Do I have to file at home while living in United States?
It depends on residence, not on address — except for US citizens and green-card holders, for whom the answer is yes regardless of where they live. We settle the residence question first, because every other answer follows from it.
Is there a treaty between my country and United States?
Treaty networks change with each protocol and each multilateral-instrument position, so we confirm the treaty in force for your specific year with the issuing authority rather than relying on a published summary. Where there is none, unilateral relief and domestic law do the work instead.
I own property in United States. Where is the rent taxed?
In United States, because that is where the property sits. The complication is the base: gross-rent withholding takes no account of mortgage interest, tax or repairs, so a leveraged property can face tax on turnover. An election onto net profit, where it exists, is what fixes that — and it has its own timing.
Why does US citizenship create a filing obligation independent of where someone actually lives?
Because the United States taxes citizens and permanent residents on worldwide income regardless of residence, a US citizen or green card holder living anywhere in the world generally still has to file a US return every year, which is a different basis than the residence-based systems most other countries use.
Do individual US states apply the same rules as the federal treaty network?
No — state rules apply their own residency and sourcing tests that a federal treaty does not bind, so a person's federal treaty position does not automatically determine their state tax exposure, and the two need to be reviewed separately.
Does an Indian founder's first US entity create a personal US filing obligation as well as a corporate one?
It depends on the founder's own role and any compensation or draws from the entity, but a founder engaging with their first US entity often needs both the entity's own corporate filings addressed and a separate review of whether their personal involvement creates any individual US filing obligation.
Can I claim the child tax credit if I live abroad?
Partly, and the split matters. The non-refundable part can reduce US tax if the child meets the identification requirement in time. The refundable part is calculated on earned income, so excluding your salary with the foreign earned income exclusion removes the very figure it is built on — which is one of the clearest cases where the exclusion costs more than the credit route. Modelling both is the only way to know. See exclusion against credit.
Where do I report foreign tax paid on Form 1040?
Not directly. Foreign tax withheld shows up first on the payer statement — a 1099-DIV, 1099-INT or K-1 — and from there goes onto Form 1116, which computes the allowable credit by category. The credit then lands on Schedule 3 and flows to the 1040. Under the small-amount election it can go straight to Schedule 3 without the form, which is quicker and forfeits the carryover. See Form 1116.
