"To complicate things, My partner is a high-earner. Can she
> take the exclusion and I do not?"
>
> Now to summarize:
>
> 1. Should I have made the IRA contribution? (If not, how
> can I rectify this? Amended taxes?)
> 2. Must I take the exclusion and/or tax credit? Will this
> change the answer to question 1?
> 3. How is the U.S. tax determined on foreign income? What
> is the foreign exchange rate? Who sets it? When?
> 4. Do any of the above answers change, as I am filing jointly
> and my spouse will be using all available means to lower
> her high income.
If you file jointly, your spouse's taxable compensation (minus any IRA contribution she made) can count towards you contributing to an IRA. See Pub 590 to find out if it all or part will be deductible. If it is not deductible, you don't have to do anything but most people would recharacterize it as a Roth IRA contribution. I recommend you see an EA or CPA when filing a return that involves foreign income.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>