While I read this article on married couples doing US taxes while abroad I found it didn’t apply to me completely as my spouse is not a US citizen. And while they provided links and great information, I’ve been unsettled to do my own taxes as I really didn’t want to end up on the naughty list of the IRS especially as we were getting ready for my wife’s US visa.

And there seems to be a lot of misinformation regarding US taxes among the expat community. I heard that since I made less than $92,900 (I also heard $60,000) that I didn’t need to file taxes with the IRS. Truth be told US citizens need to file taxes each year even overseas even if they don’t owe the US any money. According the US Embassy mailer: “You may qualify to exclude up to $92,900 of your income from taxes, but you still are required to file a tax return every year.”

It turns out a lot of expats mess this up and end up delinquent for however many years they are living overseas. I didn’t want to fall into that group.

The IRS has a good chunk of info here including when taxes are due as you have more time to file while living overseas.

General: www.irs.gov for Individuals International Taxpayers, U.S. Citizens and Resident Aliens Abroad

Military: www.irs.gov for Military Individuals

The Seoul Global Center has multiple locations in Seoul and is great with answering expat questions regarding everything from taxes, the trash system, language courses, and running your own business in Korea.

With the US Tax system as complicated as it is I didn’t want to fill out the paperwork myself and risk messing something up as I had no idea that the rules are while living overseas. I needed someone who knew the system well to assist me. So I went to the Seoul Global Center in Itaewon and they told me several accountants that I could use. The list at the time only had two names and it was because those accountants dropped off their business cards. Without contacting them directly I wouldn’t know their experience or how qualified they are.

Turbo Tax is a cheap and popular way of filing taxes and does work for those living outside of the US.

My family uses Turbo Tax and when I was living in the US I used that as well. It asks you questions and you fill in blanks or choose an answer from one of the options provided. However as I was using it I didn’t feel confident as the options didn’t fit me 100% with my job situation in Korea.

I ended up going with H&R Block. They are a large tax filing company with a solid reputation and have a location on the outskirts of Itaewon in the middle of Seoul. Now I must admit that while I wasn’t impressed with the look of their office (they have since remodeled) I was impressed with the accountant. He spoke English well, been doing this job for years, and would frequently do several years of taxes for an individual in a day or two.

He explained that most of his customers believed the rumor about not needing to file and then would suddenly need to catch up several years worth of taxes. If you are in this situation ask for a discount. He does get very busy during tax filing season so try to come before the rush.

Address:

3F, Infiniti Service Center 36-27 Itaewon 1-dong Yongsan-gu Seoul 140-201, Korea Tel. 82-2-749-1040 (primary), 82-2-790-3941 (secondary) Fax. 82-2-797-6586

Map A

Map B

On the maps you’ll see several subway stations on Line 6; Noksopyeong Station on the left and Itaewon on the right. If taking a bus H&R Block is behind the bus stop.

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About the author

Richard Moore holds a B.A. in film production and has finished his M.A. in English
Education in Seoul. You can see other posts about the life of him and his wife in Korea at www.rickandnyo.com.

Richard was my roommate in Seoul and now is a very good friend of mine. He and Nyo are undoubtedly my guiding light whenever I am in doubt about anything related to life in Korea.