American fully in Japan, I became sole proprietor in 2023 and owe a lot in taxes but want to challenge— can you help?
I am looking into credible cpas and accountants, but any advice generally you can provide?
I basically owe a good chunk now according to the IRS which includes interest. I did file the 2023 taxes late, so that’s why they’re coming to me now via mail saying they’re not recognizing my foreign earned income exclusion.
I am wondering where I went wrong because of tax treaties and all of the taxes I paid in Japan, and with how I filed, I didn’t think I should owe anything. I made around 53K and the IRS says about 40K of that is taxable, but since I am paying taxes in Japan (at a higher rate than the US would) I didn’t expect to owe anything.
Since 2024 I became a full time employee so I understand it shouldn’t be a problem moving forward so long as I make under like 125K, but the sole proprietor year was the real issue wasn’t it? Should I have opted for FTC instead?
Anyway, they are giving me a deadline by sep 25 to appeal.
Looking for any and all advice as I simultaneously look for accountants/CPAs to help