All U.S. citizens are required to file taxes. This applies to expats as well. However, expats get to exclude up to $91,500 of foreign earned income. Yeah, I wish I made at least that.In order to exclude foreign income you have to use the Foreign Income Exclusion Form 2555 or 2555-EZ which gets submitted with your 1040 or 1040-EZ.
In order to qualify, you have to pass the tax home test and meet the bona fide residence test.
To pass the tax home test, your tax home must be in a foreign country throughout the period of bona fide residence. You basically have to reside overseas for 330 days of the tax year.
When you file your taxes you have to express your foreign salary to the IRS in U.S. dollars.
The U.S. has bilateral Social Security agreements with certain countries, including the Czech Republic. These agreements prevent expats from paying taxes on the same income twice - once in the foreign country and again in the U.S. Since I paid taxes in the Czech Republic and passed the income exclusion criteria I didn't have to pay taxes in the U.S. However, I still had to file my taxes by April 15th. Luckily, I can fill out the forms online, scan them, e-mail them to Mom and she will mail off my Federal taxes. She is also going to mail in my Georgia state forms too. Thanks again Mom!!!