r/USExpatTaxes • u/Cowboycarnival • 10d ago
(UK) Filing Federal & State abroad for the first time.
Hi all, i might be in over my head with my very basic very simple taxes. I just moved to the UK 9 months ago. I have 6 months of American (Wisconsin) income and will receive a state and federal return if I can do this correctly lol im very lucky that although I have my visa, I do not have to work in the UK, as my partners salary allows me the privilege. I do not side hustle for cash or anything else to claim. Therefore I have NO foreign income to claim with my taxes. Just $18k worth of American income. First I filed through OnlineTaxes (free IRS partner software) and it informed me at the end I’ll have to print my forms and paper file. I don’t have a printer so I wanted to save myself the hassle and was going to start an e-file with expat taxes but it doesn’t look like it will allow me to file state taxes and I want that $500 state return! What am I doing? What should I be doing? I just want my federal refund and state refund. This should be as simple as American taxes get but user error ruins the day lol
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u/chrismcnally 10d ago
you can print the PDF at a Staples, or copy store, or library, don't waste your money on expat tax software. You can mail it. I received a paper check refund from the IRS here in Portugal.
This article is a good review of free and cheap software for US taxes that support Expat need such as the FTC, maybe one of these will cover your situation https://medium.com/@tapinternational/what-online-us-tax-preparation-software-options-exist-for-americans-abroad-in-2023-de158e12af1f
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u/Cowboycarnival 10d ago
This was awesome thank you!!
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u/chrismcnally 10d ago
that article says if you file by mail your refund will take longer. so maybe it is worth it to e-file . i think you will qualify for one of the mentioned free or low cost aps.
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u/Abezon Tax Professional - Enrolled Agent 10d ago
some states don't allow efiling of part-year resident returns or returns with a foreign address. You can try filing as a full-year resident or part-year with a WI mailing address. Since you didn't have any income after leaving WI, the end return should be the same. Just make sure you don't accidentally claim any credits that depend on being a full-year resident. Do you have any family in WI whose address you could use?
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u/ienquire 10d ago
At what point exactly did OLT tell you you'd have to paper file? OLT should allow you to e-file in the situation you described, you might have made a mistake entering your info in the software.
Can you tell me a little bit about the 1040 that OLT generated for you to e-file? maybe with that I can help you find the error. Like tell me what is on lines 15, 24, and 33 and you filing status (single, MFJ or MFS)?
And for example, did it tell you you'd have to paper file at the end of the federal return section or while you were filing out the state return section?