PatHack

Although the facts are not clear from your post, I will add 2 cents.... You must determine the TP's tax home. Generally, this is the place where the TP works, which may be different than the TP's mailing address. The source of the TP's wages is where the TP is standing/sitting when the TP performs the services for which the TP is paid. If the TP is a bona resident outside the USA or meets the physical presence test outside the US AND the TP's tax home is outside the US, then the TP may be able to exclude some of the foreign source earned income. The "wages" may appear on Sch C if the TP was an indep contractor. However, if the TP was an employee, the wages should be on Line 7 of the 1040 with "FEC" printed on the line (ATX does it automatically if you enter it on the FECSTMT). Rental property in a foreign country is reported on Sch E, just like rental prop anywhere. However, beware that the depreciation rules require the use of the the Alt Depr System and longer lives for non-US based assets. Also confirm that the prop is owned by the TP, and not an entity. As for selling the foreign biz....Sch D may be correct, but there may be issues depending upon the type of foreign company. The TP may also need to include a 5471, 8621 and/or 8938 (or possibly an 8865 if the entity was a partnership). Good luck. It appears to be a difficult return to pick up w/o experience in the intl area.

Karen If the Nigerian national is not living in the USA w/ your client, the US taxpayer, then the US taxpayer may file as Head of Household. As such, the US taxpayer doesn't have to report her Nigerian husband or his income at all. See IRC Section 2(b)2(. This section changes the US taxpayer's normal status (a little known section of the code). The Code states “a taxpayer shall be considered as not married at the close of his taxable year if at any time during the taxable year [her] spouse is a nonresident alien”.