FEIE Physical Presence Test Calculator
The Foreign Earned Income Exclusion's physical presence test needs 330 full days abroad in some 12-month window — and since the window can start on any day, the real question is whether any window works. Enter your US trips; this tool slides the window across your travel history and finds your best one. The full rule guide covers the fine print.
1 · Your time in the US
Add every visit to the US (and its territories' airspace-touching travel days). A "full day abroad" is a complete 24-hour day with no US presence at all — so your arrival and departure days count as US days, exactly as the IRS counts them.
2 · Where to look for your 12 months
The 12-month period can begin on any day — it doesn't have to match the tax year. The calculator slides a 365-day window across this range and picks the best one.
3 · Your best window
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The window is the whole game
Most people check the calendar year, fail, and assume they don't qualify. But a six-week US visit in June doesn't hurt a window that runs July-to-July. The window only needs to satisfy two things:
- 330 full days of foreign presence inside it — 35 days of US time (or ocean crossings) is all the slack you get, travel days included.
- A tax home abroad for the same period — your main place of work, not just where you sleep.
When you qualify via a window that only partially overlaps the tax year, the exclusion prorates — so the choice of window affects not just whether you qualify but how much you exclude. Once you have your best window from the tool above, that's the period to put on Form 2555.
Frequently asked questions
You qualify for the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion if you're physically present in a foreign country (or countries) for 330 full days during any period of 12 consecutive months. The 12 months can begin on any day — it doesn't have to match the tax year — so picking the right window is half the test.
A complete 24-hour period (midnight to midnight) spent entirely in foreign countries. The day you fly out of the US and the day you land back are not full days abroad, and neither is time over international waters lasting 24 hours or more. That's why this calculator counts your US arrival and departure days against you — it's how the IRS counts.
No — only the 12-month period is consecutive. The 330 days can be scattered across it however your travel falls, and you can move between foreign countries freely without breaking the count.
The exclusion is inflation-indexed — $130,000 for 2025, with 2026 slightly higher — plus a potential foreign housing exclusion on top. If you qualify for part of a 12-month period that overlaps the tax year, the maximum prorates by the number of qualifying days in that year.
Check the bona fide residence test instead — a full calendar year as a genuine resident of a foreign country, with no 330-day arithmetic. It's facts-based rather than day-based, so it suits people settled abroad who travel to the US often. The foreign tax credit is the other main alternative.
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This rule is tracked automaticallyin
Bounded
- Automatically tracks your days for this rule
- Alerts you before you cross the limit
- Counts arrival and departure days correctly
- Runs alongside your other visa, tax, and residency rules
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For information only. This calculator is a planning aid based on publicly available rules, not tax, legal, or immigration advice. Border officers and tax authorities make the final call — always confirm with the official sources linked above and a qualified professional before acting.