Finished filing tax this week finally! OMG it took so much time and effort. I definitely should outsource it next time.
What I forgot about was that I will be considered as a resident for tax filing purposes after living as a foreigner in the US for 5 years, which means I need to use a different software and prepare different kinds of tax filing forms than I did in the previous five years because the tax filing manual and software that I used as a non-resident could not be used this year. Here are some lessons for the next year
1. Start early!
It takes extra time because international mail takes long to come. I started early, but there were some more things I could have done earlier, like looking for an accountant. In the middle of the tax season, i.e. Feb - Apr, they may not be available to take in new clients. If a lot of people are hiring accountants for tax filing, it may be a competition where I need to act fast.
Also, taxpayers living overseas must mail their return, so that will take time, too.
Having a foreign address, having a fellowship as a source of income (this will not apply from next year though), and moving to different cities within MI made everything so complicated and I ended up spending hours and hours wondering which number I should type in to the forms.
2. What the software CS says may not be always true, esp. for a special case like me.
TurboTax offers e-filing, but I could not use it as I live overseas. But the system was really complicated for returns that have to be mailed. I was able to prepare a state return with a free TurboTax account, but the printout of my return says "Your return was already e-filed.", which makes no sense because in the previous screen it said "You cannot e-file; you must mail your return". I talked to CS reps many times, all of them were willing to help and friendly, but what one of them told me was wrong - she said there is a fee to file for state either you e-file or by file by mail. I was told to wait for a couple days until the system updates so that I will be able to pay the fee. It's strange, and I should have been more confident about what I thought, but I did not need to pay for the state tax fee because I am not to mail my return and because I had printed out my return at that time. The fee was only applicable if you are going to e-file. So I paid the fee for no reason, and nothing happened to the system or my file. I suspect she did not know what a foreign taxpayer should do if they are living overseas but considered as resident. My situation was unique, and I should have known that, though I'm sure there are many people like me around the world.
I consider the fee as my contribution to TurboTax, It was a pretty good platform anyway, and I imagine it makes it super easy to prepare a tax return if you are a resident, living in the US and only having one source of income.
3. International mail with tracking.
Need to prepare EMS labels online!! No handwritten labels are accepted. Once I create an account, it's pretty easy and convenient. Just type up everything, and print out the label at a post office.
It's OK to use a large envelope for EMS. It costs ~2400 yen, but it's fast. But the advertised "3 days to major cities like Houston and NYC", that is not true. It took at least 3 days for my tax return on EMS to just leave the country. I know it's an extreme case, but don't overtrust the advertisement.
International mail with tracking is a more cost-saving option, 600 yen. But it will take a longer time. At this time during Easter, I wonder how long it will take. But I have time for my city returns, as they are due in May.
I'm so glad to be done with this.
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