US citizens living abroad need to file income tax (American citizens living abroad still have to pay tax to US - legal ways to avoid?) but there is a Foreign Earned Income Exclusion (http://taxes.about.com/od/taxhelp/a/ForeignIncome.htm) that covers ~99k USD. But it requires that you meet certain residency requirements.
In my situation, I'm an ex-pat that is considering returning to the US.
US Taxes are based on calendar years, so if I work from Jan-Oct (for example) I will pay local taxes on those 10 months and I will not qualify for the FEIE mentioned above. Does this mean I will need to pay US income taxes on top of the local taxes?
Would I pay less taxes by returning to the US on Jan 1st verse May 1st, assuming equal incomes in both countries?