I'm attempting to file my US taxes this year for the first time and am in need of some guidance.
For some information on my situtation:
I'm a US citizen, here on a Spouse Visa, who's lived in Japan for over 10 years and I became a sole proprietor here last year (2023) doing freelance programming work.
I filed and paid my Japanese taxes in March of this year already, with several deductions including spouse dependent deduction.
Prior to that I had a period of unemployement during covid, and prior to that I was a teacher for various companies in Japan.
I've never filed US taxes while living in Japan due to my own ignorance of US taxes – apart from 2019 and 2020, which were both done via Turbotax by a relative on my behalf. However, I'm hoping to remedy that and get fully compliant this year.
From reading through various posts on here I gather that I'll need to submit the Form 1040, but I'm wondering what else I need to do in order to avoid be double-taxed.
FEIE seems to be the best for my situation here, but are there other forms or documents required?
I also read in a recent post here that in order to avoid paying the US self-employment tax I'll need to submit a Certificate of Coverage from the Japanese Pension Service. I believe I've found the correct form for this (日･アメリカ社会保障協定 国民年金･国民健康保険 適用証明書交付申請書) but I'm a bit unsure as to what the process is. It seems like there may be some lag time between submitting the form and receiving the certificate. If that is the case should I apply for an extension on my US taxes?
Do I also need to file an FBAR? With the exchange rate the way it is I'm not sure I've quite hit the threshold for the requirement, but I'm not really sure.
Also, should I go back and file for any years I've missed since living here? If so how far back? What is the process for doing so? Would Turbotax be a good option for doing all of this online to expedite the process or are there too many Japanese forms that need to be attached etc. to make this feasible?
I'm hoping someone could outline or post a link to what exactly is required for US taxes in this situation and how to go about it I'd greatly appreciate it.
Thanks!
by KatKack
