Resources to File Your US Taxes from Chile
General Information for U.S. Citizens and Resident Aliens
If you are a U.S. citizen or resident alien, the rules for filing income, estate, and gift tax returns and paying estimated tax are generally the same whether you are in the United States or abroad. Your worldwide income is subject to U.S. income tax, regardless of where you reside.
If you are a U.S. citizen or resident alien residing overseas, or are in the military on duty outside the U.S., on the regular due date of your return, you are allowed an automatic 2-month extension to file your return and pay any amount due without requesting an extension.
For a calendar year
return, the automatic 2-month extension is to June 15. If you qualify
for this 2-month extension, penalties for paying any tax late are assessed
from the 2-month extended due date of the payment (June 15 for calendar
year taxpayers). However, even if you are allowed an extension, you
will have to pay interest on any tax not paid by the regular due date
of your return (April 15 for calendar year taxpayers).
If you qualify for the 2-month extension but are unable to file your
return by the automatic 2-month extension date, you can request an additional
extension to October 15 by filing Form
4868, Application for Automatic Extension of Time To File U.S. Individual
Income Tax Return, before the automatic 2-month extension date.
Please note that even if you are allowed extensions to June 15 and/or October 15, you will owe interest on any unpaid tax amount from the original due date of the return (April 15 for calendar year taxpayers).
For detailed information on filing your U.S. taxes from abroad, please read the IRS Tax Guide for U.S. Citizens and Resident Aliens Abroad.
Tax Treaty Information
The United States has tax treaties with a number of foreign countries. Under these treaties, residents or citizens of foreign countries are taxed at a reduced rate, or are exempt from U.S. taxes on certain items of income they receive from sources within the United States.
For further details, click on the link to view and download the Tax Treaty between Chile and the United States.
Foreign Earned Income Exclusion
American taxpayers who live and/or work abroad may be able to exclude
all or part of their foreign earned wages and self-employment income
from their U.S. federal income tax through a provision called the Foreign
Earned Income Exclusion.
To find out whether you qualify for the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion and to see the annual limits for the exclusion,
click here.
Chile and the United States: FATCA Intergovernmental Agreement
There is currently an Intergovernmental
Agreement in Effect between Chile and the United States.
Under FATCA provisions, participating nations are obligated to share financial
information of United States citizens with the IRS.
Currency Converter from Chilean Peso to U.S. Dollar
Reporting Foreign Financial Accounts
If you have a financial interest in or signature authority over a foreign financial account, including a bank account, brokerage account, mutual fund, trust, or other type of foreign financial account,
AND the aggregate value of all foreign financial accounts exceeded $10,000 at any time during the calendar year,
you MUST report all of your foreign accounts by completing an electronic informational form
called FinCEN Form 114 through the BSA
E-Filing System.
When converting the value of your foreign accounts to United States dollars for FBAR reporting, you must use the Official Year-End Currency Exchange Rates, as published by the US Department of the Treasury.
For specific information regarding Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR), visit our Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts page.
Additionally, you must file Form
8938 to report the ownership of specified foreign financial assets
if the total value of those assets exceeds an applicable threshold amount.
The reporting threshold varies depending on whether you live in the United States, are married, or file a joint
income tax return with your spouse. Specified foreign financial assets include any financial account maintained by a foreign financial institution and, to the extent held for investment, any stock, securities, or any other interest in a foreign entity and any financial instrument or contract with an issuer or counterparty that is not a U.S. person.
You may have to pay penalties if you are required to file Form
8938 and fail to do so, or if you have an understatement of tax
due to any transaction involving an undisclosed foreign financial asset.
United States Embassy Services
Embassy
of the United States of America
Av. Andres Bello 2800
Las Condes, Santiago
Chile
Phone: (56-2) 2330-3000
Fax: (56-2) 2330-3710