Internationally Employed

[Elissa]

I've been living across the pond for the past 3 years. I have gotten paid in the currency of the country I am working in. ( British Pounds) I am filing in August. How can I prove my wages and employment for the past 2 years if I haven't filed a W2 in 3 years?


Thanks for your help.

[HHM]

What do you have. Do you have pay stubs, bank statements, I am sure there must be some british equivelant to the W-2 isn't there.

Have you been filing any tax returns? What is your federal tax status?

[Elissa]

I get paid by direct debit into my bank weekly. My employers pay a "nanny tax" once a month. ( Im a personal nanny ) I don't have any paystubs. Would a few months of bank statements showing my pay be good enough? Also, could my employers write a letter and provide the tax information for what they have paid over here?

[HHM]

Have you filed any tax returns in the last 3 years.

If not, you have bigger problems then just merely trying to prove your income. At a minimum, I believe you have to file a return to claim the foreign income exemption. And since you are a nanny, I doubt your employers have been paying British tax, so you needed to 1099 yourself and file a tax return in the US.

Check out the irs website here regarding your tax issues http://www.irs.gov/faqs/faq13-7.html

[Elissa]

No, I have not filed taxes in the US, as I haven't worked or been living there. I wasn't aware I had to file anything as I wasn't earning any money in the US.

My employers have been paying British taxes for me over here.

[HHM]

Here is a quote from the the IRS website

U.S. citizens are taxed on their worldwide income, no matter where they work.

Sorry to be the barer of bad news, but you will need some serious tax cleanup before you even consider filing BK. Again, get started by going to the IRS link I posted above. You may ultimately want to get a CPA to help you. (I don't know whether you will have to actually pay any taxes, just depends on your income and if any exemptions apply to you etc, but you need to get the returns filed).

Good Luck