My wife (Australian citizen, no residency status in US) and I (US born citizen) moved to Australia in December of 2009. We had previously been living in the US for the past 5-6 months. We filed a joint tax return for 2009 and she received an ITIN number. On our 2009 return, we did not report our moving expenses (about $2,880; $2,300 of which we can provide definite documentation for and the rest being car rental, mileage, tolls, and the customs/terminal fees at this end for which we cannot provide documentation). I earned only a very small amount of money in 2009 (and my wife was ineligible to work in the US) so we received the maximum refund. Do I understand correctly that I should file form 1040x in order to report our moving expenses? Does it make any difference, as I have already received the maximum refund available to me? Or can the expense offset my 2010 tax burden?

I started working in Australia less than 2 weeks after we arrived. The Australian tax year ends on June 30. Again, we earned very little money, as we were only in Australia for half of their tax year (and my wife is a full-time student). We each also received a hefty refund from the Australian Tax Office (every person must file singly).

How do I calculate my US income taxes for 2010? Which forms do I need? Each form seems to lead to another! So far, I have form 1040x, form 1040, schedule M, form 2555, form 3903, and form 1116. Do I have all the forms necessary? We had no US source income in 2010 and have not left Australia since we arrived. How do I calculate my US tax burden taking into account my Australian tax burden? Am I correct in understanding that we don't have to report my wife's income (she works casual hours) because she is not a resident of the US, spent no time in the US in 2010, and received no US source income for the entire year?

On form 1116, line 2- do I report my moving expenses again here? Is that double-dipping or do I understand correctly that this is the correct place to report it (bearing in mind that the expenses occurred in October and December of 2009)?

Is it true that we receive an automatic 2 month extension to file? I've had a look at form 4868 as well, but am having difficulty estimating my US taxes at this point in time.

I'm sure more questions will come up as I go about this, but thank you for any information that you can provide!

File no amendment for 2009; you have already maxxed out your refund, so submitting moving expenses is a waste of time.

You DO have a requirement to file a U.S. tax return for 2010 if you have earned income. Because you are located OUTSIDE of the U.S. you have an automatic extension to 15 June 2011 to file the 2010 tax return.

If you file jointly, then you must include your wife's income on your U.S. return, claiming first the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion for BOTH of you (separate Forms 2555), then, if necessary, claiming the Foreign Tax Credit. Based on your posting, I suspect that dual Forms 2555 will probably completely offset any U.S. income tax liability.

If you need professional help filing your return, email me at [email protected] or [email protected].