Tax Form 4563, Exclusion of Income for Bona Fide Residents of American Samoa

Tax Form 4563 Income for Bona Fide

Tax Form 4563 is used by individuals who are bona fide residents of American Samoa to claim the exclusion of their income earned from American Samoa from their federal income tax return. This form is used by individuals who meet the definition of a bona fide resident of American Samoa, which means that they have been physically present in American Samoa for at least 183 days during the tax year.

This is a tax form that has been created and distributed by the Internal Revenue services-IRS. The main purpose of Tax Form 4563 is to be able to determine the amount of income that has been earned in American Samoa that can be excluded from the gross income of the taxpayer. What is an American Samoa? Well, let us find out:

American Samoa

This is an unincorporated territory of the United States which is located in the South Pacific Ocean, the Southeast of the Independent State of Samoa. Here, the IRS focuses on the source of income when determining the kind or portion of the income that can be excluded from the claims of the taxpayer. In case the taxpayer has a source of income from both outside and inside of American Samoa, then the Salaries, wages and tips from the outside will not be included within Tax Form 4563. The income earned from the interest has to be from the bank which is located in American Samoa to be able to qualify for Tax Form 4563. Likewise, the dividend income may also qualify for the exclusion in case it is from the company that has been created or organized within American Samoa.

Read More-: Tax Form 1120

Who Needs to File for the Tax Form 4563

As we know, Tax Form 4563 is an exemption from the payment of taxes. There are a few factors that need to be observed in order to qualify for Tax Form 4563. The foremost factor is that the taxpayer needs to be either a resident of American Samoa or conduct business there. 

Generally speaking, the ‘bona fide residents of American Samoa’ are the people who are required to fill out Tax Form 4563 and qualify for income exclusion. Now, what is meant by the resident bona fide? Here, the 183-day rule is a standard consideration in most cases. This rule is a part of the United States Internal Revenue Code and puts it to place if an individual can be categorized as a resident of the United States for the purpose of tax. According to the 183-day rule, the individual needs to be in the United States for at least 183 days within a consecutive three-year period. Once the rule has been applied the IRS excludes the exemption for active-duty military personnel. 

Likewise, a Physical presence test is also required to determine who qualifies as a resident of the US territory for tax. In order to be considered a resident of American Samoa under the rules, the individual needs to make their physical presence for a minimum period of 183 days for the taxable year. Likewise, the individual also needs to have spent at least 549 days during the last three years in American Samoa to the last 60 days of each of those three years. Also the person the individual needs not to have been present in the United States for more than 90 days during the taxable year. 

Note: Tax Form 4563 is necessary for those taxpayers who are residents of American Samoa and those persons who conduct business there. It has also been predicted that in the future the bona fide residents of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands ( CNMI) and Guam may also qualify for the exclusion. The qualification can be put to rest unless the implementation agreements are in effect with the United States. At present, the

The effective date of the agreement between the United States and Guam had not been determined.

How to File: the Tax Form 4563

Once you qualify for the exclusion of any income, then you need to complete Tax Form 4563 and attach it to Tax Form 1040 when the income tax return is filed. You need to bear in mind that one cannot file Tax Form 4563 by itself. One can easily file Tax Form 4563 from the RIS official website. 

You can physically mail the form to Internal Revenue Service Center,

Philadelphia, PA 19255, U.S.A.

Note: In case one does not qualify for the exclusion, then you need to follow the instructions for Tax Form 1040. Here you need to report all the taxable income, which also includes the income from the US, foreign and possession centres, as shown in the form 1040 instruction for the location you reside at.

The Bona Fide Resident Test

This is the test one needs to qualify for in order to be able to file Tax Form 4563. As mentioned earlier one needs to be a bona fide resident of American Samoa for an uninterrupted period for a complete tax year. This is from January 1st to December 31st if you need to file for the calendar year return. 

However, no specific rule determines if an individual is a bona fide resident of American Samoa. The following factors need to be considered for this case:

  • Intent
  • Establishment of a permanent house 
  • Assimilation into the social, cultural and economic environment 
  • Physical presence.

The other factors to be considered here are nature, the extent, and the reasons for temporary absences. Assumptions of economic burdens and the payment of the taxes to American Samoa. Finally, the existence of the homes outside of American Samoa and the place of employment.

The Income that is Excluded

After you have checked that you qualify for Tax Form 4563, you can exclude the following:

  • The income has been received from various sources in Guam, America Samoa, and the CMMI. 
  • The income that has been effectively connected with the conduct of the trade or business in those in possession.
  • If you need to get the details about how to determine the source of income, you need to get Pub. 570, a tax guide for those individuals with income from the possession in the US.

For the Employees in the United States

One needs not to have to exclude the amount that has been paid to you for the services one has performed as an employee of the US government or any agencies associated with it. The same rule applies to both Military and civilian employees.

The Income to be reported on Form 1040

Here, one needs to report the worldwide income for the tax year that does not qualify for the exclusion. However, the source of this income does not matter.

The Deductions and the Credits may not be on Form 1040

If the exclusion has been claimed then you need not take any deductions or credit on Form 1040 which is definitely related to the excluded income:

Both the deductions and credits are not related to any particular type of income that needs to be allocated between the excludable income and any other income in order to decipher the amount that one can take on Form 1040. However you need to be aware of the examples of deductions that are not related to any particular type of income, these are: 

  • The standard deductions
  • The specific itemized deductions like medical and dental expenses, gifts to charity, real estate taxes and the mortgage interests on the personal residences. 
Note: One may take the deductions for every exemption that you are entitled to claim. Bear in mind that this deduction is not considered allocable to the excluded income.

The self Employed Individuals

If your earning is $400 or more and you are a self-employed individual, then you will have to pay self-employment tax on those earnings despite you excluding them from the gross income. For this, you need to check out the schedule SE in Form 1040 to understand any self-employed tax due.

Also Read-: Tax Form 1310

Conclusion

These are the facts, figures and various details regarding tax form 4563. However, if you have any doubts regarding the form, feel free to reach out 1800 964 3096 to our team of experts and we will be more than happy to help you out. Taxes are never simple, yet, it is a breeze if you have a reliable professional to help you out.

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💠Frequently Asked Questions💠

What is the IRS Form 4563?

Tax form 4563 was released by the IRS on August 1st, 2019. Essentially this tax form is the exclusion of income for bonafide residents of America Samoa. In this form, one can determine the amount that has been earned in America Samoa and which can be excluded from the gross income of the taxpayer.

What are the Features of Tax Form 4563?

Following are the details that are included in the tax form 4563:
🔹 A two-page form is available on the official website of the IRS
🔹 Is actual and valid for filing 2020 taxes.
🔹 One can easily find the instructions on page 1 of the document.
🔹 Is editable, printable and completely free

What is the main Purpose of Tax Form 4563?

With the help of this form one can figure out the amount of income from American Samoa that one can exclude from the total gross income of the individual.

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