Techie2016 wrote:Is it advantageous for me to be in singapore less than 183 days and pay the 15% tax rate for non-residents but over 60 days, or should I stay through 183 days to get resident status?
It shouldn't matter in terms of income tax. Your effective U.S. tax rate should be higher, so the only difference would be how much tax ends up paid to Singapore versus the U.S. The Foreign Tax Credit on your U.S. tax return will account for that.
It will matter in terms of U.S. Social Security and Medicare payroll taxes. If you're working for a Singapore-based employer then you probably won't owe U.S. payroll tax. The disadvantage of course is that you're not accumulating work history credits in the U.S. either, so your future U.S. Social Security retirement benefits will be correspondingly lower and/or it will take longer (in calendar time) to qualify. However, you won't see much impact since your work history credits are based on calendar years in the U.S. You'll still presumably have non-trivial contributions in both calendar year 2016 (already underway) and 2017. So you should have no problem qualifying for Medicare and only a modest reduction in Social Security retirement benefits. Just make sure to boost your savings a bit, though, to account for that retirement benefit difference.
If you can live in Singapore for 330 days or more (and work), and not step foot in the United States, then you would qualify for the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion. That would then provide a U.S. income tax benefit and, thus, an overall tax benefit. But to stay away from the United States that long, assuming you are not a U.S. citizen but rather a permanent resident (green card holder), you should first obtain advance parole. Use USCIS Form I-131 to get a reentry permit. That permit gives you a maximum of two years, i.e. you must return within two years (before two years) of departure. The concerns about Social Security and Medicare magnify a bit, but again if you can work about 6 months in 2016 (first half of 2016) and about 6 months in 2017 (second half of 2017) in the U.S., that should work very well indeed.
Don't forget to max out your 401(k), if applicable, for the year before you go if you're in a position to do, and after you return. I think you're allowed up to $17,500 per calendar year in 401(k) contributions. So if you have to raise your contribution percentage to hit that maximum before you go, and if you can afford to do that, that's a good idea.
Does the company housing provided for me in Singapore get counted as taxable income?
In Singapore, yes, fully. If you can qualify for the FEIE as mentioned above then part of that company-provided housing will be U.S. tax exempt, so you can pick up some tax savings there. But you have to hit 330 days in Singapore to make that happen.
A ~350 day stint working in Singapore can be quite attractive particularly if that stint is split more or less equally across calendar years. So if you can leave July 1, work in Singapore for 11 or 12 months, then resume work in the U.S. on July 1, 2017, that'd be wonderful all around.
Oh, one more thing: if you're aiming to naturalize as a U.S. citizen just make sure you understand any impact(s) on your residence time in the U.S. to qualify.
