Tax season

Darren1o1

Hey All,
Since it is coming to taxes season for those living here in the US, I figured a thread may be applicable. I have H1B, so I am a tax resident but have dealt with being a non resident (on J1 Internship) and it is a pain. I usually pay to get mine done, as it is allot more complex than the Irish system.
I have used www.thetaxguy.com, who specializes in foreign tax returns in the US. He has a secure server you load it up and has served me well. Also good was Roni Deustch. Anybody have any advice or people the recommend, I figure it would help those who are less in the know.
Thanks,
Darren

Ruu_Old

I have been living here for 5 years and have done my own since then, but my wife has had experience so I guess with some, the case maybe different. I get mine with free efile for state and federal taxes via Turbotax through State Farm Insurance.

FatherTed

I've been here 18 years and I've done my taxes myself in all but one of those years. Before Turbotax, I did them manually. Turbotax is easy to use.

The first time when filing taxes is tricky especially if you spent part of year living in another country. Then you have to count the days if resided in the US and then prorate the numbers.

InTheTrees

It gets taken out of my salary so I only owe a small amount at tax time and the return is pretty simple to fill out...

...so my girlfriend tells me when she does it.

lil_lisa

I don't earn enough to justify hiring someone, although this year I'm due back a lot of Social Security tax which I'm excited about. I guess there is a good side to being an alien

crapmanjoe

lil_lisa wrote: »

I don't earn enough to justify hiring someone, although this year I'm due back a lot of Social Security tax which I'm excited about. I guess there is a good side to being an alien

Getting a bit ahead of myself here and not really 100% on topic with this thread but ill throw a question out anyway

I will be terminating my current Irish job at end of may and then moving (for an undefined period of time but likely to be 3+ years) on a L1 visa to the New York office (same employer) in June

Can anyone give me a rough indication of my tax affairs for next year and whats the best way to go about getting everything sorted

All tax will be pure PAYE / US withholding (no CGT,DIRT, CAT or any of you're other fancy taxes )

Thanks

Darren1o1

crapmanjoe wrote: »

Getting a bit ahead of myself here and not really 100% on topic with this thread but ill throw a question out anyway

I will be terminating my current Irish job at end of may and then moving (for an undefined period of time but likely to be 3+ years) on a L1 visa to the New York office (same employer) in June

Can anyone give me a rough indication of my tax affairs for next year and whats the best way to go about getting everything sorted

All tax will be pure PAYE / US withholding (no CGT,DIRT, CAT or any of you're other fancy taxes )

Thanks

The big thing to find out is if you are a tax resident under the L1 (I was under H1B, but was not under J1 internship). It will make a hell of a difference to you.

lonestargirl

crapmanjoe wrote: »

I will be terminating my current Irish job at end of may and then moving (for an undefined period of time but likely to be 3+ years) on a L1 visa to the New York office (same employer) in June

Can anyone give me a rough indication of my tax affairs for next year and whats the best way to go about getting everything sorted

All tax will be pure PAYE / US withholding (no CGT,DIRT, CAT or any of you're other fancy taxes )

Presumably you are getting a relocation package for your L1. I would ask for an accountant for year 1 taxes as part of that - the worst they can say is no. It's worth running the resident vs. non-resident numbers, I think it's something like 183 days to be able to choose to be resident for your first year and that would co-incide with moving in June sometime.

I do our own taxes, although Texas doesn't have state tax so it's just a federal return which is pretty straightforward.

InTheTrees

lonestargirl wrote: »

I do our own taxes, although Texas doesn't have state tax so it's just a federal return which is pretty straightforward.

Same up here in Washington. It used to be horror dealing with the California State Franchise Tax Board when I lived there. They made the IRS look like boy scouts.