US Taxes

[Kenr6583]

Just a reminder about FBAR. This is the free government link:
https://bsaefiling.fincen.treas.gov/NoRegFBARFiler.html

Thanks but I don’t have a bank account here. My bank in the US doesn’t charge an ATM fee, so I take $1,000 at a time with only a $4 ATM fee from a bank here. I also use my credit card to pay my apartment and electricity bill, it doesn’t have an international transaction fee.

[Declan MacPherson]

Another US Tax Filing Year complete along with the annual FBAR filing nonsense.

The great thing is that my Social Security 2024 Windfall dropped this week. Didn't need it, but extra money is always a happy time.

Once again thankful for my blessings and my tax guy who has the maps.

Live Your Best Life.

[Potamoi]

My accountant of 25 years passed away this year so I elected to do my US S-Corp and Personal Income taxes on my own. Well kind of on my own.

I bought tried and HR Block desktop software but was not satisfied with some of the S-Corp errors found and other interface quirks. HR Block also stated they could not eFile in Arizona. Another reason to keep looking. HR Block do have a specific Expat Online version too but I wanted a one stop solution for my S-Corp too.

NOTE: The HR block software used the PC system date format to check the dates I entered I guess. I screwed around way too much trying to get the date in a MM/DD/YYYY format in their form. Changing my PC system date format from dd-Mmm-yy (day first with three letter month) to mm/dd/yyyy was the only way it would allow me to type in the form without it automatically swapping the month and year around. Frustrating interface quirk. I hate using number only date formats for this reason.

I then tried TurboTax Live which is free until you actually want to print the PDF and file. TurboTax allows one to link to financial institutions to pull in 1099 data (not just PDF uploads which it also does). It also allowed for Bank info to be linked for refund direct deposit.

The telephone support was very good and US based experts. I gave them my Tello US number to call back and they did within 5 min as advertised. They have a chat facility too but I like the screen share and voice support they provide more. I spent a total of two hours going over every line of both returns before pulling the eFile trigger this morning prior to the S-Corp deadline 17-Mar-25. I always extend but usually try to file before the US deadlines ever since I was fined for filing late one year even though an extension was sent. I also think human audits are less likely during the normal tax season.

I was impressed with TurboTax and can recommend it if others find themselves in a similar circumstance.

[Declan MacPherson]

I then tried TurboTax Live which is free until you actually want to print the PDF and file. TurboTax allows one to link to financial institutions to pull in 1099 data (not just PDF uploads which it also does). It also allowed for Bank info to be linked for refund direct deposit.

The telephone support was very good and US based experts. I gave them my Tello US number to call back and they did within 5 min as advertised. They have a chat facility too but I like the screen share and voice support they provide more. I spent a total of two hours going over every line of both returns before pulling the eFile trigger this morning prior to the S-Corp deadline 17-Mar-25. I always extend but usually try to file before the US deadlines ever since I was fined for filing late one year even though an extension was sent. I also think human audits are less likely during the normal tax season.

I was impressed with TurboTax and can recommend it if others find themselves in a similar circumstance.

Turbo Tax is excellent.

I had one year where my filing would not complete and couldn't be sent. Spent some time on the phone with their very courteous and knowledgeable staff and found out that it was a system-wide glitch. It was resolved by the next day, and everything was fine.

I got into the habit of filing in mid March at the latest to keep from getting jammed up near the April 15 filing day.

[Charlieb]

I file every year using TurboTax for the past 20+ years. Mine is simple, takes about 30 minutes. Already have my refund.
I use the downloaded version to run on my PC. Very easy to use, just answer the questions and TurboTax does it all.