A recurring theme with FATCA is that Americans living in America simply don’t care about the problems the act creates for Americans living abroad. But maybe they should…
I filed my US taxes for the first time in 2011. I’ve never earned an income in the US so I owe no back taxes. But as I spoke with my accountant, we realized that the US owes me money – I’d never collected on any of the tax refunds.
I’m sure I’m not alone, as many of these refunds have been universal. As more and more expats who owe nothing in the US start to back file, how money will that funnel out of the US, and out of the US economy?
Even though it’s only small amounts, how would Americans feel if they knew that their taxes are going in part to support the economies of other countries instead of their own, as the refunds intended?
Reposted from Expats In Canada.
How can you get a tax refund if you have no US income and owe no taxes? I’ve heard this from other people too.
It’s called “stimulus”.
What about folks like myself though who are paying off a student loan? Typically if I were still living in the US, the interest I pay on that loan is tax deductible. Does that not still apply?
I’m afraid I don’t have an answer to that. You can try giving the IRS a call and asking. It would likely also depend on where you live and the specifics of the tax treaty with your country of residence.
Deductions are used to offset tax owed, so if you don’t have US-source income, and you don’t owe an taxes to the US, I seriously doubt you can deduct the interest AND actually get a refund check from them.
The crappy part is let’s say you are in Canada with a nice job because of the education you got from student loans from America… IF you actually owe any taxes to America, your income level would not permit the deduction in the first place
http://collegesavings.about.com/od/taxbreaksforcollege/a/loaninterest.htm
If you find out otherwise, let me know and I’m going to get a few loans myself, and let the USG pay for it! 🙂