One of the challenges for US expats involves taxes. You see, good old Uncle Sam taxes its citizens and green-card holders on worldwide income. Yes, if you structure your financial life properly you can get an exemption for earnings abroad, up to $102,100 for an individual in 2017. But you still have to file with the IRS every year, and you have to submit special forms to get your foreign … [Read more...]
How Filing my Expat Taxes Changed from a Nightmare to a Dream
I wrote this article back in 2013, and I've happily used Expatriate Tax Returns every year since - until now. FWIW, I plan to go back to them next year. I'll explain what happened in another article. This year, for the first time in a couple of decades, I hired someone to prepare my tax return. I've done it myself for years, using TurboTax. This year, though, it got out of hand. Rather than … [Read more...]
How to Travel the World (and not Pay Rent!)
In 2008, Eden and Denny owned two businesses in the US. One was an ice cream shop they opened in September. Talk about bad timing! Today, they live all over the world -- with no housing expenses. I talked with Eden recently, via Skype, about their nomadic lifestyle. The Downsize Their adventures started in 2012, when they sold the ice cream shop. They had spent several years downsizing … [Read more...]
Readers Ask: How do you find a Rental Home in Las Tablas, Panama?
One of the questions I'm seeing most often these days has to do with finding a place to live in Panama -- specifically in Las Tablas. We've had the pleasure of meeting several couples recently who are thinking of moving to Las Tablas, but finding a place to live here seems like a daunting task. Here's a fairly typical email: We are very excited to come to Las Tablas to look for our future … [Read more...]
Adventures in International Real Estate Closings
It's been a busy couple of weeks for Future Expat. When we came to Las Tablas, Panama, we had sold all our household goods. Because the real estate market was still terrible, we opted to rent out our Florida house. A year later, the market had picked up and it seemed like a good time to sell. So we put the house on the market and within 10 days we had multiple offers. We accepted the one … [Read more...]
Mark Your Calendar…Check It Twice! The Taxman is Coming
Guest Post from expat CPA Diane Siriani The US tax laws for expats are complex and it does not appear that things are going to get easier any time soon. Since we get so many questions regarding what is due when, we thought that this reference chart might be helpful to those of you who are interested in being on time, every time. April 15: 1st “on time” payment date for … [Read more...]
Pensions, British Expats and QROPS
Guest Post by Mike Foster After the recent article for US taxpayers, I thought it was only fair to include some financial information for UK expats. Expats dream of enjoying their time abroad, whether it's a short work assignment or a long-term move to retire. I often refer back to my first move, Tokyo Japan. First I sorted out my flights to get there, accommodation and even started to go … [Read more...]
Three Ways to Retire Overseas
There are as many different ways to expatriate or retire overseas as there are expats. You can live full time in your new country abroad divide your time between your home country and overseas country travel all the time I know people from each category, and each style has its pros and cons. Part-Time Expats Certainly the easiest way to enjoy life abroad is to keep one foot firmly … [Read more...]
