Do you have to pay US taxes when you work abroad?
Andrew Ramirez
Published Mar 02, 2026
According to the Internal Revenue Service: “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.”
Can a US citizen file a federal tax form abroad?
Absolutely! The IRS highly recommends efiling because it’s easier, faster, and more secure than filing on paper. If you are an American citizen or U.S. resident alien living and/or working overseas, you can prepare and efile the following federal tax forms on eFile.com:
Do you have to file federal taxes if you are an expat?
Your expat tax filing requirement doesn’t change even if you’re paid by a foreign employer overseas. In addition to federal income taxes, some U.S. citizens living abroad also need to file state taxes as well, depending on their last state of residence. Taxable foreign-earned income includes: Wages. Interest.
When do I need to file my foreign income tax return?
Additional information regarding foreign income taxes can be found here. Tax returns for Tax Year 2020 are due April 15, 2021. You can prepare and e-File your tax return if you work and/or live abroad. The IRS highly recommends e-filing because it’s easier, faster, and more secure than filing on paper.
Do you pay taxes on income earned outside the US?
The employer is required by the law of the foreign country to withhold income tax on such payment. As a general rule, wages earned by nonresident aliens for services performed outside of the United States for any employer are foreign source income and therefore are not subject to reporting and withholding of U.S. federal income tax.
Do you have to pay taxes when you travel outside of Canada?
Taxation for Canadians travelling, living or working outside Canada. Canadians travelling extensively, living or working abroad may still have to pay Canadian and provincial or territorial income taxes.
Where do US citizens have to pay taxes?
While nearly all of the 244 sovereign territories employ territorial, residence or no income taxation at all, there are two countries, the US and Eritrea, that have citizenship-based taxation systems. This answers the question: do American citizens living abroad have to pay taxes?