SECTION 2. BACKGROUND — Internal Revenue Bulletin 2012-11

.01 Section 911(a) of the Code allows a “qualified individual,” as defined in section 911(d)(1), to exclude foreign earned income and housing cost amounts from gross income. Section 911(c)(4) of the Code allows a qualified individual to deduct housing cost amounts from gross income.

.02 Section 911(d)(1) of the Code defines the term “qualified individual” as an individual whose tax home is in a foreign country and who is (A) a citizen of the United States and establishes to the satisfaction of the Secretary of the Treasury that the individual has been a bona fide resident of a foreign country or countries for an uninterrupted period that includes an entire taxable year, or (B) a citizen or resident of the United States who, during any period of 12 consecutive months, is present in a foreign country or countries during at least 330 full days. .03 Section 911(d)(4) of the Code provides an exception to the eligibility requirements of section 911(d)(1). An individual will be treated as a qualified individual with respect to a period in which the individual was a bona fide resident of, or was present in, a foreign country, if the individual left the country during a period for which the Secretary of the Treasury, after consultation with the Secretary of State, determines that individuals were required to leave because of war, civil unrest, or similar adverse conditions that precluded the normal conduct of business. An individual must establish that but for those conditions the individual could reasonably have been expected to meet the eligibility requirements.

.04 For 2011, the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, has determined that war, civil unrest, or similar adverse conditions precluded the normal conduct of business in the following countries beginning on the specified date:

March 12, 2012 484 2012–11 I.R.B.

Date of Departure

Country On or after

Egypt February 1, 2011 Libya February 21, 2011 Syria April 25, 2011 Yemen May 25, 2011

file an amended return, should contact a local IRS Office or, for a taxpayer residing or traveling outside the United States, the nearest overseas IRS office.