My son works overseas (no tax treaty) and has no pay documents or document for tax paid to foreign country. Actually I think he does but it's in a foreign language and postal service is unreliable. So is it possible to file his income tax with just the numbers he gave me without any documentation?
Are you saying that he has numbers but may not be accurate? You might want to talk to a local tax professional. Some things that come to my mind: is your son a citizen or permanent resident, foreign earned income exclusion, issues of exchange rates, foreign tax credit or deduction. Be aware that you get an automatic extension of time to file till June 15 (but this is not an extension of time to pay tax) if living abroad, though filing form 4868 is still a good idea.
I have been using the figures my overseas employer has been giving me on the local tax forms. I have been using the average yearly conversion rate supplied by the local US embassy. I have never submitted the local form nor its translation, and have never been asked for them. Now having written that, I invite you all to visit me in jail :-)
No they are accurate. My son is a stickler for being legal. It's just that there is no documentation.
Those are not issues. The exchange rate is stable, not fluctuating day by day. It's not a floating currency. The rate is set by the government.
He has paid foreign taxes, but again no documentation. (Or there probably is, but is in a foreign language.)
in article snipped-for-privacy@v23g2000pro.googlegroups.com, PeterL at snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com wrote on 3/16/09 11:58 AM:
A US Citizen it taxed on his or her worldwide income regardless of whether he or she got a W-2 or 1099DIV or other tax document. Certainly there is tremendous temptation to not report income, which you know has not been reported to the IRS, but that would be just good old fashioned tax evasion. It is no different than reporting stock basis that is not there or phantom charitable contributions. Just because it has not been reported does not mean it shouldn't be.
You go with what you have. I have a client who works in Shanghai, China and sends me a Chinese year end statement each year from his employer, with an English translation that he provides along with a currency translation by month. That is what we use in lieu of a W-2. He gets foreign tax credit for his Chinese taxes and there are many other interesting complexities to consider.
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Frank S. Duke, Jr. CPA Cincinnati, OH USA
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