Article for Ultimate Italy

 Our member Alecia Caine, is a US CPA and lives part time in Palm Desert, California and part time in Guardia Sanframondi in Campania, Italy. She will focus her posts on US tax requirement for Americans living abroad, including filing requirements, the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion, Foreign Tax Credit and FBAR. 

Today, she will explain some of the filing requirements for Americans living and earning abroad. Here is a link to the IRS with more information. https://www.irs.gov/…/us-citizens-and-resident-aliens-abroa…

Basically if you earn more than the standard deduction for your filing status, you must file a US tax return and report your Worldwide income. However, if you run a freelance business and report your income on a Schedule C for sole proprietorships you will need to file a tax return if your net earnings from self-employment exceed $400. Meaning income less expenses exceeds $400.
Here is a link to an IRS tool to help you figure out of you must file a tax return. https://www.irs.gov/help/ita/do-i-need-to-file-a-tax-return.
https://www.irs.gov/filing for information on how to file.

One Thing I would strongly advise: When you have basic tax questions, check the IRS.gov website for the answer. The site is easy to navigate, and it is the authority on taxes. Don’t listen to other people who have an opinion, or blogs and articles found online. Some situations do require the advice of a professional, but many questions can be answered from the Internal Revenue Service.
If you would like to contact Alecia,  please send her an email abccpa@sbcglobal.net

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