Tax Question

[CarolineM 0]

So if Stewart had no worldwide income, must he still fill out a 2555?

In addition, he did work at a summer camp and earned $1500. He never got a W-2 because it's not taxes so how do we deal with that? Can't fill out a 1040, can't put it as foreign earned income...

So how do we address that issue?

Thanks all i'm just feeling very frustrated

[flipside 0]

You should have received a 1099 from the summer camp. Call them to verify

[lucyrich 20]

You don't give much background to go on. Which of you is a USC?

Is Stewart a US Citizen or not? If not, is he a US resident alien for tax purposes (probably not, because based on your timeline, it looks like he probably doesn't meet the substantial presence or green card tests). If he's not a US Citizen or resident alien, is he married to a US Citizen and are you choosing to have him considered a resident alien for tax purposes?

Note that form 2555 says, at the top, for use by US Citizens and Resident Aliens only. Is he excluded from filing a form 2555 based on that?

In general, you don't have to fill out extra forms and schedules if all the amounts would be zero. So even if he is a USC or resident alien, he probably shouldn't file a 2555 unless there's at least one nonzero line on it.

But now I'm confused, because you say,

In addition, he did work at a summer camp and earned $1500. He never got a W-2 because it's not taxes so how do we deal with that? Can't fill out a 1040, can't put it as foreign earned income...

If he worked at a summer camp and earned $1500, he most definitely did have some worldwide income, so that contradicts what you just implied in the question about having no worldwide income and filling out a 2555. If the summer camp was in the US, maybe it wasn't foreign income, but it was worldwide income. If it was in the US, he should have received a W-2 (or perhaps 1099), and he should contact his employer to get the form if he hasn't already received it. If he really and truly has no form (say, the camp was outside the US?), he still has to report the income if he's filing taxes. Perhaps he could report it on line 7 (wages) or on line 21 (other income), but the really crucial thing is that it be included in the total that appears on line 22.

All this is assuming he's going to file taxes. With a total income of $1500, he's probably not required to file, though it may be cheaper for you as a couple to file a joint return than for you as an individual to file separately and have him skip filing. The latter choice may be lead to less confusing paperwork, and may not be that much more expensive, though.

[CarolineM 0]

I now realize how contradictory that all sounded. I was in crisis this morning and typing fast

My question is answered Thank you soo much for your help.

Next year will be much easier

[Yodrak 7]

karo,

Form 2555 is to exclude foreign-earned income. If there was no foreign-earned income to report, there is no foreign-earned income to exclude.

Yodrak

So if Stewart had no worldwide income, must he still fill out a 2555?

In addition, he did work at a summer camp and earned $1500. He never got a W-2 because it's not taxes so how do we deal with that? Can't fill out a 1040, can't put it as foreign earned income...

So how do we address that issue?

Thanks all i'm just feeling very frustrated