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How the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion Works
Exclude foreign wages from U.S. taxes using Form 2555
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Bona Fide Residence Test
Physical Presence Test
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Eligible Income Types
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William Perez
William Perez is a tax expert with 20+ years of experience advising on individual and small business tax. He has written hundreds of articles covering topics including filing taxes, solving tax issues, tax credits and deductions, tax planning, and taxable income. He previously worked for the IRS and holds an enrolled agent certification.
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Ebony J. Howard
Reviewed by Ebony J. Howard
Ebony Howard is a certified public accountant and a QuickBooks ProAdvisor tax expert. She has been in the accounting, audit, and tax profession for more than 13 years, working with individuals and a variety of companies in the health care, banking, and accounting industries.
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Not everyone who pays taxes in the U.S. lives and works on American soil. If you're a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident, you're responsible for paying income taxes—regardless of where that income was earned. However, taxpayers who live elsewhere might qualify for the foreign earned income exclusion, allowing them to exclude all or part of their foreign-source wages and self-employment income from U.S. federal income tax.
Those who qualify by meeting either the bona fide resident or physical presence test may be able to exclude up to $108,700 in foreign earned income in the 2021 tax year. (This increases to $112,000 in the 2022 tax year.)
Here's how to tell whether you qualify.
If you are a U.S. citizen or a lawful permanent resident and you live abroad, you are taxed on your worldwide income.
You're considered a bona fide resident of a foreign country if you reside in that country for an uninterrupted period that includes an entire tax year.
To meet the physical presence test, you must be physically present in a foreign country or countries for at least 330 full days during a 12-month period including some part of the tax year.
The foreign housing exclusion applies only to amounts paid by you or on your behalf by your employer that are taxable foreign earned income.
You're considered a bona fide resident of a foreign country if you reside in that country for an uninterrupted period that includes an entire tax year. Because a tax year is January 1 through December 31, the qualifying period for the bona fide residence test must include at least one full calendar year. Trips or vacations outside the foreign country won't jeopardize your status as a bona fide resident, as long as they are short and you clearly intend to return to the foreign country where you were living. You can even make brief visits to the U.S.
You're not considered a bona fide resident of a foreign country if you've submitted a statement to that country indicating that you're not a resident, and the government there has determined that you're not subject to it tax laws. Your income can't be excluded from taxation in both the foreign country and the U.S. Special treatment of income under an income tax treaty doesn't prevent you from meeting the bona fide residence test.
You're considered to be physically present in a foreign country if you reside there for at least 330 qualifying full days in any consecutive 12-month period that at least partially includes the tax year in question. A full day is 24 hours, so the days of arrival and departure from a foreign country don't count toward the physical presence test. This rule is a bit more lenient and may be easier to satisfy than the bona fide residence test because the qualifying period can occur in any consecutive 12-month period, and the 330 qualifying days do not have to be consecutive.
You don't have to begin your qualifying period with your first day in a foreign country. You can choose which 12-month period to use, which gives you the freedom to choose the period providing the greatest income exclusion. Vacation days and business days spent in the foreign country both count toward meeting the 330-day threshold, and travel outside the country generally does not jeopardize the 330-day count.
You can count days you spent abroad for any reason, so long as your tax home is in a foreign country.
The minimum time requirements for both the bona fide residence and physical presence tests can be waived if you're forced to leave the foreign country because of war, civil unrest, or similar adverse conditions. You should be able to prove that you would have met the time requirements if these adverse conditions hadn't interrupted your residence period.
The foreign earned income exclusion applies only to earned income resulting from performing services as an employee or as an independent contractor. Earned income includes salaries, wages, professional fees, and other amounts received as compensation for personal services rendered by you.
While this exclusion reduces your taxable income, you still pay taxes at the rate that would have applied had you not claimed the exclusion. In other words, your tax bracket stays the same, even if the exclusion ultimately lands your income in a lower bracket.
Use the Foreign Earned Income Tax Worksheet found in the Instructions for Form 1040 if you need help.
Choosing any consecutive 12-month period to qualify for the foreign earned income exclusion under the physical presence test means that you might have to spread the exclusion amount over two tax years. You'd have to prorate the maximum exclusion in each year using the number of days you were physically present in the foreign country during the tax year. The prorated exclusion amount can't exceed the maximum allowable exclusion. You might also qualify for a prorated exclusion if you intended to meet all the time requirements but left the country due to civil unrest.
You may be able to exclude any amounts your employer paid you for housing—including money paid to you or directly to someone else on your behalf—but you must meet the same time requirements under the bona fide residence or physical presence tests.
Only housing expenses paid by you or on your behalf (if your employer pays your rent directly to the landlord) qualify for this tax break, and the housing accommodations must be reasonable. Any lavish or extravagant costs won't qualify, nor will costs like buying furniture or renovating the home in a way that will permanently increase its value. If you buy property abroad, the cost of purchasing it does not qualify.
You might also be eligible to exclude other amounts paid by your employer, including tax equalization payments and education expenses for your dependent children.
Self-employed people working abroad don't qualify for the foreign housing exclusion, but they can deduct allowable housing expenses under the foreign housing deduction. If a U.S. citizen living abroad is both self-employed and employed by an employer, they may be eligible for both a foreign housing exclusion and a foreign housing deduction.
Combining the Exclusions
You can claim the foreign earned income exclusion, the foreign housing exclusion, or both, but the same income cannot be excluded twice. If your foreign earned income exceeds the exclusion amount, it may be more advantageous to use the foreign housing exclusion. The housing exclusion is 16% of the foreign earned income exclusion amount divided by 365 (366 during leap years), then multiplied by your qualifying days during that tax year. There are daily and annual limits on housing expenses that qualify for deductions and exclusions, but they vary by country (and sometimes by city). You'll have to check the Instructions for Form 2555 to see the relevant limits for your situation.
What qualifies as foreign-earned income?
Foreign-earned income includes wages, salaries, professional fees, or other amounts paid to you for personal services that you rendered. It does not include amounts received for personal services provided to a corporation that represent a distribution of earnings and profits rather than reasonable compensation.
Do I pay taxes on foreign-earned income?
If you are a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident and you live abroad, you are taxed on your worldwide income. However, those who qualify by meeting either the bona fide resident or physical presence test may be able to exclude foreign-earned income up to $108,700 for the 2021 tax year (this number increases to $112,000 for 2022). In addition, you can exclude or deduct certain foreign housing amounts.
Internal Revenue Service. "Foreign Earned Income Exclusion." Accessed Dec. 13, 2021.
Internal Revenue Service. "Foreign Earned Income Exclusion - Bona Fide Residence Test." Accessed Dec. 13, 2021.
Internal Revenue Service. "Foreign Earned Income Exclusion - Physical Presence Test." Accessed Dec. 13, 2021.
Internal Revenue Service. "Exceptions to the Bona Fide Residence and the Physical Presence Tests." Accessed Dec. 13, 2021.
Internal Revenue Service. "Figuring the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion." Accessed Dec. 13, 2021.
Internal Revenue Service. "Foreign Housing Exclusion or Deduction." Accessed Dec. 13, 2021.
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