Originally Posted by
Braniff DC8
You REALLY REALLY REEEAAAALLLLYYYY need to be careful playing this game, never mind putting this advice on a public forum. A lot of people have tried to play this game and got told NO with penalties and interest. I would say that if you work for a U.S. carrier, and thus a citizen or green card holder or work visa, that overseas deal ain’t gonna work. If you work for a foreign carrier, and live abroad (FOR REAL) then you could do it. No matter what, you still have to pay U.S. tax AND you still have to file a return. It’s an exclusion NOT an exemption.
This is NOT advice, it’s awareness. There is a story from years ago when some Northwest guys were trying to pull this stunt and got caught. You can mess up your marriage, your life, your house but DON’T MESS WITH THE IRS. They are not forgiving or nice when it comes to people trying to cheat or rip them off.
I know it’s a pain but pay your taxes. Things like this will haunt your finances in more ways than one. Employers can AND WILL terminate you for this. If you do go overseas, YOU MUST REPORT YOUR INCOME AND ACCOUNTS NOW PERIOD.
Rant finished and please, I beg of you, be careful with this. This is a biggie!
I've said it on this forum before and I will say it again. This is a place to get information about a particular job you are targeting and for entertainment purposes. TAXES need to be discussed with a tax attorney that has experience with foreign income if that is your case. One of my coworkers in Japan thought that he was smarter than the system, got hit with over 280,000 in back taxes and avoided jail by a hair thin margin.
In the 14 years I spent in Japan, got audited twice. It was so nice each time to have everything crystal clear and get rid of them quickly! You are not as smart as you think if you believe that you can pull a fast one against the IRS.