{"id":10131,"date":"2015-03-27T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2015-03-27T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/getirshelp.com\/blog\/7-tips-on-reporting-your-offshore-income\/"},"modified":"2026-07-27T14:54:42","modified_gmt":"2026-07-27T14:54:42","slug":"7-tips-on-reporting-your-offshore-income","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/getirshelp.com\/blog\/7-tips-on-reporting-your-offshore-income\/","title":{"rendered":"7 Tips on Reporting Your Offshore Income"},"content":{"rendered":"

I'm Darrin Mish. For 32 years I've practiced federal tax litigation \u2014 routine audits, Tax Court cases, and everything in between. If you're facing an IRS issue, here's what you need to know first.<\/p>\n

Many Americans work overseas and draw an income from these foreign countries.\u00a0 The US policy on offshore income is that you must declare it even if you are paying taxes for it in the country where you work.\u00a0 So if you are one of those who earn income from a foreign source, here are 7 tax tips for you. \u00a0Click here to read or watch more IRS Help resources.<\/a><\/p>\n

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  1. Report all your Offshore income<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    By definition, offshore or foreign income is not limited to your monthly salary.\u00a0 It also includes foreign trusts, foreign bank and securities.<\/p>\n

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    1. File all the required Forms correctly<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Depending on your particular circumstances, you may need to file different forms.\u00a0 For example, you may need to file Schedule B of your 1040 if you have over $1,500 in taxable interest or ordinary dividends, accrued interest from a bond, you received interest or ordinary dividends as a nominee etc.<\/p>\n

      Another form that may have to be filled is 8938 if the total value of all the specified foreign financial assets in which you have an interest is more than the appropriate reporting threshold.<\/p>\n

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      1. Claim your Exclusion (if you qualify)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        If you qualify for the foreign earned income exclusion, you will be exempted from tax for up to $99,200 of your wages and other offshore income in 2014.\u00a0 For more information, you can check out Form 2555 Foreign Earned Income or Form 2555-EZ Foreign Earned Income Exclusion at the IRS website, www.irs.gov<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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        1. Claim your Credits and Deductions<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          If you pay income tax to the foreign country you work at, you will be eligible for a tax credit or deduction.\u00a0 Hence, you should claim what you are entitled to.<\/p>\n

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          1. Use Free File<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

            The IRS Free File allows you to e-file your tax submissions.\u00a0 If you earned up to $60,000 you can use brand name tax filing software.\u00a0 If your income exceeds $60,000 you can use Free File Fillable forms which are digital versions of the IRS forms.\u00a0 Some Free File software products and fillable forms can also be used with foreign addresses for those who live overseas.<\/p>\n

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            1. Apply for Extension if needed<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

              If you need more time to submit your taxes, you can apply for an automatic two month extension till June 16, 2015.\u00a0 All you need to do is submit a statement detailing why you require the extension with your return.<\/p>\n

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              1. Get IRS Tax help<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                You can go to the IRS website at www.irs.gov<\/a> for free tools to help you submit your tax returns.\u00a0 Alternatively, you can call us at (813) 229-7100 for a free consultation.<\/p>\n

                 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                I'm Darrin Mish. For 32 years I've practiced federal tax litigation \u2014 routine audits, Tax Court cases, and everything in between. If you're facing an IRS issue, here's what you need to know first. Many Americans work overseas and draw an income from these foreign countries.\u00a0 The US policy on offshore income is that you […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[594],"class_list":["post-10131","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-irs-help","tag-irs-forms"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/getirshelp.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10131","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/getirshelp.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/getirshelp.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/getirshelp.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/getirshelp.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10131"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/getirshelp.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10131\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22412,"href":"https:\/\/getirshelp.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10131\/revisions\/22412"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/getirshelp.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10131"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/getirshelp.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10131"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/getirshelp.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10131"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}