FEIE 330-Day Physical Presence Test Calculator
Set the date you moved abroad and add any trips back to the United States. Instantly see your full days abroad, how many US days you have to spare, and the best 12-month window to claim the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion — using the IRS 330-days-in-12-months rule. Free. No signup.
How to Use This FEIE Calculator
Set your move-abroad date
Enter your first full day outside the US. Your 12-month test period is measured from this day. Change it any time to test a different window.
Add your US trips
Enter the arrival and departure date of every visit back to the United States. Both endpoint days count as US days. Use "Add a US trip" for each one.
Read days abroad & US allowance
The panel shows your full days abroad toward 330, days spent in the US, and how many of your 35 allowed US days are left in the window.
Find your best window & download
See the 12 consecutive months that give you the most days abroad, then download a dated PDF summary to keep with your Form 2555 records.
Understanding the FEIE Physical Presence Test
If you are a US citizen or green-card holder living abroad, you still file a US tax return on your worldwide income — the United States is one of the only countries that taxes by citizenship rather than residence. The Foreign Earned Income Exclusion (FEIE), claimed on Form 2555, lets qualifying expats exclude up to $132,900 of earned income for tax year 2026 (up from $130,000 in 2025). To qualify you need foreign earned income, a foreign tax home, and either the Bona Fide Residence Test or the Physical Presence Test — the day-counting test this calculator handles.
The 330-days-in-12-months rule
The Physical Presence Test asks one thing: were you physically present in a foreign country (or countries) for at least 330 full days during a 12-month period? The 330 days do not have to be consecutive, so short trips between foreign countries are fine. Because a 365-day period contains 365 days, 330 required days leaves you a margin of just 35 days that you can spend in the United States (36 if your window includes 29 February). Go over 35 US days and you fail the test for that window.
What counts as a "full day" abroad
The IRS defines a full day as 24 consecutive hours beginning and ending at midnight that you spend entirely in a foreign country. The catch trips up a lot of people: the day you fly out of the US and the day you fly back are usually not full days abroad, and time spent on or over international waters does not count as time in a foreign country. That is why this calculator conservatively counts every day you are physically in the US — arrival and departure days included — as a US day. Leave a buffer rather than planning for exactly 35 US days.
Choosing your 12-month window
Here is the part most people miss: the 12-month period does not have to be the calendar year, and you do not have to start it on your first day abroad. The IRS explicitly says to "choose the 12-month period that gives you the greatest exclusion." If a cluster of US trips falls just inside one window, shifting the window's start by a few weeks can drop those days out and push you over 330. This calculator's best-window finder scans your trips and reports the 12 consecutive months that give you the most full days abroad.
Physical Presence vs Bona Fide Residence
The Physical Presence Test is a pure day count and is the practical route for digital nomads and anyone who has been abroad for less than a full calendar year. The alternative, the Bona Fide Residence Test, asks whether you were a genuine resident of one foreign country for an uninterrupted period that includes an entire tax year — it is not about counting days and generally suits people who have settled abroad long-term on a residence permit. You only need to meet one of the two.
Filing still required — and FEIE is not the whole picture
Qualifying does not remove your obligation to file: the exclusion only applies if you file Form 1040 with Form 2555 attached, even when it wipes out all your US tax. The FEIE also covers earned income only — wages and self-employment — not pensions, Social Security, dividends, or capital gains, and it does not erase self-employment tax in countries with no US totalization agreement. For passive income, the Foreign Tax Credit is often the better tool. Many of our country guides cover this in detail — see moving to Dubai from the US (a 0% tax country where the FEIE catch bites hardest), Portugal from the US, or Thailand from the US. Not sure how many days you can travel within Europe on top of all this? Pair this with our Schengen 90/180 day calculator.
Frequently Asked Questions
To use the Physical Presence Test, you must be physically present in a foreign country or countries for at least 330 full days during a 12-month period. If you also have foreign earned income and a foreign tax home, meeting the test lets you exclude up to $132,900 of earned income for tax year 2026 on IRS Form 2555. The 330 days do not have to be consecutive.
In a 365-day period you can spend up to 35 days in the United States, because 365 minus 330 is 35 (up to 36 in a window that includes 29 February). Because your arrival and departure travel days often do not count as full days abroad either, treat 35 as a hard ceiling and leave yourself a buffer rather than planning for exactly 35 US days.
The IRS defines a full day as a period of 24 consecutive hours beginning and ending at midnight that you spend entirely in a foreign country. The day you fly out of the United States and the day you fly back are usually not full days abroad, and time spent on or over international waters does not count as time in a foreign country. This calculator counts every day you are physically in the US, including those travel days, as US days.
No. The IRS states that the 330 qualifying days do not have to be consecutive. You can travel between foreign countries and make short trips back to the United States, as long as your full days abroad add up to at least 330 within your chosen 12-month period.
No. You may choose any 12 consecutive months, and you do not have to begin the period with your first full day abroad. The IRS says to pick the 12-month period that gives you the greatest exclusion. This calculator's best-window feature scans your trips and shows the 12 consecutive months that give you the most full days abroad.
Both tests let you claim the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion. The Physical Presence Test is a pure day count — 330 full days abroad in a 12-month period — and suits digital nomads and anyone who has been abroad for less than a full calendar year. The Bona Fide Residence Test instead asks whether you were a genuine resident of a foreign country for an uninterrupted period that includes an entire tax year, and it is not based on counting days. This tool covers the Physical Presence Test.
Yes. The exclusion is not automatic. You must file Form 1040 with Form 2555 attached to claim it, even if the exclusion cancels all of your US tax so you owe nothing. US citizens and green-card holders are taxed on worldwide income no matter where they live, and failing to file can cost you the exclusion. This calculator is a day-counting aid, not tax advice — confirm your filing with a qualified cross-border tax professional.
No. When you leave the United States for a foreign country, or return to the US, the time you spend on or over international waters does not count as time in a foreign country. That is why the days you arrive in and depart from the US are usually not full days abroad, and why this calculator counts them as US days.
For tax year 2026 the maximum exclusion is $132,900 per qualifying person, up from $130,000 in 2025. Married couples who each qualify can each claim it. The exclusion covers foreign earned income such as wages and self-employment income — it does not cover pensions, Social Security, dividends, or capital gains, and it does not remove the requirement to file a US return.
Related Free Tools
Schengen 90/180 Day Calculator
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Official sources & references
- Ruleirs.gov — FEIE Physical Presence Test: 330 full days in a 12-month period; full-day & international-waters definitions
- Taxirs.gov — About Form 2555, Foreign Earned Income (the form you file to claim the exclusion)
- Incomeirs.gov — Figuring the FEIE: maximum exclusion $132,900 for tax year 2026 (up from $130,000 in 2025)
- Taxirs.gov — Publication 54, Tax Guide for US Citizens & Resident Aliens Abroad (worked examples of the tests)