Am I Eligible for FEIE?

the foreign housing exclusion.

January 1. As rough amounts, my total compensation is well over $150,000 and my rent is around $30,000. The maximum housing exclusion amount for Bermuda is $90,000.

On Feb. 16 the lease was transferred to my wife. Such of my personal possessions that are not in Bermuda are still in that apartment.

permanent job.

North Carolina elections, although I will vote in the 2016 presidential election there if I'm still in Bermuda.

liable for payroll taxes here.

be out of the country for over 330 days.

deposited in either or both.

qualify for "resident" treatment. (Customs is a big deal here, as prices are very high and so is duty, so many people use their $200 per trip exemption to buy things abroad. Customs is a very significant source of revenue to the government.)

"pay television" is specifically excluded. I will have the following utility expenses:

internet service

excludable but the additional charge for the package with the actual cable channels would not be. The other utilities would be deductible.

You previously asked: ===================================================================Here are my facts:

1) I work full-time in Bermuda. On the payroll, regular 9-5 job. 2) I travel to the USA every 3 weeks or so and stay usually for a long weekend. I will be present in the USA for more than 35 days in 2013. 3) In March I transferred the lease on my USA apartment (in North Carolina) from my name to my wife's. 4) My car remains registered in the USA. I did not change my bank accounts, but I opened one in Bermuda. Did not cancel my USA phones but got one in Bermuda. I've been renting a room in a private home in Bermuda, but will probably get my own apartment soon. 5) IRS form asks if I pay income tax to a foreign country - I do not, because Bermuda has no income tax. 6) No longer use my library card (does that matter), will not vote except in presidential elections, but have not affirmatively cancelled library card. Continue to see a doctor in North Carolina, because it's cheaper. 7) Began work January 1, 2013

Am I eligible for the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion (and by extension the Foreign Housing Deduction)? Would it matter if I had started work on January 7?

Am I subject to North Carolina state tax on my investment income? Presumably I would not be subject to it on my Bermuda income, since it was not earned in North Carolina. ==================================================================== I previously answered:

First you need to determine if Bermuda is your tax home. To be your tax home, you have to be there either under a permanent or indefinite period AND you can not have an abode in the U.S. Let's assume you meet the first part. I don't know! It seems to me you fail the second part. Merely assigning the lease to your spouse does not mean you have given up that home. It is available to you. You would be better off renting it out so it was not available to you. You also seem to have an abode in the US because you said you regularly return to it every 3 weeks or so. If you return to some other place (not the home your spouse lives in as that would probably be considered your abode) then you would apparently not have an abode in the US.

Let's just assume you could prove that Bermuda was your tax home. You fail the Physical Presence test (not enough foreign days). That leaves the Bona Fide Residence (BRT) test. Getting your own apartment and signing a lease (not month to month) would show that you have a bona fide residence in Bermuda. I think your temporary weekend trips to the US every three weeks would be acceptable because your intent is to return to your bona fide residence (which you do).

I am not familiar with NC rules and when and how you give up your domicile and cease being a resident. You can have your tax home in Bermuda and still be a resident of NC. Assuming that NC rules are similar to other states, it appears that NC is still your domicile because of the ties you still have to it. I don't think assigning the lease to your wife would convince NC that you gave up your NC home. Nor would keeping your bank account and car and regular visits.

By the way, you never did tell us where your wife lives and where in the US you return to.

the foreign housing exclusion.

January 1. As rough amounts, my total compensation is well over $150,000 and my rent is around $30,000. The maximum housing exclusion amount for Bermuda is $90,000.

On Feb. 16 the lease was transferred to my wife. Such of my personal possessions that are not in Bermuda are still in that apartment.

permanent job.

North Carolina elections, although I will vote in the 2016 presidential election there if I'm still in Bermuda.

liable for payroll taxes here.

be out of the country for over 330 days.

deposited in either or both.

qualify for "resident" treatment. (Customs is a big deal here, as prices are very high and so is duty, so many people use their $200 per trip exemption to buy things abroad. Customs is a very significant source of revenue to the government.)

"pay television" is specifically excluded. I will have the following utility expenses:

internet service

excludable but the additional charge for the package with the actual cable channels would not be. The other utilities would be deductible.

My apologies if questions and answers got buried in another thread.

My wife lives in Toronto, Ontario. She has lived there for 13 years and owns a home and works there full time. She is looking for a job in the USA in a number of places, North Carolina being one of them. She has her green card. Her primary home, domicile, abode, tax home, whatever you want to call it (and I know these terms are all distinct) is clearly Canada.

When I return to the USA I meet her in North Carolina. My intention is to return to the USA eventually, to wherever she is living at that time.

The lease on the apartment beginning May 1 is for one year. The room I rented was for an indefinite time, until the owner returned, and she decided to return on May 10.

I personally (and I know what I "personally" think is not definitive) consider the NC home to be in the nature of a vacation home. It is where I used to live, but I don't live there anymore. I have a bank account there, but others in other places. My car is registered there because it has to be registered somewhere - I do not have a car in Bermuda, and even if I did, I could not bring that car with me. The apartment is in fact rented out part of the time when we're not there.

the foreign housing exclusion.

January 1. As rough amounts, my total compensation is well over $150,000 and my rent is around $30,000. The maximum housing exclusion amount for Bermuda is $90,000.

On Feb. 16 the lease was transferred to my wife. Such of my personal possessions that are not in Bermuda are still in that apartment.

permanent job.

North Carolina elections, although I will vote in the 2016 presidential election there if I'm still in Bermuda.

liable for payroll taxes here.

be out of the country for over 330 days.

deposited in either or both.

qualify for "resident" treatment. (Customs is a big deal here, as prices are very high and so is duty, so many people use their $200 per trip exemption to buy things abroad. Customs is a very significant source of revenue to the government.)

"pay television" is specifically excluded. I will have the following utility expenses:

internet service

excludable but the additional charge for the package with the actual cable channels would not be. The other utilities would be deductible.

I wanted to say thank you to Alan (and to the group for being here). His reply has helped me focus on the issue that seems most problematic, that of having an abode in the USA. We have rented the apartment out a few times on Airbnb, and will continue to do so and keep records of it. The fact that other people use the apartment more than we do should help establish that the apartment is not my abode.

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