International tax return filer: use extra caution to avoid these common mistakes when completing Free File Fillable Forms.
If you’re an international filer of a U.S. income tax return, you should use extra caution to avoid common mistakes that international filers make when using Free File Fillable Forms.
03/22/2023
If you’re an international filer of a U.S. income tax return, you should use extra caution to avoid common mistakes that international filers make when using Free File Fillable Forms.
Let’s go over them together. You shouldn’t:
- Use any hyphenates or special characters such as ñ, ü, ó when you’re creating an account or entering information on a form.
- Leave spaces in first or last names.
- Enter an international address. It may cause your tax return to be rejected. International addresses include military addresses, APO, DPO and FPO. Unfortunately, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) doesn’t have a universal solution for this issue.
- Use an international phone number on some of the forms or to create an account. Otherwise, you may not be able to create, access or recover your account. If you don’t have access to a U.S. phone number, you shouldn’t use forms that accept only a 10-digit number.
- Request a direct deposit if you don’t have a U.S. bank account. Direct deposit is available only for bank accounts that are in the United States of America.
- Request a direct debit or make an IRS Direct Pay as these payment methods require a U.S. bank routing number. If you have an account with an international bank that has a U.S. affiliate, inquire whether your bank will be able to provide a U.S. bank routing number.
- Use certain tax forms. They are unsupported or prohibited for international filers. This includes the following forms: Form 1116 – Foreign Tax Credit, Form 2350, Application for Extension of Time to File U.S. Income Tax Return, Form 2555 – Foreign Earned Income, Foreign Employee Compensation Form…
International filers file about 2 million business and individual tax returns and forms per year. This includes about 44,000 individual income tax returns that international filer submitted through Free File. About two out of three of the returns and forms that international filers file are individual income tax returns and individual estimated income tax. This includes U.S. Territories other than Puerto Rico, U.S. Armed Service members overseas, and international.
Related post
U.S. – Consider filing your 2022 income tax return today if you requested an extension. Don’t unnecessarily wait until October 16, 2023 to file. Here is a summary of what you need to know.
Learn more