4 ms·

In general these treaties protect foreign nationals living in the US from double taxation much more than US citizens living abroad. Also, I hope you're in one o

In general these treaties protect foreign nationals living in the US from double taxation much more than US citizens living abroad. Also, I hope you're in one of the 70ish countries that has treaties! Because if not you could be looking at a 65-90% tax rate on any income over roughly 100k depending on the place. Also, even in countries with a treaty, it doesn't always prevent double taxation of both income and capital gains. For example, the Obamacare surcharge on investment income of 3.8% isn't eligible for any foreign tax credits...and it's not like any expat could even take advantage of Obamacare if they wanted to. Hell, I had trouble trying to take advantage of an Obamacare plan when I just moved to a different state. This also doesn't include the added cost of the accountant needed to prepare expat taxes, which can easily run $4k-8k for foreign accountants who know the US system and understand the specific rules of their treaty.

rahimnathwani 8y ago
"Also, I hope you're in one of the 70ish countries that has treaties! Because if not you could be looking at a 65-90% tax rate on any income over roughly 100k depending on the place." My understanding is that US Citizens living outside the US can claim the Foreign Tax Credit, and that this doesn't require a tax treaty between the US and the country of residence. The IRS guidance on the subject doesn't (as far as I have read) specify that a tax treaty must exist, for the FTC to apply. Any pointers to more info? (Regarding your last issue about the need for an accountant, due to the complexity of the US tax system: that's a good point but orthogonal to the worldwide tax and double taxation issues.)
- cascom 8y ago
  This is an advocacy group for Americans living abroad that has a bunch resources. https://www.americansabroad.org/about/ https://www.americansabroad.org/about/

rahimnathwani 8y ago

"Also, I hope you're in one of the 70ish countries that has treaties! Because if not you could be looking at a 65-90% tax rate on any income over roughly 100k depending on the place." My understanding is that US Citizens living outside the US can claim the Foreign Tax Credit, and that this doesn't require a tax treaty between the US and the country of residence. The IRS guidance on the subject doesn't (as far as I have read) specify that a tax treaty must exist, for the FTC to apply. Any pointers to more info? (Regarding your last issue about the need for an accountant, due to the complexity of the US tax system: that's a good point but orthogonal to the worldwide tax and double taxation issues.)

cascom 8y ago
This is an advocacy group for Americans living abroad that has a bunch resources. https://www.americansabroad.org/about/ https://www.americansabroad.org/about/