@Xiefei: Actually only your "foreign earned income" counts toward the "foreign earned income exclusion." Also, if you are provided housing, you need to declare the value of the housing as income. CUFE in Beijing claimed the rooms we lived in were worth 900 kuai a night ;-).

FICA is optional. Unless there has been a change, you need only 40 credits to get Social Security benefits. Credits are earned at 4 per year. Your benefit is based on your highest 10 earnings years. I figured out I would never earn as much as already had. I never paid FICA tax while in China. I get the maximum. In fact I applied for SS benefits at at the US Embassy in Beijing.

You are right about state taxes. Some states require you pay but California is not one of them. I do know Hawaii and Massachusetts do have the never return rule.

Putting a US address on your tax returns may cost you the $99,200 Foreign Earned Income Exclusion. One of the requirements is that your "tax home" is in a foreign country.

DISCLAIMER ! ! !

I am not a tax expert. I am a management accountant with a pretty good understanding of both US income tax and China IIT.

You will notice I point you in a direction which might help you. I give tax advice reluctantly. I do not prepare ant tax returns but my own. Frankly, I hate doing taxes.

If you are a US citizen, you can PM me with your email address and I can send you forms and pubs that you need. In the past, irs.gov could only be accessed by VPN.

Back to 2014 taxes:

If you qualify for the income exclusion then, generally, you are exempted from the need to buy approved medical insurance.

i suggest you attach either Form 2555 or 2555-EZ to your 1040 to establish you qualify for the income exclusion.

Then attach Form 8965. Part III is where you claim exemption. If from Form 2555, you can exclude all or part of your China income, the exemption type is "C" and is entered in column c of Part III.

Note in Part III of 8965, you need to indicate if the exemption is for the entire year OR for which months are exempt.

You also need to name each person you are claiming exemption for.

For you guys with Chinese wives, you need to check Pub 54 for your options. Back in the day, we could not claim a foreign wife or kids as dependents unless they had been feet dry in on US territory. I think this has changed. Pub 54!

The phrase "under US law" is misleading. Most civil cases are filed in state courts under state rules which do vary. I do believe, but am not certain, the law is silent on awarding court costs.

tigertiger is correct. Often the plaintiff, if the David if you will, can ask for court costs. The judge ultimately has desecration. In many contracts, the issue of court costs may addressed as can be seen in the fine print of all most all consumer financing contracts.

H&R Block: 'No One Can Understand' New Obamacare Tax Code

dailycaller.com/[...]

Summary of healthcare Pubs and Forms:

You may need these new forms to prepare your return:

Form 1095-A, Health Insurance Marketplace Statement

Form 8962, Premium Tax Credit, & Instructions

Form 8965, Health Coverage Exemptions & Instructions

You may these publications useful:

Publication 17, Your Federal Income Tax (For Individuals)

Publication 974, Premium Tax Credit

Publication 5172 – Flyer, Facts about Health Care Coverage Exemptions (English; Spanish)

Publication 5185 – Flyer, Facts about making a shared responsibility payment

Publication 5152 – Flyer, Premium Tax Credit – Report changes in circumstances (English; Spanish)

Publication 5156 – Flyer, Facts about Individual Shared Responsibility provision (English; Spanish)

Publication 5120 – Flyer, Facts about the Premium Tax Credit (English; Spanish)

Publication 5121 – Brochure, Facts about the Premium Tax Credit (English; Spanish)

Publication 5093 – Healthcare Law Online Resource

(Note: I could not find Publication 974)