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Bona fide residence requires intent to stay in the foreign country for an extended or indefinite stay, and that residence covers an entire tax year. It does not require a plan to live there for the rest of the missionary’s life, but the intended residence is on-going an and indefinite.

Once a missionary establishes their tax home in a location during the first year of residency, that person is considered a Bona Fide Resident for subsequent tax years. 

If a missionary wishes to use the Bona Fide Resident test to establish residency in their first year of residence, they may wish to consult a tax adviser. The intent may be demonstrated by factors that show the missionary has made a longer-term or indefinite commitment, though there are no specific factors which are required in every case; interpretation is needed.  

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A missionary must file the right form to claim the foreign earned income exclusion. Form 2555 (or Form 2555-EZ) is filed with the tax return each year in which the missionary has qualifying foreign income. The information required for the form will demonstrate how the missionary met one of the above requirements , and the amount of income that was not taxed because of the foreign earned income exclusion. That means that the missionary will report the dates that they worked outside the US U.S. and the dates they worked inside the US U.S. each year. The Physical Presence requirement only needs to be satisfied the first year of qualifying for foreign earned income. 

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• IRS Publication 54, Tax Guide for U.S. Citizens and Resident Aliens Abroad
• https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/foreign-earned-income-exclusion-bona-fide-residence-test
• Forms 2555 and 2555 EZ, Foreign Earned Income and their instructions
• Form 673, Statement For Claiming Benefits Provided by Section 911 of the Internal Revenue Cod
• http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/International-Taxpayers/Foreign-Earned-Income-Exclusion

Who can I talk to for help with tax decisions?

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