TurboTax

[Klong Song]

I am considering using TurboTax do do my taxes this year. I am a full time resident of Thailand and am wondering if it is still possible to use TurboTax if you don’t have an address in the States. Thanks.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[skatewash]

Well, I used it this year as I have for some years while living in Thailand.  Not a problem.  This year it was actually free.  Last year they wanted me to pay so I used something else.  I have used TaxAct and I definitely prefer TurboTax.

If you would like to use it for free my recommendation is to access it from this IRS site:

https://www.irs.gov/filing/free-file-do-your-federal-taxes-for-free

 

Click the "Start Free File Now" button, which will bring up a new page.  You will then use the "Lookup Tool".  It will ask you 6 questions.  Be sure to answer that you are eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit even if you're not (basically, I discovered a bug in the lookup program and if you don't say that you qualify for EITC it will not show you TurboTax, but TurboTax does not require that you actually qualify for EITC to use their software for free).  Pick your tax state (my US tax domicile is Florida so I didn't need to do this for obvious reasons) and Continue.

You will be offered a bunch of free software packages if you qualify (based on age/income etc.) and, in my opinion, TurboTax is the cream of the crop.  Picking TurboTax will let you create an account and let you begin inputting your return.

I filed my federal return completely for free (and didn't have to file a state income tax returns so I don't know if that would also be free).  You can file electronically and you will get an acknowledgement through TurboTax when the IRS accepts your return.

 

By the way, if you don't qualify for the free TurboTax option you may qualify for one of the other options (TaxAct is also good, in my opinion).  If you don't qualify for any free tax software option you could go the route of the IRS's Free File Fillable Forms which is what I did last year.  But to be honest there's no hand-holding like with TurboTax and you have to be hardcore or stubborn or really cheap (luckily I'm all three!) to persevere with this route.  I had to mail my return in using the forms available online.  I can't really recommend this option unless you're a bit of a masochist. ???? 

Finally, in the not too unlikely event you have a foreign bank account (in Thailand or elsewhere) that at any point in the last year has had at least $10,000 balance don't forget to file your FBAR with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Center (FinCEN) because the US Government regards expats as desperate money-launderers and generally unsavory characters and they like keep tabs on what we're up to while we're outside the country.  ????

 

Good Luck!

[moontang]

Turbo Tax just stated i needed a us address to "register," but perhaps that was only to be able to e-file."  

[skatewash]

9 minutes ago, moontang said:

Turbo Tax just stated i needed a us address to "register," but perhaps that was only to be able to e-file."  

Oh, you are probably right about that.  I did mine very early this year and don't remember it being asked.  But I would have entered my US address that I use to receive mail in the US.  It's a CMRA (Commercial Mail Receiving Agency) mail scanning and forwarding service (TravelingMailbox) I use.  It might ask for an address when you are setting up your account, I've had a TurboTax account for years and years.  I guess you could use any address you want to when creating the account, it's not like they are going to send you snail mail, nor will they be checking what address you put on your actual 1040 tax return.  This shouldn't be a show-stopper.

[moontang]

I also submitted my DL number for verification...

[skatewash]

Wow, things have tightened up over the years.  I certainly don't remember having to do all that when I created my TurboTax account years ago.  It's a remote possibility that you might be getting extra scrutiny since TT can tell that you're accessing their site from overseas.  You could use a VPN if you have one to change your IP to the US.  Or you could access TT through the free Opera browser which has a built-in VPN that will let you appear to be accessing from the US.

[wgdanson]

44 minutes ago, skatewash said:

Well, I used it this year as I have for some years while living in Thailand.  Not a problem.  This year it was actually free.  Last year they wanted me to pay so I used something else.  I have used TaxAct and I definitely prefer TurboTax.

If you would like to use it for free my recommendation is to access it from this IRS site:

https://www.irs.gov/filing/free-file-do-your-federal-taxes-for-free

 

Click the "Start Free File Now" button, which will bring up a new page.  You will then use the "Lookup Tool".  It will ask you 6 questions.  Be sure to answer that you are eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit even if you're not (basically, I discovered a bug in the lookup program and if you don't say that you qualify for EITC it will not show you TurboTax, but TurboTax does not require that you actually qualify for EITC to use their software for free).  Pick your tax state (my US tax domicile is Florida so I didn't need to do this for obvious reasons) and Continue.

You will be offered a bunch of free software packages if you qualify (based on age/income etc.) and, in my opinion, TurboTax is the cream of the crop.  Picking TurboTax will let you create an account and let you begin inputting your return.

I filed my federal return completely for free (and didn't have to file a state income tax returns so I don't know if that would also be free).  You can file electronically and you will get an acknowledgement through TurboTax when the IRS accepts your return.

 

By the way, if you don't qualify for the free TurboTax option you may qualify for one of the other options (TaxAct is also good, in my opinion).  If you don't qualify for any free tax software option you could go the route of the IRS's Free File Fillable Forms which is what I did last year.  But to be honest there's no hand-holding like with TurboTax and you have to be hardcore or stubborn or really cheap (luckily I'm all three!) to persevere with this route.  I had to mail my return in using the forms available online.  I can't really recommend this option unless you're a bit of a masochist. ???? 

Finally, in the not too unlikely event you have a foreign bank account (in Thailand or elsewhere) that at any point in the last year has had at least $10,000 balance don't forget to file your FBAR with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Center (FinCEN) because the US Government regards expats as desperate money-launderers and generally unsavory characters and they like keep tabs on what we're up to while we're outside the country.  ????

 

Good Luck!

No need to shout. LOL

[skatewash]

Just now, wgdanson said:

No need to shout. LOL

Oops, it got stuck in bold font after I added the link somehow.  Oh well, can't edit it anymore so people will just have to be triggered. ????

 

[Thailand J]

21 hours ago, wgdanson said:

If you don't qualify for any free tax software option you could go the route of the IRS's Free File Fillable Forms which is what I did last year.  But to be honest there's no hand-holding like with TurboTax and you have to be hardcore or stubborn or really cheap (luckily I'm all three!) to persevere with this route.  I had to mail my return in using the forms available online. 

I did not qualify for any free tax fillling except the IRS's Free File Fillable.

I used an inactive phone number to create an account and opted to receive security code via e-mail.

Why did you have to  mail the forms? After i was done, I e-filed the forms without filling in cell phone number and driver's license information in "section 4: Add your electronic signature" and that was acceptable. Got my refund in less then 2 wks.

After 10+ yrs in retirement, my taxes are basically the same every yr. The Qualified dividend and Capital gain worksheet and Alternative Minimum Tax calculation can be "interesting", not a bad idea to use Turbo Tax to check my math, may be next year.

 

Edited March 11, 2019 by Thailand J

[skatewash]

35 minutes ago, Thailand J said:

I did not qualify for any free tax fillling except the IRS's Free File Fillable.

I used an inactive phone number to create an account and opted to receive security code via e-mail.

Why did you have to  mail the forms? After i was done, I e-filed the forms without filling in cell phone number and driver's license information in "section 4: Add your electronic signature" and that was acceptable. Got my refund in less then 2 wks.

After 10+ yrs in retirement, my taxes are basically the same every yr. The Capital gain tax calculation and Alternative Minimum Tax calculation can be "interesting", not a bad idea to use Turbo Tax to check my math, may be next year.

 

Every year TurboTax adjusts its policies regarding whether it will allow me to file for free or not.  Last year it wasn't free.  Years before that it was and this year it was.  So last year I went the FFF route.

 

If I remember correctly Free File Fillable said I wasn't eligible to e-file because I needed to include a recharacterization statement explaining why I partially recharacterized (in the previous tax year) a conversion from a traditional IRA into a Roth IRA.  I had been overdoing yearly tax-free conversions from traditional to Roth IRA (turning tax-deferred money into tax-free money) and then after I filed my tax return and knew exactly what my income was for the year I could recharacterize just enough of the conversion so that I owed no taxes (and yet maximize the amount I could convert from traditional to Roth IRA).  The effect of this was that I could convert as much as possible (down to the last dollar) from traditional to Roth IRA without incurring any tax for doing so.  But I was then obligated to attach an explanation to my tax return explaining the recharacterization on the next year's tax return.  Normally, TurboTax handles the attachment with the explanation so that I can e-file with them.  But last year TurboTax decided to charge for doing my return and because I refused to pay I was driven to using Free File Fillable.  Since I couldn't use FFF to e-file (because of the attachment) I had to mail them instead.

 

I agree that after a while doing taxes for someone in retirement like myself is a pretty straightforward affair same as last year, but it's still comforting to use TurboTax (or other package) just to keep me up to date with any possible changes.  Also, it helps me keep track of things like my foreign tax credit carryover from year to year.

 

[smo]

Last year Turbotax let me do it for free, this year gave me the (only) option for filing is to upgrade to Deluxe. I was about to go the FFF route but then stumbled on this thread. So I get back to Turbotax via skatewash method, log on again, tell Turbotax to pick up where we left off and voila, the throbbing green "ready to file" button beckons!  Have no idea what happened but, Thanks!!!

 

When Turbotax asked for ID for verification, I clicked on "have no IDs" and we continued on our merry way... Submitted and accepted within the hour, both federal and state.

[skatewash]

8 hours ago, smo said:

Last year Turbotax let me do it for free, this year gave me the (only) option for filing is to upgrade to Deluxe. I was about to go the FFF route but then stumbled on this thread. So I get back to Turbotax via skatewash method, log on again, tell Turbotax to pick up where we left off and voila, the throbbing green "ready to file" button beckons!  Have no idea what happened but, Thanks!!!

 

When Turbotax asked for ID for verification, I clicked on "have no IDs" and we continued on our merry way... Submitted and accepted within the hour, both federal and state.

Yes, I agree it does seem to matter how you access TurboTax.  From the Lookup Tool at the IRS Free file site seems to produce the best results in terms of getting it free, although I believe I tried that last year and was unsuccessful.  It did work this year and I will try the same thing next year.

 

I think some are misled into going to the TurboTax site directly and while their return may start out being free at some point the complexity of their taxes (sometimes something as simple as having capital gains) will drive them into a more expensive option.  Hopefully, this won't happen if you go through the IRS site.  I think it's worthwhile to go through the extra step at the IRS site on the chance that it might be free that way.

 

They do ask for a Driver's License or similar, but are currently accepting "have no IDs."  I hope they continue to be relaxed about that.  Time will tell.