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My foreign employer does no issue W-2 forms. In the past I have simply converted my income from Danish crowns to US dollars and reported this amount on my 1040 form. Wh

Forum|Forum|7 years ago
June 5, 2019
5 replies
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Why is turbotax asking me to complete Form 4852? I've been doing this for 20+ years and never used Form 4852 before? Can I not simply submit my official annual 2016 Income document from my employer (Copenhagen International School)?

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Best answer by rjs

You can't enter your foreign income in the W-2 section of TurboTax. TurboTax is asking you to complete Form 4852 because you entered the income in the W-2 section and checked the box that says you "need to complete a substitute form." Form 4852 is the substitute W-2 form. But a substitute W-2 is for U.S. income for which the employer should have given you a W-2, but didn't. It's not for foreign income.

You have to enter your foreign earned income in the foreign earned income topic. Follow the instructions that SweetieJean gave you. When it asks you what form your foreign income was reported on, select "A statement from my foreign employer (could be cash)."

fanfare

Employee

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B

bizprof

Hello @fanfare Did you enter your income or "taxable income" as your foreign income when you file? I am asking for myself. Thank you.

rjsAnswer

Employee

You can't enter your foreign income in the W-2 section of TurboTax. TurboTax is asking you to complete Form 4852 because you entered the income in the W-2 section and checked the box that says you "need to complete a substitute form." Form 4852 is the substitute W-2 form. But a substitute W-2 is for U.S. income for which the employer should have given you a W-2, but didn't. It's not for foreign income.

You have to enter your foreign earned income in the foreign earned income topic. Follow the instructions that SweetieJean gave you. When it asks you what form your foreign income was reported on, select "A statement from my foreign employer (could be cash)."

S

SweetieJean

Employee

Te enter foreign income:

Type in foreign income in the search box, top right of your screen, then click the magnifying glass
Click the jump to foreign income link in the search results.
Follow the onscreen instructions to enter

To enter foreign taxes, type in the same words per the above instructions.

You may have to upgrade from TT Free.

N

NYC20

Thanks. Do we report gross or net salary (i.e. amount that I receive)? I live in the US, but work for an EU company and taxes are VERY high, so the gross salary is unrepresentative and would put me in the higher bracket.

H

HeritageTaxLady

This reply is a year past the question, but if you are paying taxes to a EU country you are entitled to take the FEIE (2555), the FTC(1116), or both. My recommendation is to seek a qualified tax practitioner who has experience with reporting foreign earned income and has knowledge of the various tax treaties. I spend all summer correcting the mistakes of others.