How to file for 2018 tax year

[Elrona 101]

I decided I'd better have a look into how to file the taxes for 2018, since I've heard so many horror stories of US tax system and of course it won't be the easiest first year.

My POE was 20th of November and I'll work (and get paid) only for about half a December. While in US, I have had income to my Estonian account as a member of board fee (so not salary), so I guess I'll need to add that. But do I also need to add the income I earned in other countries in 2018 while not US resident? 

 

If anyone has recommendations for accountant, bookkeeper or whoever can help with that kind of stuff, I'd be very interested!

[Crazy Cat 39,245]

I recommend you do what I did.  Hire an experienced accountant who knows how to navigate the US tax system....at least for the first year.  Tax status,  Income reporting, FBAR thresholds, and foreign held assets can be complex.......Good luck.

 

I have a good accountant located in Dallas.

Edited December 5, 2018 by missileman

[CEE53147 559]

There are tax preparers who specialize in international/US tax filings. They would be helpful if you need to file in other countries as well as the US.  They need not be located in your city.  Otherwise use only a CPA or "enrolled agent" and not the companies that setup in stores and malls.

 

ETA:  You might want to PM Missleman for his person's contact info.

Edited December 5, 2018 by CEE53147

[Elrona 101]

7 hours ago, CEE53147 said:

There are tax preparers who specialize in international/US tax filings. They would be helpful if you need to file in other countries as well as the US.  They need not be located in your city.  Otherwise use only a CPA or "enrolled agent" and not the companies that setup in stores and malls.

 

ETA:  You might want to PM Missleman for his person's contact info.

Thanks! Will find someone for sure, to help through that maze! Missleman did say that their accountant is in Texas. I think maybe I'll need to find someone from Colorado, because there is also federal tax return or aren't the differences too big between states?

[CEE53147 559]

Federal taxes only have an influence from a state in the "state income tax deduction" on itemized deductions form.  I believe it is more important to have someone familiar with the filing requirements for the other countries involved.

 

If there is an organization of Estonoian expats or immigrants, you could ask those people for suggestions.  If there is a US-Estonian law firm, they may have a tax practice.  You are more likely to find them based out of an East Coast city like New York City or Washington, DC.

[AstroCanada 206]

I was rather surprised by how much accountants wanted to charge to handle my taxes in this situation.  I got quotes of $1500+.  It was worth it for me to DIY.

[D.Ba 85]

The US taxes are not really the problem at all, it is that you talk about several countries.

It depends somewhat on whether the US has a reciprocity agreement with the respective country. Then, in a VERY simplified way, you report all your worldwide income for the year, including investment income, etc., calculate complete tax due in the US and deduct tax already paid in other countries.

I agree, the first year can be daunting due to working, earning, and living in more than one country. It will get MUCH easier after that.

[WaterLeaf 199]

On 1/10/2019 at 10:03 PM, AstroCanada said:

I was rather surprised by how much accountants wanted to charge to handle my taxes in this situation.  I got quotes of $1500+.  It was worth it for me to DIY.

I'd dare you to try working on filing your own taxes first and acknowledge what you are doing.

 

Your W2 should be available, so that will be the easy part. You will get this working with the job in the US. If not, check what kind of form it is.

 

There is an option to add other income that you worked in other countries. I had not done this before, but it shouldn't be as hard.

 

Check out TurboxTax, TaxAct, or CreditKarma free tax filing only. I've used all 3 throughout the year except CK was the first time for me this year and was just as easy like the other. No extensive large reading. These help a lot and make it a million easier.

 

If you come across any issue, try calling some tax filers that are free to help you. Keep it in a small discussion, and move another topic/discussion to another tax helper person so you can go around and see the general view. Now be aware not many are trained to do this, but some can help. Maybe try looking on Reddit on those who already got help.

 

I hope this convinces you because this looks very easy to do.

Edited January 28, 2019 by WaterLeaf

[AstroCanada 206]

6 hours ago, WaterLeaf said:

I'd dare you to try working on filing your own taxes first and acknowledge what you are doing.

 

Your W2 should be available, so that will be the easy part. You will get this working with the job in the US. If not, check what kind of form it is.

 

There is an option to add other income that you worked in other countries. I had not done this before, but it shouldn't be as hard.

 

Check out TurboxTax, TaxAct, or CreditKarma free tax filing only. I've used all 3 throughout the year except CK was the first time for me this year and was just as easy like the other. No extensive large reading. These help a lot and make it a million easier.

 

If you come across any issue, try calling some tax filers that are free to help you. Keep it in a small discussion, and move another topic/discussion to another tax helper person so you can go around and see the general view. Now be aware not many are trained to do this, but some can help. Maybe try looking on Reddit on those who already got help.

 

I hope this convinces you because this looks very easy to do.

I think you misread my post above, I did do it myself because getting a professional accountant was prohibitively expensive.  Sadly my situation was beyond what tax software handled either (I use TaxAct most years).

 

In this particular year:

• Half my income was in the US, half was in Canada
• I got married and changed my residency
• I needed to declare my spouse as a resident for tax purposes
• In addition to wages, I had just a little bit of every other income type.

I did it myself, but ended up filing over 70 pages of forms between the US, Canada, and California.  😱

[WaterLeaf 199]

Whoops, I did mean to mention @Elrona about it but I must've not paid attention to doing that. My bad. Just sharing general idea though.

 

70 pages? Wut.

[Elrona 101]

On 1/28/2019 at 11:22 AM, WaterLeaf said:

I'd dare you to try working on filing your own taxes first and acknowledge what you are doing.

 

Your W2 should be available, so that will be the easy part. You will get this working with the job in the US. If not, check what kind of form it is.

 

There is an option to add other income that you worked in other countries. I had not done this before, but it shouldn't be as hard.

 

Check out TurboxTax, TaxAct, or CreditKarma free tax filing only. I've used all 3 throughout the year except CK was the first time for me this year and was just as easy like the other. No extensive large reading. These help a lot and make it a million easier.

 

If you come across any issue, try calling some tax filers that are free to help you. Keep it in a small discussion, and move another topic/discussion to another tax helper person so you can go around and see the general view. Now be aware not many are trained to do this, but some can help. Maybe try looking on Reddit on those who already got help.

 

I hope this convinces you because this looks very easy to do.

I think I am too much afraid to mess it up to do it by myself  Income from three countries, owner of NGO in one of the countries and now someone told me that I might not even need to do taxes because of not "passing" substantial presence test. So much to think about! But I will check out those three possibilities. Thank you!