Source Of Income
The source of income is important in determining if the income may be excluded under section 933 of the Internal Revenue Code.
The table below describes the general rules for determining the source of your income:
Example Of Source Of Income Rules
Item of Income
Factor Determining Source
Salaries and other compensation
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
Where the service is performed
Pensions:
Contributions
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Where services were performed that earned the pension
Investment earnings
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Where pension trust is located
Interest
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Residence of the payer
Dividends
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Location of payer
Rents
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Location of property
Royalties:
Natural resources
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Location of property
Patents, copyrights, etc.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Where the property is used
Sale of real property
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Location of property
Sale of personal property
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Seller’s tax home
(but see Special Rules for Gains From
Dispositions of Certain Property for exceptions)
Caution: There are special rules for gains from dispositions of certain investment property (for example, stocks, bonds, debt
instruments, diamonds, and gold) owned by a U.S. citizen or resident alien prior to becoming a bona fide resident of a possession.
You are subject to these special rules if you meet both of the following conditions:
• For the tax year for which the source of gain must be determined, you are a bona fide resident of Puerto Rico.
• For any of the 10 years preceding that year, you were a citizen or resident alien of the United States (other than a bona fide
resident of Puerto Rico).
• If you meet these conditions, gains from the disposition of this property will not be treated as income from sources within the
relevant possession for purposes of the Internal Revenue Code. Accordingly, bona fide residents of American Samoa and Puerto
Rico, for example, may not exclude the gain on their U.S. tax return.
However, there is a special election that you can make to allocate gain/losses between the U.S. and Puerto Rico from disposition of
certain property. For additional details see Publication 570.
Deductions
It is important to remember that deductions which apply to your exempt Puerto Rican income are not deductible on your Federal
income tax return. For example, if you incurred employee business expenses of $1,250 on wages of $18,500 that are exempt from
tax on your Federal return, the employee business expenses are not deductible on the Federal return.
Deductions for personal exemptions are allowed in full and need not be allocated.
Deductions that do not specifically apply to a particular income item must be allocated between your gross income subject to U.S.
tax and your total gross income from all other sources. Examples of deductions that do not definitely apply to a particular type of
income are alimony payments and certain itemized deductions (such as medical expenses, charitable contributions, and real estate
taxes and mortgage interest on your personal residence). To find the part of the deduction that is allowable, you must apportion
those items that do not apply to any specific type of income based on the ratio that your gross income subject to Federal tax bears
to gross income from all sources.
EXAMPLE: You and your spouse, both under 65, are U.S. citizens and bona fide residents of Puerto Rico for the entire year.
You file a joint return. During 2010 you earned $15,000 from Puerto Rican sources and your spouse earned $25,000 from the
U.S. Government. You have $16,000 of itemized deductions that do not apply to any specific type of income. These are medical
expenses (doctor’s fees) $4,000, real estate taxes $5,000, home mortgage interest from a financial institution of $6,000, and
charitable deductions of $1,000 (cash contributions).
You apportion deductions for your Federal tax return as follows: multiply the deduction to be allocated by a fraction. The
numerator of the fraction is your gross income subject to Federal tax and the denominator is your total gross income from all
sources (including exempt Puerto Rican income).
Formula:
gr
oss income subject to Federal tax
gross income from all sources
x deduction = allowable portion of deduction
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