If you're a bona fide resident of Puerto Rico, you generally aren't required to file a U.S. federal income tax return if your only income is from sources within Puerto Rico. However, if you have income from sources outside of Puerto Rico, including from U.S. sources, you're required to file a U.S. federal income tax return if such amount is above the U.S. filing threshold. A bona fide resident of Puerto Rico with a U.S. filing obligation won't report Puerto Rican source income on a U.S. income tax return. For more information on who is considered a bona fide resident of Puerto Rico and how to determine the amount of income that requires filing a U.S. income tax return, refer to Publication 570 and Publication 1321 PDF. If you're a member of the U.S. Armed Forces or a civilian spouse of an active duty member of the U.S. Armed Forces, special rules may apply to you for determining residency and source of income. For more information, please refer to Publication 570. If you're a bona fide resident of Puerto Rico and a U.S. government employee, including a member of the U.S. Armed Forces, you must file a U.S. income tax return reporting all income received for performing services for the U.S. government, including services performed in Puerto Rico as a U.S. government employee. If you're a U.S. citizen or resident alien but not a bona fide resident of Puerto Rico, you're required to report all income from worldwide sources on your U.S. income tax return. However, if you are a U.S. citizen who changes residence from Puerto Rico and were a bona fide resident of Puerto Rico for the two years before changing residency, you can exclude from your U.S. income tax return the Puerto Rican source income that is attributable to the part of the year you were a bona fide resident of Puerto Rico. Regardless of whether an individual is required to file a U.S. income tax return, the individual may have an obligation to file a return with the United States reporting self-employment income derived from a trade or business in Puerto Rico and/or elsewhere. Residents of Puerto Rico who aren't required to file a U.S. income tax return must file Form 1040-SS or Form 1040-SS (SP) (in Spanish) with the United States to report self-employment income and if necessary, pay self-employment tax. For more information on self-employment reporting requirements, see the Instructions for Form 1040-SS PDF or Instructions for Form 1040-SS (SP) PDF. Residents of Puerto Rico must file a federal tax return with the IRS to claim the child tax credit (CTC), even if they don't have a filing requirement and have little or no income from a job, business or other source. In fact, families who don't owe taxes to the IRS can file their 2021 tax return and claim the child tax credit for the 2021 tax year at any point until April 15, 2025, without any penalty. See Topic no. 902, for more information about claiming the CTC.
