post result paperwork

[Shincantsen]

Would it be better to email or call our coordinators with questions? I'm struggling with the dates for my IRS forms and would like to get them out tomorrow but my coordinator hasn't replied to any of my emails.

In general I think it's better to email - and if you emailed on Friday, then they probably just didn't get to it before the weekend. But if you've been waiting a while you can call.

That being said, I don't think the consulates will be able to tell you much about the IRS form. If you have complicated questions, it's probably better to look it up on the IRS website or call them.

[Wasabi]

marshmallow3 - since we're applying out of the same consulate, one of the last e-mails Susan sent specified she would be out of office April 3rd & 4th, so I wouldn't freak just yet.

EDIT: I called Susan and did manage to talk to her about the tax form today. They aren't checking them before we submit it like I thought, it's just to give proof to Tokyo that we did apply for the right stuff.

[marshmallow3]

marshmallow3 - since we're applying out of the same consulate, one of the last e-mails Susan sent specified she would be out of office April 3rd & 4th, so I wouldn't freak just yet. Also, I believe we are supposed to send her a copy of the 8802 before submitting it, and I assume she'll let us know (to the best of her knowledge) if we even filled it out right.

Wow, good call. I hadn't even thought of that. Wasabi, may I still ask you about some specifics on the Lines?
1) For Line 2, do we put our permanent address? I go to school away from home and have a post box with my school here. I wasn't sure which address to put down.
2) For Line 7, do we put 2013 and 2014 OR 2014 and 2015?

[ichinichi]

Would it be better to email or call our coordinators with questions? I'm struggling with the dates for my IRS forms and would like to get them out tomorrow but my coordinator hasn't replied to any of my emails.

Call them! It's much more convenient.

[RancidBadger]

For the ICPC, does the organisation's country count as Japan, or the UK?

I am presuming it will the the UK, seeing as it asks me to use the address of the JET Desk at the Embassy in London, but better safe than sorry.

[therealwindycity]

So about the IRS form... What exactly is its purpose? The instructions say that it is to be exempt from paying taxes in Japan. What if we would rather pay Japanese taxes on our income instead of paying USA taxes on Japanese income? Specifically, I ask, because I don't know if I can qualify for this form because I will have spent a year teaching in Korea, and have thus been technically a resident of Korea rather than a resident of the USA. So again, what EXACTLY is the purpose for us filling out this form? Help please! @_@

The tax situation in Japan is different from how it is in Korea. The reason you need this form is that it gives you two years free from paying Japanese taxes per their trade agreement with the US, but you also don't have to pay US taxes on it because of the foreign income exemption. So it's not a matter of choosing which to pay - you're exempt from both. You'll have to call the IRS to be certain, but I'm pretty sure that you still qualify for the form 6166. Even if you're paying taxes in Korea you should have filed a US tax return as well, which shows that the US is still your "tax home."

[createdtodance7]

You'll have to call the IRS to be certain, but I'm pretty sure that as long as you did all the paperwork correctly (filed a US tax return with your Korean income exempted) you should still be able to get the form. It's necessary because of the tax treaty that Japan has with the US - you don't have to pay Japanese taxes because they give two years tax-free to US citizens, and you don't have to pay US taxes because overseas income is exempt up to around $100,000.

Thank you, an answer I can work with! ^_^


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[Wasabi]

Wow, good call. I hadn't even thought of that. Wasabi, may I still ask you about some specifics on the Lines?
1) For Line 2, do we put our permanent address? I go to school away from home and have a post box with my school here. I wasn't sure which address to put down.
2) For Line 7, do we put 2013 and 2014 OR 2014 and 2015?

Funny, right as I edited my post to redact that statement, you replied :P So to reiterate, they're not checking the form and then giving us a go ahead. We just have to fill them out to the best of our ability and call the consulate/IRS with questions. As for line 2, I would use your permanent address because if you were to file taxes (or did) for 2013, you would be using that address and not your school one right?

For line 7, I do tend to agree that we should be putting 2014 and 2015. We've already (or will soon) file for 2013 taxes, but maybe I'm missing something? I might send an e-mail to the consulate now or call tomorrow just to double check on that one. In some cases, this form seems to have dates from last year that weren't changed.

[marshmallow3]

Just sent off an email. Thanks for all your help, Wasabi!

[aragorn]

I was sent an email from my consulate with the 8802 form and instructions enclosed and did it even though I am an alternate. Whoops. Anyway, I just called an agent at the IRS to ask if I should have put 2013 and 2014, OR 2014 and 2015. She said I can't apply for 2015 anyway until December. Call them to make sure but that's what that agent told me.

[ihatefall]

Last year when I sent in my alternate reply form to Boston, I did not include a copy of my prints.

Susan Gill has a REALLY REALLY good memory and/or keeps really good files.

You have been warned hahaha


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[createdtodance7]

I was sent an email from my consulate with the 8802 form and instructions enclosed and did it even though I am an alternate. Whoops. Anyway, I just called an agent at the IRS to ask if I should have put 2013 and 2014, OR 2014 and 2015. She said I can't apply for 2015 anyway until December. Call them to make sure but that's what that agent told me.

So does that means we put 2014-2015 or we shouldn't? Since 2013 is over...?


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[greyjoy]

This is verbatim from my Atlanta Consulate handbook on the IRS form:

Line 7 - In order to be exempt from Japanese taxes for the two years you are permitted (in this case, 2014 and 2015), you will need to
request proof of US residency for 2013 and 2014 (since you will be taxed on income from the previous year). Write “2013 and 2014” here.
Note: See also FAQ #6 below for additional information)

This seems wrong to me, but it's probably just not intuitive. There's a lot of outdated information in my handbook, where they clearly forgot to update the years, but this still seems to be current. The way that I think we're supposed to interpret it is that we need to be official American residents for the year preceding the year we're exempting our taxes on.

[webstaa]

You have to prove your residency for a full year before, and the part year (this year) in order to not pay local taxes in Japan - its like the physical presence test for the Foreign Income Exclusion for the US. - 360 days, starting from when you arrive - so it crosses two years.

[ihatefall]

And you have to make less than $109K in one fiscal year. The you have to pay taxes in both places....


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[Wasabi]

Susan Gill has a REALLY REALLY good memory and/or keeps really good files.

You have been warned hahaha

What's that supposed to mean?? Haha. You applied through Boston?

[ihatefall]

What's that supposed to mean?? Haha. You applied through Boston?

It's means I left through Boston and when I reapplied 7 years later (I was thinking about doing JET a second time), she remembered just about everything.


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[Corvus]

Looking for some testimonials on the FBI's turnaround for the background check. Is it reasonable to expect them back before the end of the month?

Looking for similar info for the IRS residency forms. Anyone try the fax-in/e-pay option?

[par92186]

Looking for some testimonials on the FBI's turnaround for the background check. Is it reasonable to expect them back before the end of the month?

Looking for similar info for the IRS residency forms. Anyone try the fax-in/e-pay option?

Depends on exactly when you sent them, but ehre is a quick breakdown of how mine went:

FBI-BGC= it took 4 weeks for me to receive it. However, I did mine in early Fall (right before the government shutdown..i know...good timing lol). This time of the year is the busiest to apply for a FBI-BGC because all types of people apply for teaching jobs overseas (Korea, China, Japan, etc) and they all send in paperwork right about now. If I had to guess, if you sent it in last week...it'll arrive back to you in about 6-7 weeks at the latest. It all depends on when the gov't received it and how many people sent theirs in before you.

IRS-Res = i just applied for mine about a week ago, so i'm still waiting on it to be processed. However, I had to do this paperwork for when I moved to Korea 2 years ago and I remember it taking about 6 weeks as well..


I also payed by check.

Good Luck.

[Jedirust]

And you have to make less than $109K in one fiscal year. The you have to pay taxes in both places....

... Darn. (Sadly, does not apply to me)
I guess it would be better to be paid $108,999 to not pay taxes than make a couple bucks more.