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In general, if you are a U.S. citizen or resident alien who had income earned anywhere in the world (not just in the United States), that is not otherwise tax-exempt; you must file the tax returns.

All U.S. tax forms and publications are available from the IRS web site at http://www.irs.gov. This web site contains helpful information and answers many common tax questions.

http://www.irs.gov/faqs/index.html. For international tax questions, you can visit the above website and get the appropriate help.

IRS-trained volunteers are available at the Embassy for a short period, generally from late-March through mid-June, to answer your questions. Volunteers are able to assist with basic tax questions and information.

For more complex or difficult cases, please refer directly to IRS.

The volunteers cannot fill out your tax return for you, but may be able to answer your questions.

To obtain an ITIN that is Individual Taxpayer Identification Number please fill out the form and follow the directions at: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw7.pdf

Individual Income Tax Return Forms are available at the Embassy. To obtain the proper tax forms, please visit the embassy or send a self-addressed, stamped envelope and indicate the forms needed to the following address:

Embassy of the United States of America
Federal Income Tax Forms
Metochiou & Ploutarchou Street, Engomi
2407, Nicosia, Cyprus

Do not include your social security number in your e-mail as this is not a secure means of communications.

Tax assistance is available year round from IRS staff at the following US Embassies and Consulates. In addition, from January 1 - June 15 each year, IRS representatives travel to many cities worldwide to assist taxpayers outside the United States.

To find out when and where tax assistance is avail bale, call the following numbers:

• Berlin, Germany 49-30-8305-1136/1140
  
  
• London, England 44-207-408-8077
  
  
• Paris, France 33-1-4312-2555

The IRS office in Philadelphia is the principal office responsible for
providing international tax assistance, such as answering questions related
to tax law, foreign tax issues, and notices and bills.

This office is open Monday through Friday from 6:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. (American) Eastern Standard Time and may be contacted by:

Phone: +1 (215) 516-2000
Fax: +1 (215) 516-2555
Email: www.irs.gov/help/page/0,,id=133197,00.html
Mail: Internal Revenue Service Philadelphia, PA 19255-0215 USA

Taxpayer Service Specialists are available for tax assistance on US income tax matters at the IRS office at the US Consulate in Paris, France.

If you have tried to resolve a tax problem but it has not been resolved
in a timely manner or if an IRS action is causing you a significant hardship,
you should contact the International Taxpayer Advocate by:

Phone: +1 (877) 777-4778 or +1 (787) 622-8940
Fax: +1 (787) 622-8933
Mail: Internal Revenue Service
Attn: Taxpayer Advocate Office
San Patricio Office Building, Room 200
7 Tabonuco Street
Guaynabo, Puerto Rico 00966

U.S. Citizens living outside of the USA, though often eligible for special tax benefits, are subject to the same filing requirements that apply to U.S. Citizens living in the USA. The U.S. tax-filing requirement is based on worldwide income from all sources irrespective of residence.

A U.S. tax return must be filed in order to claim the foreign earned income exclusion and/or foreign tax credit, as applicable. Please refer to IRS Publication 54, Tax Guide for U.S. Citizens and Resident Aliens Living Abroad, and Form 1040 instructions for a complete discussion of filing requirements.

If you have not filed US returns for one or more years, begin by determining what your tax liabilities are for the current and five prior years. If a tax liability is incurred for at least one of those years, file returns for all six tax years.

If none of the returns have a tax liability, file a return for the current year and the two prior years. Instructions for getting prior year forms can be found on the IRS Home Page at www.irs.gov, or in our Information Booklet.

Originally, the deadline for completing and filing your individual income tax was not April 15. In the beginning, it was first set for March 1. Then, during 1918, Congress pushed the date out to March 15.

Then, in the great overhaul of 1954, the date was once again moved forward to April 15, and this is where it remains today. However, it has only been set this way for a little over 50 years. That's not very long, in historical terms, and it could possibly be changed again.

Currently, all the tax regulations for this country are the responsibility of the Internal Revenue Service, and there are four major divisions of this government office: the Wage and Investment, Small/Business Self-Employed, the Large and Midsize Business and the Tax Exempt and Government Entities. Each division has responsibilities as they pertain to their individual specialty.

If you are a U.S. Citizen or resident alien, the rules for filing income, estate, and gift tax returns and for paying estimated tax are usually the same whether you are in the United States or abroad.

Your income, filing status, and age generally determine whether you must file an income tax return. Generally, you must file a return for 2005 if your gross income from worldwide sources is at least the amount shown for your filing status in the following table:

For additional information on tax filing.

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