Information on Federal Income Tax Forms

U.S. Citizens and Resident Aliens Abroad
 
If you are a U.S. citizen or resident alien, the rules for filing income, estate, and gift tax returns and paying estimated tax are generally the same whether you are in the United States or abroad. Your worldwide income is subject to U.S. income tax, regardless of where you reside.

When to File

If you reside overseas, or are in the military on duty outside the U.S., you are allowed an automatic 2-month extension to file your return until June 15. However, any tax due must be paid by the original return due date (April 15) to avoid interest charges.

If you are unable to file your return by the due date, you can request an additional extension to October 15 by filing Form 4868 (PDF, 120 KB)before the return due date. However, any payments made after June 15 would be subject to both interest charges and failure to pay penalties.

Where to File

If you are a U.S. citizen or resident alien (Green Card Holder), and you live in a foreign country or you are a non resident alien, mail your U.S. tax return to:

Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service Center
Austin, TX 73301-0215

Estimated tax payments should be mailed with form 1040-ES to:

Internal Revenue Service
P.O. Box 660406
Dallas, TX 75266-0406
USA

Taxpayer Identification Number

Each taxpayer who files, or is claimed as a dependent on, a U.S. tax return will need a social security number (SSN) or individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN). To obtain a SSN, use form SS-5, Application for a Social Security Card. To get form SS-5, or to find out if you are eligible for a social security card, contact a Social Security Office or visit Social Security International Operations. If you, or your spouse, are not eligible for a SSN, you can obtain an ITIN by filing form W-7 along with appropriate documentation.

Exchange Rates

You must express the amounts you report on your U.S. tax return in U.S. dollars. If you receive all or part of your income or pay some or all of your expenses in foreign currency, you must translate the foreign currency into U.S. dollars. Taxpayers generally use the yearly average exchange rate to report foreign-earned income that was received regularly throughout the year. However, if you had foreign transactions on specific days, you may also use the exchange rates for those days. Exchange rates can be found at www.oanda.com. Yearly average currency exchange rates for most countries can be found at Yearly Average Currency Exchange Rates.

New IRS form for Overseas taxpayers

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released a new Form 8938 that requires taxpayers to report on certain foreign financial assets for tax year 2011. The Form 8938 (Statement of Specified Foreign Financial Assets) should be filed by taxpayers with specific types and amounts of foreign financial assets or foreign accounts. It is important for taxpayers to determine whether they are subject to this new requirement because the law imposes significant penalties for failing to comply.

For instructions and more information on this form please visit the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) web page.

How to Get Tax Help

The IRS Office in Philadelphia provides international tax assistance. This office is open Monday through Friday from 6:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. EST and can be contacted by:

Phone: 1 (267) 941-1000 (not toll-free)
FAX:1 (215) 516-2555
Email: Help with tax questions
Mail: Internal Revenue Service
P.O. Box 920
Bensalem, PA 19020
USA
The IRS has customer service personnel available to provide tax assistance in the following Embassies and Consulates abroad:

Permanent IRS Offices Outside the United States
 
U.S. Consulate Frankfurt
Giessener Str. 30
60435 Frankfurt am Main
Germany

Phone Service:
M-F: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Tel: +49-69-7535-3834
Fax: +49-69-7535-3803
Email: irs.frankfurt@irs.gov
 
U.S. Embassy London
24/31 Grosvenor Square
London W1A 1 AE
England

Walk-In Assistance:
Tu-Th: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. & 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Phone Service:
M-F: 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Tel: +44-207-894-0476
Fax: +44-207-495-4224
http://london.usembassy.gov/irs/
 
U.S. Embassy Paris
2 Avenue Gabriel
75382 Paris Cedex 08
France

Walk-In Assistance:
M-F: 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Phone Service:
M-F: 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. & 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m
Tel: +33-1-4312-2555
Fax: +33-1-4312-2303
Email: irs.paris@irs.gov
 
U.S. Embassy Beijing
No. 55 An Jia Lou Lu
Beijing 100600
China

Limited taxpayer service at this time by appointment only. You may email for an appointment at amcitbeijing@state.gov.
 
Help with Unresolved Tax Problems

If you are experiencing a tax problem that is causing you economic harm or has not been resolved through normal channels, you can contact the Taxpayer Advocate by:

Phone: (787) 622-8940 (English) or (787) 622-8930 (Spanish)
FAX: (787) 622-8933
Mail: Internal Revenue Service
Taxpayer Advocate Office
P.O. Fox 193479

San Juan, PR 00919-3479

Combating Fraud, Waste and Abuse in Federal Tax Administration

The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) is responsible for oversight of IRS activities and for maintaining integrity in the U.S. Federal tax system.  Fraud, waste, and abuse in Federal tax administration are unfair to all U.S. taxpayers and can take a variety of forms. TIGTA’s oversight includes targeted audits, programmatic inspections and evaluations, and both criminal and administrative investigations of potential fraud, waste, and abuse. Examples include:

• Attempts by taxpayers to bribe IRS personnel;
• Assaults or threats by taxpayers against IRS employees or facilities;
• Theft of IRS tax remittances;
• Impersonation of the IRS organization or IRS personnel in schemes involving the Internet or the mail to obtain personal financial information;
• IRS employees who misuse their position for personal gain;
• Outside contractors defrauding the IRS through false claims, deceptive contract methods, and other fraud;
• Circumstances that could impede or hinder compliance with Federal tax laws and regulations; and,
• Apparent abuses of taxpayer protection and rights.

Please report any information that you may have related to potential fraud, waste, and abuse to the TIGTA Hotline at http://www.treasury.gov/tigta/contact_report.shtml.