Digital Nomads

U.S. Individual Income Tax Return (Form 1040)

Even as a digital nomad the Form 1040 is the basic tax form you file to report all of your income, both inside and outside of the US.

Foreign Earned Income (Form 2555)

This is the form for claiming both the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion and the Foreign Housing Exclusion. If you qualify, the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion will allow you exclude up to $105,900 (2019) of income you earn as a digital nomad.

Foreign Bank Account Reporting (FBAR, FinCen 114a)

If you are a US citizen or resident with non-US bank accounts that have an aggregate balance of $10,000 or more during the year you need to report them. The highest balance of each account during the year is what is considered.

Statement of Specified Foreign Financial Assets (Form 8938

The statement of specified foreign assets is used to report certain assets that are owned outside of the United States. This form is required if you have either $50,000 of these assets if single and $100,000 if married, bank accounts are included as are other types of assets such as investment properties, life insurance, and other investments.

Foreign Tax Credit (Form 1116)

The foreign tax credit is designed to prevent double taxation of the same income. If you must pay taxes outside of the United States on income, that income must also be reported on your US tax return, but you often can claim a credit for the tax paid to the other country.