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--- income_tax [2026/02/22 08:51] – [Geo-specific] jhagstrand
+++ income_tax [2026/03/12 04:11] (current) – [Input Documents] jhagstrand
@@ Line 27: / Line 27: @@
 Inputs and calculations.
-===== Record Keeping =====
+===== Tax Minimization =====
+It is legal to minimize taxes by maximizing expenses.\\
+It is NOT legal to //avoid// taxes by //failure to report// income.\\
+The wealthy can create businesses, organized as LLCs, and write-off most of life's expenses, until their is no tax to be paid.
+The super wealthy can create a charity, a bank, a church, or a nation-state and create money out of thin air, all tax-free.
+This document does not cover any of that.  The author is a sucker who dutifully obeys all the rules to avoid the stress of possibly getting caught.
+===== State Tax =====
+This chapter is about US Federal Income Tax administered by the IRS.  There is only one thing we want to point out about state income tax, and that is, that seven states have no income tax:
+  - Alaska
+  - Florida
+  - Nevada
+  - South Dakota
+  - Texas
+  - Washington
+  - Wyoming
+===== Input Documents =====
 There are two sources of data for input into the tax calculations.
@@ Line 35: / Line 58: @@
     - 1099-MISC - miscellaneous income
     - 1099-B - gain or loss from sales of assets
-  - bank statements - foreign banks do not issue 1099s, obviously, but they sometimes pay interest and sometimes tax withholding and all these transactions are recorded in bank statements and/or your passbook.
+  - bank statements - foreign banks do not issue 1099s, obviously, but they sometimes pay interest and sometimes withhold tax from those payments, and all these transactions are recorded in bank statements and/or your passbook.
+===== Record Keeping =====
+Keep one folder in the cloud for each year.  And within each year, keep folders for all your input documents, especially one for 1099s and one for bank statements.
+s show income and withholding.
+Bank statements show balances, interest payments, and sometimes withholding from those interest payments.
+===== Attaching Documents to the Return =====
+There are two cases when a 1099 must be attached to the return.
-Keep folders in the cloud for each year with all your documents, especially one for 1099s and one for bank statements.
+. Any 1099 that shows tax withholding must be attached to the return.
-Some of the 1099s also need to be attached to the return.
+. A 1099-B showing capital gains must be attached to show transaction detail.  An active trader, a mutual fund, or an ETF.
@@ Line 234: / Line 269: @@
 “This publication discusses special tax rules for U.S. citizens and resident aliens who work abroad or have income earned in foreign countries.” Does not apply to me.
-===== Kansas Department of Revenue =====
-vpn, firefox\\
-https://www.ksrevenue.gov
-**How to change state residency while abroad**\\
-https://www.greenbacktaxservices.com/knowledge-center/state-residency-while-abroad/\\
-David McKeegan, co-founder and IRS enrolled agent\\
-“Each state has rules about who’s domiciled in the state.
-Your domicile is a fixed, principal, and permanent home that you reside in, and that you intend to return to or remain in.
-This gets tricky because it’s based on your intent. But it gets hard to know somebody’s intent. So we need to look at your actions.”
 ===== Advisors =====
@@ Line 409: / Line 431: @@
   - Multiple times per day getting interrupted with demand to "Refresh" to download new version of the software.
   - Login requires clicking on a link provided in an email.
+compare expatfile.tax return to Tax Worksheet, 6 issues with expatfile.tax:
+  * middle initial missing
+  * province name missing
+  * Pensions checkbox 5ac1 Rollover - should be checked
+  * total income 4 dollars short because of rounding
+  * Form 1116 presents eTrade long term gains as foreign sourced because I was living abroad at the time of the sale.  So I removed the claim of 65 foreign tax credit.
+refresh button
 **TurboTax**
@@ Line 417: / Line 448: @@
 ==== Human CPA ====
+^ company  ^ contact   ^  1040 prep ^ consulting  ^
+| Bright!Tax   |  Marina Di Domenico, PR  |  530 | 260/30min  |
+| Greenback    | Jean Venter, PR          |  530 | 250/30min  |
+| 1040 Abroad  | Olivier Wagner, founder  |  500 | 500/hr     |
+Bright!Tax and Greenback are large companies.  Every time I email them the reply is from a different person.  An individual accountant will be assigned to me once I create an account, complete an interview questionnaire and upload the documents.  The process may take two to three weeks.  Bright!Tax will not start until 15 Mar.
 Some preparers charge a flat fee.\\
@@ Line 431: / Line 469: @@
 **Greenback Expat Tax Services**\\
 https://www.greenbacktaxservices.com/\\
-flat fee calculator: $530 fed, 175 state, 250/30min consulting\\
+prep: 530usd \\
+consulting: 250usd/30min\\
 https://www.greenbacktaxservices.com/knowledge-center/state-residency-while-abroad/\\
 “South Dakota is recommending itself as traveler friendly”\\
 email received from Jean Venter, Customer Champion\\
 https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/FMfcgzQXKqkbsDGVdwxBZNLdNCmHPjfm\\
-recommended by expat.com
+recommended by expat.com \\
+{{https://info.greenbacktaxservices.com/hubfs/Expat-Tax-Planning-Documents-Checklist.pdf | sales brochure - checklist}} \\
+{{https://info.greenbacktaxservices.com/hubfs/Tax-Guides/Final/15%20Essential%20Things%20to%20Know%20About%20Expat%20Taxes.pdf | sales brochure - 15 tips }} \\
 **Bright!Tax**\\
@@ Line 452: / Line 493: @@
 https://1040abroad.com\\
 Olivier Wagner, New Hampshire, lived in France\\
-recommended by expat.com
+recommended by expat.com \\
-Federal Tax Return Preparation $500
+prep: 500usd \\
+consulting 500usd\\
+{{https://1040abroad.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/US-taxes-for-American-Expats.pdf | sales brochure}} \\
 **Expat CPA**\\
@@ Line 511: / Line 554: @@
 **Poland**\\
 pl.com https://1040pl.com
+===== Reviews =====
+**expatfile.tax by anonymous** \\
+  - Refresh
+  - email link
+  - forcing the fbar, greedy for financial data
+  - schedule B part III inaccurate.  Solution, enter incomplete data to trick the software.
+  - no middle initial.  No solution.
+  - foreign tax credit.  The interview asked my where I was living at the time of the investment sale.  Because I was living abroad at the time, they erroneously classified my capital gains foreign-sourced income on the Form 1116.  Solution: I gave up trying to claim the foreign tax credit.
+  - does not allow me to apply my refund to next year's estimated tax.  Solution: gave up and gave them my bank account number to accept a direct deposit.
+**H&R Block online by anonynous** \\
+They asked for the date I moved abroad.  I found this invasive.