US Expat taxes from Ireland
February 1, 2015 12:05 PM Subscribe
My friend and I are working on a few years of back US tax returns. We are both US expats in Ireland with (very) small businesses. We are fairly confident about filing the 1040, Schedule B and the 2555, as well as the FinCEN form 114.
The 5471 is confusing though...
Are a tiny traning company (limited) and a small farm (partnership) the type of "certain" foreign corporations that are required to use the 5471? No profit from either, really, though the training company did get a big grant a few years back to deliver a specific programme.
And sort of related, what is "self employment" to the IRS? Is that being a salaried employee at a company you own, or being a freelancer invoicing based on project work, or both?
Anyone with stories to share or advice to give is welcome, especially if you think we missed a form in the list above. If you want to MeMail me, that would be great too.
Are a tiny traning company (limited) and a small farm (partnership) the type of "certain" foreign corporations that are required to use the 5471? No profit from either, really, though the training company did get a big grant a few years back to deliver a specific programme.
And sort of related, what is "self employment" to the IRS? Is that being a salaried employee at a company you own, or being a freelancer invoicing based on project work, or both?
Anyone with stories to share or advice to give is welcome, especially if you think we missed a form in the list above. If you want to MeMail me, that would be great too.
Hopefully this isn't too unhelpful, but: This isn't a topic that Ask Metafilter is good at. I recommend you find a professional that specializes in your situation.
If you are committed not to paying for advice, there may be other forums that are better. Serbinski Accounting forums, for example, are great for US/Canadian expat tax situations, so you might try there, although there's certainly no guarantee that what applies to an American in Canada also applies to an American in Ireland.
posted by phoenixy at 1:24 PM on February 1, 2015 [1 favorite]
If you are committed not to paying for advice, there may be other forums that are better. Serbinski Accounting forums, for example, are great for US/Canadian expat tax situations, so you might try there, although there's certainly no guarantee that what applies to an American in Canada also applies to an American in Ireland.
posted by phoenixy at 1:24 PM on February 1, 2015 [1 favorite]
I called IRS a few weeks ago with a question, and it seems they now do not take general questions over the phone (which they formerly did). They will take questions about a form you received from IRS, etc, but no longer give out general information. The last phone menu button directed me to IRS.gov
The IRS has funding problems of its own.
I ended up searching the IRS web site, and eventually found an answer, and hope I interpreted it correctly.
posted by hexatron at 1:41 PM on February 1, 2015
The IRS has funding problems of its own.
I ended up searching the IRS web site, and eventually found an answer, and hope I interpreted it correctly.
posted by hexatron at 1:41 PM on February 1, 2015
You REALLY need professional advice. Filing old 1040s is relatively easy, but once you get into business income, it gets very complicated. What type of entity is it in the UK? How is that treated in the US? How is it funded? How do you get money? Do you fall under a treaty? How many reporting requirements have you missed and should you apply for (and are you eligible for) the OVDI program?
This is not something the IRS can answer. This is not something Mefi can answer. You need professional advice.
posted by melissasaurus at 3:18 PM on February 1, 2015
This is not something the IRS can answer. This is not something Mefi can answer. You need professional advice.
posted by melissasaurus at 3:18 PM on February 1, 2015
Take a look at the info page of www.globaltaxhelp.com Full disclosure - website is my partner's business but there's some solid info for you in the tax basics page.
posted by lois1950 at 7:33 PM on February 2, 2015
posted by lois1950 at 7:33 PM on February 2, 2015
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by fshgrl at 12:09 PM on February 1, 2015 [1 favorite]