Foreign earned income exclusion

One more tip… If you are determining whether you even need to file a return for 2010, you must include earned income in determining whether you are over the threshold and need to file. This is irrespective of whether you qualify to back out the income using the...

Six tips to being excellent at anything

In a rare digression away from tax, here is a piece, tips from the Harvard Business Review, printed in the Listener December 2010: Six tips to being excellent at anything: Pursue what you love – do the hardest work first – practise intensely – seek...

Non-resident aliens and joint filing status

A joint filing tip for non-resident aliens (NRAs) with spouses who are either a US citizen or a resident alien (US person). The married couple may be able to elect to file married filing joint filing status (MFJ)  even if one spouse is an NRA. For some types of visa,...