Accountant needed to file my US taxes

[rk1951]

I am looking for an accountant here that can help me file my US taxes. I have been here 6 years and haven't filed. I make under $100,000nt a month, so I probably won't have to pay any US taxes, but I need to at least file. I never thought I was going to be here this long so I never bothered. I contacted an accountant back home last month and he wants $150US for every year I haven't filed. That’s almost $1,000 US. So there has to be accountants here that do this for a living in TW. Does anyone know of an accountant that can help here in Taiwan? I am located in Taoyuan. Or does anyone have an accountant from home that is cheaper than $150US a year? Thanks for the help.

[Jive Turkey]

US$150 is actually very reasonable. In fact, that is so low that I suspect that the accountant you contacted may not fully understand the filings necessary for an overseas American. You would CERTAINLY pay a lot more if you hired a US CPA in Hong Kong, and I suspect Taiwan would not be different. The fact is that overseas US citizens are a somewhat special case and accountants who specialize in this expect to be paid more for the amount of research and experience they have with our tax issues.

Having said the above, I wouldn't pay somebody a grand to do past taxes if I could avoid it. Why don't you just file yourself? If your situation is simple (i.e., salary income only, with no dividend or capital gains income from investments, no inheritances or other taxable events, etc.), then there is really no reason why you shouldn't be able to handle this yourself. Even if you have had some investment income, you can still figure out how to file so long as you've got your records. You can download past forms from the IRS website. Start with the 1040 and 2555 (or 2555EZ). If you happen to have had a year or two in which some sort of taxable event happend and you aren't sure how to handle it, then maybe consider taking that to the accountant, but do the "simple" years yourself. After you have done it once, you should be able to handle it easily in future years. I would bet that you'll spend more time digging up your old Taiwan income and tax records than you would figuring out how to file the basic forms, and you would have to dig up those income and tax records even if you hired a CPA.

[scomargo]

I agree with Jive Turkey. It's actually quite simple to do, especially if you didn't have any capital gains from stocks, mutual funds, etc.

I think you can just try filling out the forms for one year, and if you can get that done, all the forms for the other years will be the same thing, but just plugging in different numbers.

[rk1951]

Ok, thanks for your opinions. I wanted to avould doing them myself, but I think I just need to suck it up. There has to be accountants here in TW that just deal with foreigners though. I would think it could be good business. It's funny, I have been asking all my American friends here recently to see if they have been filing their US taxes and only one guy has been doing it that I know of. His father does it for him. I know of another American that has been living here for 15 years and he hasn't filed once. Yikes!!

[Taiwan_Student]

I'm like here for thirteen years and still haven't filed. I've got some added complications. I've become self-employed but I don't make all that much money. I file jointly with my Taiwanese wife who is a teacher.

I just have a small business but I devote more of my time to my family so.. I don't have much income. For self-employed people, I've read that we are responsible for Social Security and a lot of other charges we'd be exempt from it we had an official employer. I really need someone to help guide me through these hoops as well.

And... am I going to be forced to file jointly with UNCLE SAM. Though we are not rich, my wife's salary is not so bad. I don't want my Uncle Sam to claim any of my wife's income.PS: We have four children so I 'd guess we'd get a good tax credit but I really am scared of Uncle Sam.

[housecat]

I didn't file for years when I lived here. I went back to the states five years ago and tried to file for those years, but got laughted at. Everyone just said, "Did you make more than seventy grand US? No? Then you don't owe anything. There's no point in filing." I finally just gave it up. I filed every year I was in the States, and will be filing this year for last--on line and by myself--, but after this, I may not file again for years. I wasn't audited for the gap in filing. Seems to be not a very big deal unless you're a high rolla or something.

[Rotalsnart]

I didn't file for years when I lived here. I went back to the states five years ago and tried to file for those years, but got laughted at. Everyone just said, "Did you make more than seventy grand US? No? Then you don't owe anything. There's no point in filing." I finally just gave it up. I filed every year I was in the States, and will be filing this year for last--on line and by myself--, but after this, I may not file again for years. I wasn't audited for the gap in filing. Seems to be not a very big deal unless you're a high rolla or something.

Housecat, sorry to be blunt, but this is unwise and can get you in all kinds of trouble down the road. Even if you are under the US exemption amount for overseas income, you are still by law required to file in order to claim the exemption. And there is no statute of limitations for non-filing.

If you go ahead and file now for the years you haven't filed you're unlikely to face penalties, but if you ever get audited by the IRS before you have filed, they may not offer you the luxury of filing without penalty for those years after the fact.

[housecat]

I didn't file for years when I lived here. I went back to the states five years ago and tried to file for those years, but got laughted at. Everyone just said, "Did you make more than seventy grand US? No? Then you don't owe anything. There's no point in filing." I finally just gave it up. I filed every year I was in the States, and will be filing this year for last--on line and by myself--, but after this, I may not file again for years. I wasn't audited for the gap in filing. Seems to be not a very big deal unless you're a high rolla or something.

Housecat, sorry to be blunt, but this is unwise and can get you in all kinds of trouble down the road. Even if you are under the US exemption amount for overseas income, you are still by law required to file in order to claim the exemption. And there is no statute of limitations for non-filing.

If you go ahead and file now for the years you haven't filed you're unlikely to face penalties, but if you ever get audited by the IRS before you have filed, they may not offer you the luxury of filing without penalty for those years after the fact.

I tried, man, I really DID! No one would do that. I didn't know how to do it myself. I went to H&R Block, a couple of branches, and some other local places in my home town. No one wanted to file for years I owed nothing. They really did laugh at me.

[Jive Turkey]

And... am I going to be forced to file jointly with UNCLE SAM. Though we are not rich, my wife's salary is not so bad. I don't want my Uncle Sam to claim any of my wife's income.PS: We have four children so I 'd guess we'd get a good tax credit but I really am scared of Uncle Sam.

I am not sure why you would need to file jointly with your wife. If she is a non-US person, then there is no need to file as anything other than single, or in some cases, as head of household.

[Jive Turkey]

I tried, man, I really DID! No one would do that. I didn't know how to do it myself. I went to H&R Block, a couple of branches, and some other local places in my home town. No one wanted to file for years I owed nothing. They really did laugh at me.

Housecat, you would do well to heed Rotalsnart's advice. As I have written before, the average CPA in the US has no clue how to handle tax issues for non-resident Americans. The folks down at H&R Block run a volume business ranging from super simple 1040EZ returns for people who can't handle basic arithmetic to somewhat complicated yet common filing issues for middle class people who are afraid of messing it up. I can guarantee that neighborhood places like H&R Block will not have anybody around who knows what to do with Form 2555, how to handle a foreign pension or allowances, or how serious the consequences are for an American who has not filed while overseas. Try to catch up on those years when you did not file. It sounds like all you need is the old 1040 and 2555EZ forms from those years, which should all be downloadable from the IRS website.