Tax time

It seems strange to refer to June as tax time, but I've managed to procrastinate both our US and Swiss taxes. Until now, that is. I hate to complain about taxes because I'm certainly not anti-tax and believe in paying my fair share. Heck, in a sick way I've almost enjoyed doing taxes in the past (if for no other reason that it's always fun to get a refund). We've always been spoiled (in a way) in the sense that we never really had complicated finances--buying a house and contributing to charity was about as fancy as it got. Not that our financial situation is that much different here, but all of a sudden I have to know about things like foreign earned income exclusions, bona fide residence tests, MACRS depreciation, property changed to rental use, etc. I have the distinct pleasure of trying to make sense of things like this from the IRS Tax Guide for U.S. Citizens and Resident Aliens Abroad (which I highly recommend if you're trying to overcome insomnia):

You are not considered to have a tax home in a foreign country for any period in which your abode is in the United States. However, your abode is not necessarily in the United States while you are temporarily in the United States. Your abode is also not necessarily in the United States merely because you maintain a dwelling in the United States, whether or not your spouse or dependents use the dwelling. "Abode" has been variously defined as one's home, habitation, residence, domicile, or place of dwelling. It does not mean your principal place of business. "Abode" has a domestic rather than a vocational meaning and does not mean the same as "tax home."

WTF?!?! Of course I'm too stubborn to hire someone to figure this stuff out, and Gretchen breaks out in hives if she looks at a tax form for longer than 3 seconds. Even using tax software, I feel like I just went straight from basic algebra to quantum physics. And as hard as it is to figure out our US taxes, I don't even want to think about our Swiss taxes, which are of course in German...