Section 911 Exclusions

Foreign Earned Income Exclusion under Section 911 
A US taxpayer whose tax home is abroad and who qualifies under the bona fide residence test or Physical Presence test may elect a $101,300 exclusion of foreign earned income (2016).  

• a timely filed return (including any extensions),
• a return amending a timely filed return, or
• a late-filed return filed within 1 year from the original due date of the return (determined without regard to any extensions).

You can choose the exclusion on a return filed after the periods described above, provided you owe no federal income tax after taking the exclusion into account. ​

If you owe federal income tax after taking the exclusion into account, you can choose the exclusion on a return filed after the periods described above, provided you file before the IRS discovers that you failed to choose the exclusion. You must type or legibly print at the top of the first page of Form 1040 "FILED PURSUANT TO SECTION 1.911-7(a)(2)(i)(D)." ​
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If you owe federal income tax after taking the foreign earned income exclusion into account and the IRS discovers that you failed to choose the exclusion, you must request a private letter ruling under Income Tax Regulation 301.9100-3 and according to the instructions contained in the very first Revenue Procedure issued by the Internal Revenue Service every year.

Once you choose to exclude your foreign earned income or housing amount, that choice remains in effect for that year and all later years unless you revoke it.

However, if the election is revoked, another election cannot be made until the 6th subsequent tax year, unless the IRS grants permission to reelect the exclusions.  For example, if a taxpayer in 2016 revokes the election to exclude FEI without the consent then he cannot make another election until 2022.  The regulations under Section 911 permit the election to revoked for any year, including the year it was originally elected.