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Calcimator

Expatriate Tax Calculator

Estimate US expat tax obligations comparing FEIE (Foreign Earned Income Exclusion) vs Foreign Tax Credit strategies with housing exclusion and self-employment tax.

About this calculator

The US is one of the few countries that taxes citizens on worldwide income no matter where they live, which is why Americans working abroad have two competing ways to avoid paying full tax twice, and this calculator runs both. The Foreign Earned Income Exclusion (IRC Section 911) lets you exclude foreign earned income up to an annual limit (sourced live from reference data) — but only if you pass the Physical Presence Test, which this calculator checks by requiring at least 330 days abroad in the relevant period; miss that threshold and the exclusion drops to zero. A housing exclusion stacks on top for qualifying housing costs above a base amount (16% of the FEIE limit) and below a cap (30% of the FEIE limit). Because FEIE removes income from the base but the US still applies "stacking" — the excluded income still pushes your remaining income into higher brackets — the calculator computes tax on your full worldwide income at graduated 2024 brackets, then subtracts tax on just the excluded portion, rather than naively taxing only what's left.

The alternative, the Foreign Tax Credit, keeps all income taxable but credits foreign tax paid dollar-for-dollar, capped at the US tax attributable to the foreign-income share of your total; anything paid abroad above that cap becomes a carryover, not a current-year benefit. The calculator compares total US tax under each strategy plus self-employment tax (15.3% on 92.35% of self-employment earnings, capped at the current Social Security wage base) and reports which strategy wins. The biggest practical mixup: FEIE and FTC can't both be claimed on the same dollar of income, and once you elect FEIE in a given year, revoking it later carries its own five-year lockout rule that this simplified estimate does not model.

Inputs

Results

FEIE Exclusion Amount

$132,900.00

≈ 9 used cars

Housing Exclusion Amount$8,736.00
US Tax (FEIE Strategy)$6,807.36
US Tax (FTC Strategy)$8,842.50
Foreign Tax Credit Used$25,000.00
Excess FTC Carryover$0.00
Self-Employment Tax$0.00
Better Strategy (0=FEIE, 1=FTC)0
Strategy Savings ($)$2,035.14
Effective Rate (FEIE) (%)18.71%
Taxable Income Feie$28,364.00

Figures current as of 2026. Source: Revenue Procedure 2025-32

How to Use This Calculator
  1. Enter Foreign Earned Income ($), US Source Income ($), and Foreign Income Tax Paid ($).
  2. Set Foreign Housing Expenses ($), FEIE Limit ($), and Filing Status (0=Single, 1=MFJ, 2=MFS).
  3. Adjust Days in Foreign Country, Self-Employment Income ($) as needed.
  4. Review the FEIE Exclusion Amount ($) result.
  5. Use Housing Exclusion Amount ($) and US Tax (FEIE Strategy) ($) to inform your decision.

How the result changes with Days in Foreign Country

Days in Foreign CountryFEIE Exclusion Amount
170$0.00
255$0.00
366$132,900.00

What each input means

Foreign Earned Income ($)
Total earned income from working abroad.
US Source Income ($)
Income from US sources (investments, rental, etc.).
Foreign Income Tax Paid ($)
Total income taxes paid to the foreign government.
Foreign Housing Expenses ($)
Annual rent, utilities, and qualifying housing costs abroad.
FEIE Limit ($)
Current year FEIE limit (2026: $132,900).
Filing Status (0=Single, 1=MFJ, 2=MFS)
0 = Single, 1 = Married Filing Jointly, 2 = Married Filing Separately.
Days in Foreign Country
Days physically present in a foreign country (need 330+ for Physical Presence Test).
Self-Employment Income ($)
Self-employment income subject to SE tax (not excludable under FEIE).

What each result means

FEIE Exclusion Amount
Foreign earned income excluded under Section 911.
Housing Exclusion Amount
Additional exclusion for qualifying foreign housing expenses.
US Tax (FEIE Strategy)
US income tax using the FEIE exclusion approach.
US Tax (FTC Strategy)
US income tax using the Foreign Tax Credit approach.
Foreign Tax Credit Used
Amount of foreign tax credited against US tax.
Excess FTC Carryover
Unused foreign tax credits available for carryback/forward.
Self-Employment Tax
Social Security and Medicare tax on self-employment income.
Better Strategy (0=FEIE, 1=FTC)
Which strategy results in lower total US tax.
Strategy Savings ($)
Dollar savings from choosing the better strategy.
Effective Rate (FEIE) (%)
Combined US + foreign effective tax rate using FEIE.

How this is calculated

Worked example, using the default values

  1. Identify Input Parameters
    4 parameters
    Foreign Earned Income ($) = 150000, US Source Income ($) = 20000, Foreign Income Tax Paid ($) = 25000, Foreign Housing Expenses ($) = 30000 = 8 input(s) provided
  2. Calculate FEIE Exclusion Amount
    132900 = $132,900
  3. Calculate Housing Exclusion Amount
    8736 = $8,736
  4. Calculate US Tax
    US Tax
    6807.36 = $6,807.36

Figures and sources

Engine last updated . Checked against 2 independently-derived tests — how we verify calculators. Built by Paul Gunder, a software engineer, not a licensed financial, medical, or legal professional.

Frequently Asked Questions

What happens to my exclusions if I don't meet the 330-day Physical Presence Test?

Both the FEIE Exclusion Amount and the Housing Exclusion Amount drop to zero — the calculator only applies either exclusion when Days in Foreign Country is at least 330, since meeting that threshold gates both calculations directly. Falling even one day short zeroes out both exclusions entirely in this simplified check, even though real-world tests also allow a Bona Fide Residence alternative that this tool doesn't model.

Why does the calculator compute tax on my total income and then subtract tax on the excluded amount, instead of just taxing what's left over?

This models the stacking rule: US tax law still uses your full worldwide income to determine which brackets apply, even though the excluded portion itself isn't taxed. The calculator computes tax on total global income at the full graduated brackets, then computes tax on just the excluded amount at those same low starting brackets, and subtracts — so the income that remains taxable ends up effectively taxed at higher marginal rates than if it sat alone at the bottom of the brackets.

How is the Foreign Tax Credit Used amount limited?

It's capped at your US tax on total income multiplied by the ratio of foreign income to total worldwide income, and the calculator uses whichever is smaller of that limit or the actual Foreign Income Tax Paid you entered. Any foreign tax paid beyond that limit shows up as Excess FTC Carryover rather than reducing this year's US tax further.

Does choosing FEIE over FTC change my Self-Employment Tax?

No — Self-Employment Tax is calculated the same way under both strategies, from 92.35% of Self-Employment Income up to the Social Security wage base, since self-employment income isn't excludable under Section 911 regardless of which income-tax strategy is chosen. It's added identically to both the FEIE and FTC strategy totals, so it never affects which strategy comes out ahead.

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