If you are working in the war zone and have filed tax exempt can you wait until you finish the tour to file?

Question

I'm a contractor in Afghanistan. I've completed over a year and will probably be here another year. I filed exempt and did go to a tax specialist and I owe for the first year. Since I'm going do another year could I wait until I'm completely finished to file and take care of the IRS or is it best to pay what I owe now and take care of next year when it comes?

Answer 1

No you should not wait another year because all that interest is building up monthly. I think it's about 80-90 bucks a month!!! I was in the same situation and I wrote a letter to IRS asking if I could just let them take it out come next tax time and they replied back with yes but gave me high interest rates. So to avoid paying extra plus what I already owed, I just paid them off at once. If you have problems paying all at once then ask them about installments, they'll work with you as long as you work with them but it has to be payed back before next tax season if not they'll hit you with even higher interest rates :)

Answer 2

Yes, your exemption is good for 180 days after you leave the combat zone, as long as your work there is under the direction of the Armed Forces in support of the Armed Forces.

You might have another issue though - your pay in the combat zone is not tax-free if you are not a member of the miltary. So filing exempt is not correct.

It would be better to get this straightened out and pay now what you owe, or you'll owe interest and possible penalties when you finally do file. An extension is to file, not an extension to pay.

Answer 3

Although military personnel and some Federal Civil Service civilians in war zones get extensions of time to file tax returns and pay the taxes without penalty the same treatment is NOT offered to contractors.

If your earned income while living overseas exceeds $82,400 you WILL have some tax liability and may NOT claim exempt from withholding. This assumes that you qualify for the foreign earned income exclusion AND file a timely return. Otherwise you'd be left with claiming the credit for any foreign income taxes paid which in your case may well be zero.

You need to file on time (June 15th without an extension, October 15th with one) and pay any taxes due. Final tax payments are due on June 15th even with an extension if you are outside the US. If you miss the filing and payment deadlines you will be facing penalties and interest from the IRS. And if you improperly claimed exempt from withholding there is an additional $500 penalty for filing an improper Form W-4 as well as penalties and interest for underpayment of taxes.

The only special tax treatment afforded to contractor personnel (and not all of them necessarily get it, it depends upon your status under the SOFA) is that you are generally exempt from host nation income taxes. Your US tax liability does not change, however.

Answer 4

good factor. Church workers already pay earnings tax on their earnings, and money given to the Church is spent or given away, so there will be no or little or no "company" earnings tax paid. That leaves sources tax because the in easy words motorized vehicle in which to tax churches. sources tax helps close by expenditures, between the most important being colleges. in case you'll charge the Church sources taxes, then you actually would might want to also comprise the Church depending colleges in allotting gross sales on a in line with student foundation. in the present day faith depending colleges do not get any public money even in spite of the indisputable fact that the money comes from an analogous persons that are sending their childrens to personal colleges. Our Church would come out way ahead.

Answer 5

have you considered licking your own ear.

Answer 6

just become spiderman