IRS Form 2555 is used to figure and claim foreign earned income exclusion and your housing exclusion or deduction if you’re a U.S. citizen or resident living in another country.
Claim your exclusion with our fillable Form 2555. Complete it online in our PDF editor and download it to your device.
IRS Form 2555 is used to figure and claim foreign earned income exclusion and your housing exclusion or deduction if you’re a U.S. citizen or resident living in another country.
Claim your exclusion with our fillable Form 2555. Complete it online in our PDF editor and download it to your device.
Form 2555 is used to calculate and claim the foreign earned income exclusion and the housing exclusion or deduction. Essentially, if you’re a U.S. citizen or resident living abroad, you can exclude the income you earned working in a foreign country from your U.S. income to avoid double taxation.
All U.S. citizens and residents have to meet the following criteria to use Form 2555 to claim the foreign earned income exclusion:
Form 2555 is due along with your individual federal income tax return (Form 1040), which is typically due by April 15th. However, as a U.S. citizen or resident living abroad, you automatically qualify for a 2-month extension, so your deadline falls on June 15th.
Also, you can request an additional extension to October 15th by filing Form 4868. Nevertheless, keep in mind that extensions apply to filing only; any taxes owed must be paid by the original April 15th deadline, or the IRS will charge interest.
If Form 2555 isn’t submitted, you can’t claim foreign earned income or housing exclusion, which can result in double taxation and significant liability. In other words, even if you already paid taxes on foreign-earned income in the country where your tax home is, that income will still be taxed under U.S. law, too.
You should file Form 2555 by attaching it to Form 1040 and sending the package to one of the addresses provided on the official IRS website.
You can get a blank Form 2555 from pdf.net or the official IRS website. Though both can easily be opened in our PDF editor, we recommend ours, as you can start filling it out with a single click.
No, Form 2555 can’t be filed electronically, as it is currently unsupported on the IRS Free File platform. However, it is supported by most major paid tax software platforms, which allow you to e-file it together with your Form 1040. Alternatively, mail the package to the appropriate IRS address.
If your Form 2555 is missing information, you have to submit a new, properly completed one, along with the amended federal income tax return, Form 1040-X. In some cases, the IRS may send you a letter requesting the missing documentation. If so, follow the instructions from the letter carefully.
To avoid potential complications, cross-check your document with a Form 2555 example before submission.
Yes, you can fill out your Form 2555 online if you use our PDF editor; just type the information directly into the empty fields. However, you’ll need to print it out before submission.
This form is free to view and edit, but you can’t download it without a subscription plan.
Yes, you can correct mistakes on Form 2555 if you file an amended federal tax return (Form 1040-X) and attach your updated document to it.
The processing time for Form 2555 is the same as the processing time for Form 1040 overall: approximately 6–8 weeks for paper filings.