Taxes? Taxes! Figuring out US expat tax business

This CD player has a lot of gall.

While the angry Korean CD player echoes my enthusiasm about the process (taxes are taxes, a fact of life) of filing taxes, I like to be prepared. What does that mean? Basically that I like to be one step ahead, especially on things like taxes, and have them done well before they're due to save myself the stress and effort as things approach. Because this will be our first year filing taxes jointly (oh hey, our one year anniversary is coming up February 24th!), I want to be especially on top of it since we have incomes from several states, loan considerations, and various other things.

Admittedly, things are made easier by the fact that Turbotax is my friend and all, but with so many ducks to get in a row, you have to get started earlier. Since I'm a little overly concerned, I have done an ample amount of research and after 30+ minutes of searching I think I finally found a satisfactory answer for the question I had. The tax legalese is generally pretty straight forward and dry, but that doesn't always mean that I get the answer that I'm looking for.

Next year will mean more of the taxes tango, but at least I have helpful links at my service now. From what I've gleaned from the internet there are many things to keep in mind when you're filing taxes for having lived and earned income in a foreign country. Most importantly? File a darn return, else it may come back to haunt you. I know people that have not and I hope that it doesn't come back to bite them. Several things I learned:

- The US has a tax treaty with South Korea to help you out so you're not being taxed in both locations
- Keep an eye out for the terms Foreign Earned Income Exclusion (FEIE) and housing exclusion
- There is an income threshold depending on how you're filing for the year (single, jointly, etc)
- The bona fide resident test and physical resident test are important for establishing the finer details
- Some allowances are included depending on housing, utilities, repairs and other expenses
- If you live over here for a year then due to the physical resident test and timing you can update it after your contract is completed (and in time for the next tax year) to let the IRS know that you did live overseas for the allotted time period (330+ consecutive days)
- You should be paying Korean taxes and it should be noted on your pay stubs
- US citizens living abroad are entitled to a two month extension when filing, up until June 15th (although your taxes need to be filed on time in April to avoid any interest charges)
- Korean CD players are clearly superior to my puny foreign electronic skills

That is, in short, what I have learned from browsing the internet and reading up on various websites ranging from the IRS website, tax assistance sites in various shapes and forms, a very helpful blog, and various other things. Maybe not the most exciting thing, but it's hard to go wrong with information just waiting to be found.

For reference for my future use and anyone else, here are the websites and documents that I found most useful.
- Expat IRS Form Checklist
- Taxation of U.S. Expatriates
- Income Taxes Overview (Korea4Expats)
- How to File Your Expatriate Tax Return As an American Living Abroad
- Taxes - Here and at Home (Blog post - US centric)
- National Tax Service (Korea)

In other news, we went ice skating at the Cheongju Ice Rink/Link on Wednesday (1/16), pictures to come soon, hopefully.