In January of the current year, Stan Signowski's U. S. employer assigned him to their Paris office. This year, he earned salary, a cost-of-living allowance, a housing allowance, a home leave allowance that permits him to return home once each year, and an education allowance to pay for U. S. schooling for his son. Stan and his wife, Jennifer, have rented an apartment in Paris and paid French income taxes. What tax issues does Stan need to consider when preparing his tax return?

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Business

Kash Jacobs

15 November, 08:02

In January of the current year, Stan Signowski's U. S. employer assigned him to their Paris office. This year, he earned salary, a cost-of-living allowance, a housing allowance, a home leave allowance that permits him to return home once each year, and an education allowance to pay for U. S. schooling for his son. Stan and his wife, Jennifer, have rented an apartment in Paris and paid French income taxes. What tax issues does Stan need to consider when preparing his tax return?

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Raul Pham · Answer 1

Stan appears to satisfy the basic Sec. 911 exclusion requirements for his year of arrival since he will be physically present in France for at least 330 days during his year of arrival. The actual number days for which the exclusion can be claimed depends on the length of time he spent in the United States. The salary, cost-of-living allowance, housing allowance, home leave allowance, and education allowance all are excludable up to the Sec. 911 limitation (calculated on a daily basis). In addition, Stan can claim an exclusion for the housing cost amount minus the base amount (calculated on a daily basis). Both exclusions are denied for the portion of Stan's salary and allowances attributable to his time in the United States. The portion of his employment-related expenses and foreign taxes attributable to the excluded income are unable to be deducted or credited. The foreign-earned income exclusion and housing cost amount exclusion are both elected by claiming such amounts on Form 2555.

Not knowing the amount of the foreign income taxes, and other components of Stan's tax return, it is impossible to know whether Stan should elect out of the Sec. 911 exclusion. Stan may have spent sufficient number of days in the United States on his trip home to need to qualify for the foreign-earned income exclusion under the bona fide foreign resident rules. In such case, he will not qualify for the exclusion until the end of this second calendar year in France. The exclusion would then be available retroactively back to the date on which he established foreign residency status.