Doing tax return while on US home visit

[smo]

I'm on my last 2 weeks of my 3-month US home visit. During this visit I withdrew my IRA account and had to pay taxes. I'm going to do my tax return here before heading back to Thailand. AFAIK, I need the 1040EZ for federal and 540EZ for state (CA). My question is I'm not sure if I need the NR (for non-resident) or the EZ should do. The reason I go for the EZ version is because the IRA withdrawal was my only taxable earnings for 2016.

Any input from more experienced TV members in this area are much appreciated. 

 

PS - I guess I can still do tax return online and have the return deposited in my bank account? Or just go to the library/post office to get the forms and do it by mail? It's been some years since I last did this chore so I'm  not aware of any recent changes in the process. Thank you in advance.

[ballbreaker]

If you are no longer resident of CA why would you file anything but federal.

Sent from my SM-J500G using Thaivisa Connect mobile app

[skatewash]

Why not use TaxAct online?  I believe it includes a free 1040EZ and a free state return, both filed online. https://www.taxact.com/

 

I believe TurboTax has the same offer:  https://www.turbotax.com/lp/ty16/ppc/temp_1.htm?znTL=w2az&znTR=faz&znC3=abzero-social-carousel&srqs=null&cid=ppc_gg_b_stan_all_na_Turbo-Tax_ty16-bu2-sb5&srid=CJmfitGWoNECFZQqjgodP_gHSg&targetid=kwd-12620791&skw=turbo tax&adid=167404558209&ven=gg&gclid=CJmfitGWoNECFZQqjgodP_gHSg&gclsrc=ds

 

No need to visit the post office, pay any postage, etc.  Can be done in the US or in Thailand.

[gk10002000]

first of all you can not just file a 1040EZ if you withdrew money from your IRA.  1040EZ is only for reporting Wages, salaries and Tips.  Yes your IRA distribution may be taxable but you must use the 1040 for that.  The IRA distributions are reported on the first page there.  As for CA,  , I file a NR CA because I live in Florida but have been working in CA on a temporary contract, so CA taxes my wages earned in CA, but not my investments earned from outside of CA.  Whether you need the CA NR or not depends on what you were doing in CA, I suspect you may have to be a Part Time resident as far as CA is concerned, since when you withdrew your IRA you had to have some sort of address/local/withholding.  In either case, the EZ shouldn't be used.

Edited January 2, 2017 by gk10002000
addition

[gk10002000]

you can file online with several tax packages, some federal ones are free IF you make less than something like 40 or 50 K.  The IRS advertises those.  I do mail because  while I report Dividends, and interest, I don't itemize and don't really have anything complicated

Edited January 2, 2017 by gk10002000
errata

[skatewash]

18 minutes ago, gk10002000 said:

first of all you can not just file a 1040EZ if you withdrew money from your IRA.  1040EZ is only for reporting Wages, salaries and Tips.  Yes your IRA distribution may be taxable but you must use the 1040 for that.  The IRA distributions are reported on the first page there.  As for CA,  , I file a NR CA because I live in Florida but have been working in CA on a temporary contract, so CA taxes my wages earned in CA, but not my investments earned from outside of CA.  Whether you need the CA NR or not depends on what you were doing in CA.  In either case, the EZ shouldn't be used.

 

Yes, quite right.  Based on what the OP has said the simplest form he would be able to file given the IRA withdrawal is a 1040A (assuming OP meets all the qualifications spelled out here in the "you may be able to use 1040A" section: https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc352.html).

Fortunately, both TurboTax and TaxAct are offering free online filing for the 1040A form as well as the 1040EZ (and include a free online filing of a state return, too).

As pointed out the IRS lists a number of free filing options (if you qualify based on being below the income thresholds) at their site.  However, TurboTax and TaxAct are among the very best tax preparation software packages I have used.  I highly recommend either one, even if your return is a relatively simple one.

[gk10002000]

6 minutes ago, skatewash said:

 

Yes, quite right.  Based on what the OP has said the simplest form he would be able to file given the IRA withdrawal is a 1040A (assuming OP meets all the qualifications spelled out here in the "you may be able to use 1040A" section: https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc352.html).

Fortunately, both TurboTax and TaxAct are offering free online filing for the 1040A form as well as the 1040EZ (and include a free online filing of a state return, too).

As pointed out the IRS lists a number of free filing options (if you qualify based on being below the income thresholds) at their site.  However, TurboTax and TaxAct are among the very best tax preparation software packages I have used.  I highly recommend either one, even if your return is a relatively simple one.

agreed.  turbo tax been around for a long time and most of my friends use it.  And as you say the OP may be able to use the 1040A.  I was surprised to see that did include IRA distributions.

Edited January 2, 2017 by gk10002000
update

[Tracyb]

Regarding the filing of a tax return for California:   If you list a California address on your bank account you should consider filing a California return.  Advise you look into the California Franchise Tax Board website to determine whether or not you are deemed to be a resident; part-time or otherwise.  

 

If you earn no wages/salary/commissions in California,  your legal address ( as shown on your bank account, driving license, and health insurance) is outside of the State of California ....you may find yourself off the hook in that State.   

 

Look into using TURBO TAX to file online.

 

Once again, look into it at the FTB website.   

Edited January 3, 2017 by Tracyb

[smo]

First of all thank you all for your well meaning advice, precisely what I was asking for in my posting. I really appreciated your taking the time to consider all angles.
 
Here is more background info:  the last year I filed tax return was 2013 when I was still earning a salary. After that I moved to Thailand and have been living off my personal savings ever since. This year was the start of my SSA retirement benefits and being a worrywart I came back to the US mainly to be here when the first SSA deposit supposed to take place ( at the beginning of last month - Dec 2016)  just in case something went wrong. 

 

All went smoothly. Also the first thing I did at the start of my home visit (September 2016) was to withdraw my IRA, in the process I paid 10% for federal tax and 1% for state. The whole IRA amount before tax came in under 6 grands, not much but useful. With that I figured that whatever income threshold there was I would not have made enough to cross it. So it looks like I will use the 1040A. Now I just need to know what 540 for state I would need to file - 540NR or is there a 540A equivalent of the 1040A federal as well? I still maintain a US address with my US bank. The same address I used when applied for Medical (Obamacare) during this home visit. The IRS has my previous/other US address, the one I used when I filed in 2013. 

 

Looking back I remember I did use TurboTax one time during my working years and it was free and painless. So I think I will follow your advice and use either TurboTax or TaxAct for this year's filing as well.

Edited January 3, 2017 by smo

[skatewash]

19 minutes ago, smo said:

The same address I used when applied for Medical (Obamacare) during this home visit.

 

Curious about this.  My understanding of Obamacare medical policies is that they do not cover you where you live outside the US.  Are you covered by your Obamacare policy in Thailand?  Also, most (maybe all) US expats I know claim the exemption to Obamacare (because they live at least 330 days outside of the US) and avoid any Obamacare tax penalties in that way.  Perhaps I am misunderstanding what you are talking about.  Maybe you're referring to some part of Medicare?

[skatewash]

This might help you decide whether you want or need to file a California tax return:

https://www.ftb.ca.gov/individuals/fileRtn/Nonresidents-Part-Year-Residents.shtml

 

My cursory reading of it sounds like you might not have to file, but you may still want to file to get back the money California withheld from your IRA distribution.

 

I'm a little surprised given the amount of the IRA distribution you weren't given the choice to have tax withheld or not.  Not having it withheld would have been the way to go.  However, that's water under the bridge at this point.

I'm guessing that TurboTax or TaxAct might want to charge extra for a Non Resident state return rather than the standard California tax return.  If that were the case I might be tempted to use either of those packages to do my Federal return and then prepare the California 540NR myself on paper.  It should involve little more than transferring information from the federal return to the state return.

[willyumcr]

5 hours ago, skatewash said:

 

Curious about this.  My understanding of Obamacare medical policies is that they do not cover you where you live outside the US.  Are you covered by your Obamacare policy in Thailand?  Also, most (maybe all) US expats I know claim the exemption to Obamacare (because they live at least 330 days outside of the US) and avoid any Obamacare tax penalties in that way.  Perhaps I am misunderstanding what you are talking about.  Maybe you're referring to some part of Medicare?

Some Senior Advantage programs cover you for emergency and urgent care outside of US. Makes medicare a good cheap investment for the major stuff. Not for everyone but for some a good deal

[gk10002000]

15 hours ago, smo said:

First of all thank you all for your well meaning advice, precisely what I was asking for in my posting. I really appreciated your taking the time to consider all angles.
 
Here is more background info:  the last year I filed tax return was 2013 when I was still earning a salary. After that I moved to Thailand and have been living off my personal savings ever since. This year was the start of my SSA retirement benefits and being a worrywart I came back to the US mainly to be here when the first SSA deposit supposed to take place ( at the beginning of last month - Dec 2016)  just in case something went wrong. 

 

All went smoothly. Also the first thing I did at the start of my home visit (September 2016) was to withdraw my IRA, in the process I paid 10% for federal tax and 1% for state. The whole IRA amount before tax came in under 6 grands, not much but useful. With that I figured that whatever income threshold there was I would not have made enough to cross it. So it looks like I will use the 1040A. Now I just need to know what 540 for state I would need to file - 540NR or is there a 540A equivalent of the 1040A federal as well? I still maintain a US address with my US bank. The same address I used when applied for Medical (Obamacare) during this home visit. The IRS has my previous/other US address, the one I used when I filed in 2013. 

 

Looking back I remember I did use TurboTax one time during my working years and it was free and painless. So I think I will follow your advice and use either TurboTax or TaxAct for this year's filing as well.

Your only choice for California for tax years 2013 and forward are the 540 or 540 NR.  The CA 540 NR has a section where you put down dates in and out of California and they adjust your CA tax liability proportionally.  If you physically were no where near California for most of this time, then you should be able to indicate that and the CA tax would be adjusted.  The CA forms are a bit tedious in their little calculations, the CA Schedule 540 NR.

[gk10002000]

21 hours ago, skatewash said:

This might help you decide whether you want or need to file a California tax return:

https://www.ftb.ca.gov/individuals/fileRtn/Nonresidents-Part-Year-Residents.shtml

 

My cursory reading of it sounds like you might not have to file, but you may still want to file to get back the money California withheld from your IRA distribution.

 

I'm a little surprised given the amount of the IRA distribution you weren't given the choice to have tax withheld or not.  Not having it withheld would have been the way to go.  However, that's water under the bridge at this point.

I'm guessing that TurboTax or TaxAct might want to charge extra for a Non Resident state return rather than the standard California tax return.  If that were the case I might be tempted to use either of those packages to do my Federal return and then prepare the California 540NR myself on paper.  It should involve little more than transferring information from the federal return to the state return.

I believe by default most US institutions will withhold 10% unless you tell them otherwise.  I read that somewhere I think.  The OP may not have been aware of his options.   From the Etrade site: "Purpose of Form W-4P. Unless you elect otherwise, 10 percent federal income tax will be withheld from payments from individual retirement accounts (IRAs). You can use Form W-4P (or a substitute form, such as this form), to instruct us to withhold no tax from your IRA payments or to withhold more than 10 percent"

[smo]

On ‎1‎/‎2‎/‎2017 at 10:07 PM, skatewash said:

 

Curious about this.  My understanding of Obamacare medical policies is that they do not cover you where you live outside the US.  Are you covered by your Obamacare policy in Thailand?  Also, most (maybe all) US expats I know claim the exemption to Obamacare (because they live at least 330 days outside of the US) and avoid any Obamacare tax penalties in that way.  Perhaps I am misunderstanding what you are talking about.  Maybe you're referring to some part of Medicare?

 

The emphasis was on "during my home visit" ie. while on US soil. The thought that Obamacare would cover me wherever I go never occurred to me. On the other hand, I was surprised to learn from your post that US expats had to file an Obamacare claim exemption so as not to be fined for not claiming. So maybe it was a good thing that I did come home to claim it!

 

Where applicable, Obamacare turned out to be alright: I got carte-blanche to most routine check ups and health care services (emergency care for a dog bite, that sort of thing), except for a few exemptions here and there (for example, it would not pay for your root canal if done on a back tooth). The jewel in the crown (pun maybe intended) was the colonoscopy I underwent the day after Xmas. The doctor office readily got me an appointment for a follow up visit when I told them doc already left when I woke up after the test.

 

The icing on the Obamacare cake was its off-shoot: an Obama-phone! A real (and necessarily cheapo) phone with a sim card that's good (supposedly) forever, unlimited calls and texts (again, domestically) - the only requirement is to make a least one phone call each month to keep your sim "alive." Needless to say I would not dream of taking this phone outside the US and expecting it to be working.

[smo]

2 hours ago, gk10002000 said:

I believe by default most US institutions will withhold 10% unless you tell them otherwise.  I read that somewhere I think.  The OP may not have been aware of his options.   From the Etrade site: "Purpose of Form W-4P. Unless you elect otherwise, 10 percent federal income tax will be withheld from payments from individual retirement accounts (IRAs). You can use Form W-4P (or a substitute form, such as this form), to instruct us to withhold no tax from your IRA payments or to withhold more than 10 percent"

 

Yes, I was ignorant in this regard. Moreover, the bank person who took care of the paper work could have been a rookie as well, he made quite a few phone calls to central and it took him a long time. He simply said "it's mandatory [to do tax witholding]" and I believed him. Only recently I looked again at the paperwork and saw the blanks where you fill in the percentage supposedly of your own choosing (which meant I could have chosen 0% witholding?) Oh well :-(

[smo]

On ‎1‎/‎1‎/‎2017 at 5:31 PM, gk10002000 said:

you can file online with several tax packages, some federal ones are free IF you make less than something like 40 or 50 K.  The IRS advertises those.  I do mail because  while I report Dividends, and interest, I don't itemize and don't really have anything complicated

 

Just a (disquieting) thought in the "look and you shall find" department: after my last tax return filing (for 2013) I've been off the IRS radar as my yearly earning since then has been only about my annual bank interest which even in my wildest dreams could not amount more than a few paltry dollars!

 

So do I miss out anything here, should I have filed an exemption of some sort for every tax season? I don't believe I'd have to do anything because my earnings (if you choose to call it that) are practically non-existent and way-way-way below the threshold required to file a tax return.

[skatewash]

20 minutes ago, smo said:

 

Just a (disquieting) thought in the "look and you shall find" department: after my last tax return filing (for 2013) I've been off the IRS radar as my yearly earning since then has been only about my annual bank interest which even in my wildest dreams could not amount more than a few paltry dollars!

 

So do I miss out anything here, should I have filed an exemption of some sort for every tax season? I don't believe I'd have to do anything because my earnings (if you choose to call it that) are practically non-existent and way-way-way below the threshold required to file a tax return.

No, I think you're OK as long as you are below the required filing threshold.  Generally, if you're not required to file a federal income tax return, then you do not need to file one solely to claim an exemption from liability for the Obamacare tax or "individual shared responsibility payment," as the IRS likes to call it.

 

If you want to make sure, you should take this short IRS interview:

 

https://www.irs.gov/uac/am-i-eligible-for-a-coverage-exemption-or-required-to-make-an-individual-shared-responsibility-payment

In all likelihood, based upon what you have said previously, you would receive the following result.

 

Quote

 

Am I eligible for a coverage exemption or required to make an Individual Shared Responsibility Payment?

You are not liable for the Shared Responsibility Payment.

 

Your tax household is automatically exempt from the shared responsibility payment when your 2016 gross income is below $10,350. You do not need to file a return to claim the exemption. If filing federal tax Form 1040, 1040A or 1040EZ, complete Part II of Form 8965, Health Coverage Exemptions and submit the Form 8965 with your tax return.

 

 

One reason people file federal income tax returns even when they are not required to, or even just to get back money that may have been withheld, is that by filing you start the statute of limitations clock running.  Generally, the IRS is prevented from auditing you after 3 years have elapsed (or in some cases 6 years), but if you don't file a return the statute of limitations clock never starts running and there's no limit to how many years the IRS may go back and audit.  (Details discussed here if you're interested:  http://www.forbes.com/sites/robertwood/2016/01/15/beware-irs-now-has-six-years-to-audit-your-taxes-up-from-three/#65162eef4216

Also, I guess it's worthwhile mentioning that anyone who has aggregate assets of more than $10,000 in financial account(s) located outside the US has to report that annually online using a Form 114, commonly called the FBAR (Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts).  For most Americans living in the US it's probably unusual to meet this filing requirement.  However, it is quite common for Americans living outside the US.  This report is done separately from filing your income taxes.  The penalties for not doing this report (if you are required to do so) are quite severe.  More info on the FBAR here, including guidelines for whether you have to file or not:  https://www.irs.gov/uac/newsroom/taxpayers-with-foreign-assets-may-have-fbar-and-fatca-filing-requirements-in-june

 

 

[gk10002000]

20 hours ago, smo said:

 

Just a (disquieting) thought in the "look and you shall find" department: after my last tax return filing (for 2013) I've been off the IRS radar as my yearly earning since then has been only about my annual bank interest which even in my wildest dreams could not amount more than a few paltry dollars!

 

So do I miss out anything here, should I have filed an exemption of some sort for every tax season? I don't believe I'd have to do anything because my earnings (if you choose to call it that) are practically non-existent and way-way-way below the threshold required to file a tax return.

I recommend you file a return even if you are not required to do so.  It closes the books and documents you have no or little income or whatever.  That can come in handy later.  I lost the argument with my sisters and my mother and now they are constantly regretting it, because they really don't have any official documentation confirming my Mother's lack of or little income.  Sure they can show she gets her paltry social security from my Dad's death transfer, but that doesn't prove she doesn't have other income.  And when, and as they file or try to claim other things that low income people can get, showing one's tax return would be making things very easier in some cases.  

 

   Oh and don't forget in general you have to report more than just dividends or earnings as you mentioned.  Even social security gets reported, perhaps not taxed, perhaps it will.  Depends.  If you don't have earnings, you must be getting something to live on, social security, a pension, etc?  Those are not earnings but they are income.  Maybe you get some tax free insurance accident or what not.  In the pathological case, if the IRS gets nosey they can pester you and do a reconstructive audit.  The idea is "Well you need money to live so just exactly how are you getting by?"  Gifts and handouts are taxable after a certain point, etc. 

[smo]

Finally I decide that I will do the 1040A with TaxAct (free), then get on the California Tax board and do the 540A (or 540NR?).

 

I called my bank friday and asked if they're ready to send out the 1099 re my tax witholdings from the IRA withdrawal and they said they were nowhere ready and would send it out at the end of Jan. So I guess I would have to do it based on the figures on my IRA withdrawal report if I want to do it now. I will try to do it on my last week here in the US and will keep you posted.

Again thank you all very much for your helpful and valuable advice. Much appreciated and I hope this would be of help to others also.

[gk10002000]

13 hours ago, smo said:

Finally I decide that I will do the 1040A with TaxAct (free), then get on the California Tax board and do the 540A (or 540NR?).

 

I called my bank friday and asked if they're ready to send out the 1099 re my tax witholdings from the IRA withdrawal and they said they were nowhere ready and would send it out at the end of Jan. So I guess I would have to do it based on the figures on my IRA withdrawal report if I want to do it now. I will try to do it on my last week here in the US and will keep you posted.

Again thank you all very much for your helpful and valuable advice. Much appreciated and I hope this would be of help to others also.

FYI, while I get my W-2s for payroll by the end of January, but Etrade doesn't put out the 1099s until around Feb 15.  And about 1/2 the time they have issued an updated 1099 later that sometimes had subtle but insignificant differences from the original.  Don't know what your bank or broker will do time-wise

[smo]

1 hour ago, gk10002000 said:

FYI, while I get my W-2s for payroll by the end of January, but Etrade doesn't put out the 1099s until around Feb 15.  And about 1/2 the time they have issued an updated 1099 later that sometimes had subtle but insignificant differences from the original.  Don't know what your bank or broker will do time-wise

Can I still do the tax return with TaxAct prior to receiving the 1099? I figure since I will be doing it on line all I need is the data (the amount of tax I have paid) which is already stated in my IRA withdrawal report.  

[gk10002000]

1 hour ago, smo said:

Can I still do the tax return with TaxAct prior to receiving the 1099? I figure since I will be doing it on line all I need is the data (the amount of tax I have paid) which is already stated in my IRA withdrawal report.  

Yes, in general you do not Submit or file the 1099 with your return.  The IRS and state agencies have electronic notifications or access to the amounts involved.  I have done 401k to IRA roll overs and never submitted anything.  I have not done an IRA withdrawal yet, but I doubt the 1099 has to be submitted.  I get several 1099 Gs for gambling winnings and I do NOT submit those with my returns, I just report the amounts.  The agencies have electronic access to the 1099s

[smo]

Thank you Khun gk10002000, as always, clear and informative advice. Much appreciated.

[smo]

On 1/3/2017 at 1:42 PM, skatewash said:

This might help you decide whether you want or need to file a California tax return:

https://www.ftb.ca.gov/individuals/fileRtn/Nonresidents-Part-Year-Residents.shtml

 

My cursory reading of it sounds like you might not have to file, but you may still want to file to get back the money California withheld from your IRA distribution.

 

I'm a little surprised given the amount of the IRA distribution you weren't given the choice to have tax withheld or not.  Not having it withheld would have been the way to go.  However, that's water under the bridge at this point.

I'm guessing that TurboTax or TaxAct might want to charge extra for a Non Resident state return rather than the standard California tax return.  If that were the case I might be tempted to use either of those packages to do my Federal return and then prepare the California 540NR myself on paper.  It should involve little more than transferring information from the federal return to the state return.

3 mellow weeks after my return to Thailand have got me energized enough to get off my butts and down and dirty with taxing matters. I signed up with both TaxAct and TurboTax and looked forward  to smooth sailing with both, however some glitches along the way...

[smo]

On 1/10/2017 at 3:23 AM, gk10002000 said:

Yes, in general you do not Submit or file the 1099 with your return.  The IRS and state agencies have electronic notifications or access to the amounts involved.  I have done 401k to IRA roll overs and never submitted anything.  I have not done an IRA withdrawal yet, but I doubt the 1099 has to be submitted.  I get several 1099 Gs for gambling winnings and I do NOT submit those with my returns, I just report the amounts.  The agencies have electronic access to the 1099s

Both TaxAct and TurboTax ask for 1099-R when it comes to declaring IRA distributions/withdrawals. My guess is that when you did your tax by MAIL, then you wouldn't need to include the 1099s?

 

[skatewash]

8 hours ago, smo said:

Both TaxAct and TurboTax ask for 1099-R when it comes to declaring IRA distributions/withdrawals. My guess is that when you did your tax by MAIL, then you wouldn't need to include the 1099s?

I would think just the opposite.  If you submit the return by mail, then you should include all the 1099-R forms (which show the tax withheld) with your return.  If you submit the return online, then you do not need to submit any 1099-R forms.  However, you do need to enter the information from a 1099-R form for your distribution.  

By the way, I received all my 1099-R forms in mid January.  Have you received your 1099-R form for your distribution yet?  If not, you might want to check with your financial institution to see if they have sent one out.  If not, you can ask them to send a duplicate out (perhaps to a different address where you are more likely to receive it).  In my case, I can go online to my Vanguard account and would be able to figure out all the information on my 1099-R form even before I receive the actual form.  I could then enter that information in either TaxAct or TurboTax and actually file the return online (which doesn't require you to submit the paper copies of the 1099-R).

It's better to wait (easier to fill out the tax forms) if you wait until you receive a copy of your 1099-R,  but I imagine your 1099-R form will be fairly straightforward when you do get it.  In other words, not a lot of significant information will need to be entered.  The total distribution amount, the amount withheld, the distribution code (you can read about this field in either tax software program), questions about whether it was a full or partial distribution, etc.  You can enter this information without having a 1099-R in front of you, you just need to look at every field asked for by the tax software field (and use the online help feature, if you are unsure why you are being asked for information for a particular field question).  Even if you don't have the official 1099-R form you may have received a statement from your financial institution at the time of the distribution that will contain most, if not all, of the information you need.  Even if you haven't received a statement you may be able to go online to your financial institution and get the information concerning your account in that way.

If at the end of this process (having entered your 1099-R information) the tax software is showing you will not get a refund, it may be that you didn't answer some of the 1099-R questions correctly (for example, wrong distribution code, forgot to include the amount withheld, etc.).  Go back and look through your entries for the 1099-R questions carefully paying particular attention to any questions you may have skipped.

 

You will be able to file online for free (both federal and state) and by filing online you will get your refund earlier than filing by mail.  I don't see an advantage to filing by mail for you.

Also, I understand you wish to receive your refund as soon as possible, so you will want to file as soon as possible.  However, as someone living overseas you can apply for an automatic extension to October if you find it difficult to get the 1099-R form or information before the filing deadline.  The tax software will allow you to apply for the extension (which will be granted because you live overseas, if you do).  You could then use the tax software to file your return before the October deadline.  I did exactly this (but for a different reason) last year.

 

Good luck!

[smo]

On 2/8/2017 at 6:47 AM, skatewash said:

I would think just the opposite.  If you submit the return by mail, then you should include all the 1099-R forms (which show the tax withheld) with your return.  If you submit the return online, then you do not need to submit any 1099-R forms.  However, you do need to enter the information from a 1099-R form for your distribution.  
 

Thank you so much for taking the time and giving a very clear yet detailed account of the tax filing process involving IRA distribution. I really appreciated it (especially the bit about what if the software shows "no refund for you.") I'm still kicking myself for not knowing better when I did the withdrawal, if I had - and even if I had not, I could still have checked around (meaning seeking advice on this forum) first - so that I would have had the matter of tax witholdings in my hand before showing up at the bank teller window. But as you said, it's all water under the bridge now, hence my quest for a tax return.

 

I have contacted my bank since my last posting, and luckily after a couple of phone mishaps (calling them on the weekend, thailand time, etc..), gotten in contact with a very helpful customer rep in the IRA department. Immediately while we were on the phone, she emailed me the form which she said had been sent out early mid January. (Concurrently at about the same time, just before I left the US I had made a change of address, but according to the rep not in time so the 1099R form was still sent to my US address.) 

 

She stayed on the phone to make sure I could open the attachment, as it was sent through secure encryption. Luckily I have two laptops, the "young" -read intel i7 -one that I brought back from the states could not/would not open it, but the "older" - much older,  read pentium duo core - one, which by virtue of having been around the block I guess, opened the attachment with nary a hiccup. So there I was at 2am bangkok time, basking in the blissful knowledge that I had finally in my possession all the banking info necessary that tax software requires, and dithering on instead of going to bed!

 

One lesson I learned from this experience was that you can no longer trust customer reps to have the right amount of knowledge to give you proper services as expected. Or more to the point, you can no longer rely on them to do what best for you. So one has to prepare to be armed with as much ammunition as one can before undertaking any business whether that's got to do with either large, or small institutions.

 

Again, thank you skatewash for all the trouble. I will certainly keep you posted with my progress. Cheers:-)

[skatewash]

1 hour ago, smo said:

One lesson I learned from this experience was that you can no longer trust customer reps to have the right amount of knowledge to give you proper services as expected. Or more to the point, you can no longer rely on them to do what best for you. So one has to prepare to be armed with as much ammunition as one can before undertaking any business whether that's got to do with either large, or small institutions.

Words to live by ;-)   Yes, you should have been asked about the withholding, in my opinion, but sadly that's not the world we live in.  The more you know, the better you can look out for your best interests.  You should eventually be able to get your withholding amount back, but unfortunately not without going through a bit of a hassle.  Good luck with the filing.  One additional tip:  if you have a US bank account you can have your refund direct deposited to your account, in which case the money will be back in your pocket, so to speak, faster than waiting on a check from the IRS (subject to the vagaries of mail for people who live overseas).  The tax software should walk you through that if you are due a refund.

[smo]

On 1/4/2017 at 3:09 PM, skatewash said:

Also, I guess it's worthwhile mentioning that anyone who has aggregate assets of more than $10,000 in financial account(s) located outside the US has to report that annually online using a Form 114, commonly called the FBAR (Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts).  For most Americans living in the US it's probably unusual to meet this filing requirement.  However, it is quite common for Americans living outside the US.  This report is done separately from filing your income taxes.  The penalties for not doing this report (if you are required to do so) are quite severe.  More info on the FBAR here, including guidelines for whether you have to file or not:  https://www.irs.gov/uac/newsroom/taxpayers-with-foreign-assets-may-have-fbar-and-fatca-filing-requirements-in-june

 

 

I am using TurboTax for both federal and state returns. It was smooth sailing until it asked about any “foreign financial assets” I answered “Yes” for “Do you have any…” and “No” for “Did you live in a foreign country?” Are these the proper answers (as opposed to correct)? The reason I answered “No” to the latter was I don’t want to file the 540NR for state return, as I still maintain a US address (as far as my US bank is concerned.) The truth is yes, I’ve been living in Thailand since 2014.

 

FWIW, I have been doing FBAR for the last couple of years so I’m good on that. I guess I will have to report the interest of my Thai bank accounts to the Interest and Dividends section of the return as stated in one of the screenshots?