And by care package I mean "even though you don't live here anymore or earn money here or pay taxes here you have to file taxes here or else" package.
*gulp*
Last year I, like the good expatriate I am, filed my taxes in the U.S. For an income earned (and taxed) entirely in Norway. Yeah, you figure that one out. But, I'm a rule follower, so I bucked up and filed.
But - I flinch just writing this - my bottom line was a negative number. Oy vei. I made less than the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion of $91,400. Yes, folks, I'm sorry to break your illusions but I make less than $90k. However I did pay student loan interest in the U.S., for the sake of ease let's say $500.
Let's do some math:
$0 (income)
minus
$500 (student loan interest paid)
equals
-$500 (bottom line of tax return)
I'm no mathematician or IRS finger breaker but I do know that having a negative bottom line on your tax return is like riding Osama bin Laden's back through a gay pride parade with a basket of Haitian babies wearing this:
So Uncle Sam has tracked me down and has shown me in 300 easy to read pages how to not screw it up this time.
*gulp*
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