still be eligible for the extension even if you are physically present in the United States or Puerto Rico on the regular due date of the return.

Have fun!

We did our taxes thanks Meauxna!

Do you need to include a copy of our foreign W-2s with the IRS DOC??? If so, is a COPY of the W-2 ok?? and do we need to include a translation for the foreign w-2's?? (im in Japan and our W-2's are in Japanese.
Can we use the EZ form(1040/2555) for previous years

I was able to gather all the info(2555/1040) for filing my taxes for the last 5 years and i will send it out next week when i get back to my apartment.I hope I can just use copies of my forms since i am just sending them next week.

k,

I've never included my Japanese income statements, seems to be ok with IRS. Each year I go to the Tokyo embassy website, and here you can find the official exchange rates for the year. Then I calculate my Japanese income into dollars, put that amount on 2555-EZ and 1040.

Great!! Then I wont include mine either. I have completed my forms. Do you think I can use the 1040 EZ form??

The UK sends its version of the W-2 after the filing deadline in the USA. I was told by the IRS themselves that they don't need it.

US citizens living overseas have to go through this because of tax cheats living overseas to avoid paying taxes. They probably take your word for it because they're not really interested in snagging you anyway.

If you complete the 2555-EZ (exclusion of foreign income) form, you must use the regular 1040 in order to deduct the amount you have earned overseas. It's not a biggie -- you'll find yourself putting "-0-" in most of the columns anyway.