What is the FEIE limit for 2026?

The Foreign Earned Income Exclusion amount is adjusted annually for inflation. For the 2025 tax year, the FEIE limit is expected to be approximately $130,000 (the IRS publishes the exact figure in the fall of the preceding year). For the 2024 tax year, the limit is $126,500. These amounts represent the maximum foreign earned income you can exclude from US taxation.

The FEIE limit is per person, not per household. If both you and your spouse work abroad and each qualifies independently for the FEIE (meeting the Physical Presence Test or Bona Fide Residence Test separately), each of you can exclude up to the full amount. For a dual-income couple in 2024, this means up to $253,000 of combined foreign earned income can be excluded.

If you did not live abroad for the entire year — for example, you moved abroad mid-year — the exclusion is prorated based on the number of qualifying days. The formula is: (Number of qualifying days / Total days in the year) x Maximum FEIE amount. So if you moved abroad on July 1, 2024, you would have approximately 184 qualifying days and could exclude roughly $63,497 (184/366 x $126,500).

In addition to the base FEIE, the Foreign Housing Exclusion can add significantly to your total excluded amount. The housing exclusion varies by location but can add $15,000 to $35,000 or more in high-cost cities. Combined, these exclusions can shield $160,000+ of income per person from US taxation.

Remember that the FEIE only excludes income from federal income tax. Self-employment tax (Social Security and Medicare) is still owed on excluded self-employment income unless you are covered by a Totalization Agreement with your country of residence. Additionally, the excluded income is still used to determine your tax bracket for any non-excluded income (the stacking rule), so your remaining income may be taxed at a higher rate than you might expect.

We track annual FEIE adjustments and ensure your return uses the correct exclusion amount for each tax year.