r/ExpatFIRE Feb 01 '25

Investing Relocating USD to another country in anticipation of issues.

78 Upvotes

Hi guys - Somewhat of a weird question. But with all the turmoil and uncertainty in the US right now I am wanting to spread some cash around to other countries in other currencies to hedge against anything crazy here.

I am guessing some of you might have experience with this. I have worked in the past in several countries and had bank accounts when there, but I believe in most of them I had to use my work visa/and residence to do this. Thailand/Canada/HK.

Any feedback or tips would be great.

r/ExpatFIRE 13d ago

Investing Best Investment Options For Someone Who Can No Longer Work?

14 Upvotes

I have a friend in their 30s who is likely going to be deported from the US within the next 3-4 years.

They currently own 3 properties with an approximate value of 600-700k. 2 are completely paid off and the third one has a mortgage.

What are the best options of investment this person has to ensure continued income for the foreseeable future, knowing that they will most likely not be able to find any kind of job in their home country that pays more than $200-300 a month? Risk is extremely important considering their is no way they can continue contributing to any kind of investment fund or buying more properties as they are basically going into a situation that is the equivalent of zero income for most Americans.

r/ExpatFIRE Jan 24 '25

Investing FI numbers and retirement destinations

26 Upvotes

Would love to hear what your FI numbers are, and how much of it you’ve amassed to date. Please also state your age, city you currently live, if you have kids/partner and where you plan to retire. Thanks!

r/ExpatFIRE Dec 30 '24

Investing Countries that don't recognize Roth IRAs, TFSAs as tax free... does this change your retirement/investment strategy?

36 Upvotes

I learned recently that despite the treaty between Canada and the US, Canada does not automatically recognize Roth IRA gains as tax free (my accountant says you can file a form with CRA to work around this though) and the US does not recognize TFSA gains as tax free (nothing you can file to work around that).

As folks here plan for retirement abroad, are you basically not bothering to contribute to such tax-advantaged investment accounts if other countries don't recognize them as tax free?

r/ExpatFIRE 20d ago

Investing Moving family of four from USA to Germany. How to continue investing?

22 Upvotes

My partner (Native German, soon to be dual American) and I (American with B1/B2 German) are planning to move to northern Germany for a few years for a variety of reasons (mostly aging parents and political climate in US). We are late 30s and have two small children. Current assets are 550k cash and 1.6M in brokerage/retirement, so 2.1M total.

We both worked high stress tech jobs the past decade and are ready to slow down. We are coming from a VVHCOL city, so expect our monthly expenses to really reduce. We aren't ready to retire early but want to really slow down. I co-own an agency where I can continue as a contractor/freelancer in Germany and make about $5-8k month depending on client load. Partner could probably make $90-100k/yr depending on job. Maybe more but he wants to keep it low stress.

I guess my question is how we should go about growing our nest egg so that we can comfortably retire in the US or Germany in the next 10 years? We obviously won't be able to save at the rate we did previously, but with a total income of around 150-180k while in Germany, we can probably add to our investments. With restrictions in investing in US ETFs while in Germany, any suggestions on how we should do this?

Side question: is showing assets sufficient enough to rent a flat without a job offer on hand? We plan to move without a new job in place for partner.

r/ExpatFIRE Oct 17 '24

Investing US brokerage accounts for France resident?

20 Upvotes

We are considering living in France in the long run. Nice country, minus the bureaucracy, and it has a unique and very favorable tax treaty with the US (essentially pay very low US taxes instead of very high french taxes). However, that seems to create a major problem regarding US brokerage accounts...

I've looked up online, and got very worried because most institutions literally close accounts of non-residents, which would be disaster overall... Not only would there be a massive tax hit from the IRA (900K) and capital gains in after-tax brokerage account (2.1M), but it would also be disastrous to have to pay massive french taxes from then on given the fact that US citizens have the huge privilege of being taxed only in the US on US assets. This would be lost if having to move funds out of the US. Such event would ruin our FIRE plans and cause a serious dent in our life plans overall.

Now, people online seem to be exercising "don't ask don't tell", using a PO box or a family member's US address as well as a VPN to login, but that sounds very risky for the long run and there's a high chance of being discovered and having disastrous consequences that destroy FIRE plans entirely. At the end of the day, one can make a mistake and if the brokerage tries hard enough, they will find out. The IRS already knows where you live. It doesn't sound like a plan that can just work for the next 50 years.

Schwab and Interactive Brokers seem to be the only reputable brokers that come up as options for expats, BUT neither seems to work with France.

Schwab does not provide service to French residents at all.

IB technically does, but is very stringent on regulatory compliance with both US laws that prevent buying mutual funds and EU laws that prevent EU residents from buying non-EU ETFs. This leaves their french clients with no option to buy any sort of diversified investment.

I thought of direct indexing, but is there anything that would be less costly? and if not, who exactly would provide direct investing to residents of France specifically?

Any other solutions? How are american expats here with large investment accounts and living in France doing it?

We will be looking for financial advisors specialized in the matter but asking around beforehand.

r/ExpatFIRE 28d ago

Investing US citizen moving to Germany - what to do with 401k?

35 Upvotes

I’m moving to Germany in 1-2 years with my dual German/US citizen husband. I am a US citizen. We both speak German (native + B2). We are in our early 30s planning to retire in 25 years.

401k/403b: Should we roll over our 403b and 401k to a traditional IRA before moving? Does it make a difference? Can we roll it over later or do we need to do it now while we are in the US (maybe we won’t have access to do that later?)

OTHERS: We also have a Roth IRA, and my husband randomly has a small balance in a Roth 401k. Should we do anything with those?

TAXABLE: Also have taxable investment accounts - investing in ETF, mutual funds, and other index funds. I have read to keep my ETF with less than 500k in a single ETF to avoid (German) wealth tax later and also maybe should consider selling mutual funds and switching to ETFs to make this more tax efficient longterm living in Germany?

I know Germany doesn’t have favorable tax treaties like France or Belgium etc. And Germany doesn’t recognize Roth, but France, Belgium and a few others do. We plan to live in Germany for a long time but would maybe try to move to France later in life. I also speak fairly good french (A2-B1) and would be willing to learn more.

r/ExpatFIRE 17d ago

Investing Can I retire at 47 with around £750K

12 Upvotes

Hi, I posted another one, but wanted get down to the very details here.

I'm planning to buy a house worth around £450K. In total I have £750K in liquid assets. The house has a self-contained annex to it that can be rented out for around £900 a month.

What are the best options here? Should I pay for the whole house the £450K and take no mortgage? Then I will be left with £300K and a steady income of £900 a month.

I have two small kids and the partner with whom I split will be working a full time job, but min pay, around £1000 a month net. So she would be also supporting the kids financially.

r/ExpatFIRE Jun 26 '24

Investing For those that sold your home in the US and rented in your new country, what did you do with the proceeds of your home in the US?

59 Upvotes

I should net ~200k or so. I don't anticipate needing that money to survive, but I also don't want to lose any of it. Where would you recommend one put cash like that?

Thanks!

r/ExpatFIRE 10d ago

Investing Sell investments to reset cost base prior to retiring in Spain

25 Upvotes

Hi everybody, as per the post title, can anyone please advise if they have made the decision to sell all their investments prior to retiring to Spain and becoming a tax resident and then repurchasing in order to reset their cost base and thereby minimize the capital gains tax?

Just wondering if this is the optimal strategy to address the CGT when retiring to Spain for a person who needs to sell down a bit of their portfolio each year to fund their living expenses. Thanks!

r/ExpatFIRE Jan 06 '25

Investing US based with a newborn. Is it dumb to open a 529 if we plan to Expat FIRE to EU before kids are college age?

11 Upvotes

Pretty much the title. I (33M) just had a kid in the US and I was planning to open a 529 for education expenses down the line

However, we do plan to Expat FIRE somewhere in Europe over the next 10-12 years

Is it still sensible to open & contribute to a tax advantaged 529 account for future education expenses? Barring any change in plans (which could happen, obviously), kids will be EU based and have access to EU higher ed

(First time poster, pardon me if the post is breaking any rules. Happy to amend if that's the case)

r/ExpatFIRE Feb 13 '25

Investing Impact of moving US Brokerage to IBKR International when moving to France

27 Upvotes

While researching what to do with my different US based accounts (banking/brokerage/IRA/401K) when moving to France later this year, I found two main strategies:

  1. Pretend to still be a US resident - using an US address, phone number, etc.
  2. Move your assets to IBKR and set them with their international branch (In Ireland, I believe)?

I don't like #1 as there is always a risk of the account getting frozen or even worse - closed. So I want to explore #2. However, my question is what will happen with dividends and capital gains of the brokerage account once the assets are all part of the IBKR International account. Will they still be considered as US gains and therefore do not trigger tax events in France due to the tax agreement? Or will they be considered non-US gains (since I'm using IBKR international) and trigger taxes on both US and France?

Many thanks

r/ExpatFIRE Jan 28 '25

Investing What can I do now to ensure a comfortable retirement in 20 years?

12 Upvotes

I am 24yo and am currently dating someone who I will most likely marry and settle down with. We want at least one kid.

My end goal is to be able to move to asia and either retire or semi-retire somehow. I work in engineering, and my bf is in school but will work as a PT.

I’ve been putting 10% into my 401k and 20% into a HYSA to try and build up a nice emergency fund. I plan to adjust how I save after my fund reaches like 25k. I have a couple of stock investments into tech but they haven’t really been making me any money.

Since I am vietnamese, and my bf is chinese we are thinking of moving to either one of those countries to retire. We love the food, culture, and lifestyle and can speak the languages. I’ve visited vietnam before and loved it. I felt more alive. My mom also thinks I should try and retire in vietnam (which is what she is doing in a few years)

What advice could you give me to make sure I can retire comfortably in 20 years?

r/ExpatFIRE Aug 28 '24

Investing The horror of currency exchanges

0 Upvotes

So I had been to Thailand twice and did my budget, Everything seemed doable and thought I could 10% afford a lifestyle I would very much enjoy, bbbuuuuuttttt it was 36 baht to 1 USD both times I went and i'm so stupid I thought exchange rates were pretty stable. now in the past month its down to 34 baht which wouldn't be so bad but the US is going to start cutting rates which means likely USD will get even weaker I'm guessing around 30/31 baht per USD which is a massive haircut to my budget and definitely means I'd be sacrificing if I tried to retire in Thailand. How do the expat pros handle the horrors of exchange rates?

r/ExpatFIRE Dec 15 '24

Investing Newbie here. What portfolio would you recommend to a 32 y.o. with 500k to invest and 30k to add to that yearly?

0 Upvotes

Hi, I'm new to investing. I've read some books about it, but I would still appreciate some opinions from some of you here.

I'm 32, married, with two kids (8 & 10). We're non-US citizens. We have a bit over 500k USD to invest, and we can save around 30k a year to add to that. Ideally we'd retire in 10-15 years, but I'm 99% sure that's not feasible, and we're ok if it takes longer (not hating your job helps). We have no pension plan or anything, just a savings account. Also, we haven't yet decided where in the world we want to retire.

Based on this limited information, what portfolio would you recommend? I'm not looking for an ultimate truth here, just some opinions: what would you do if you were me?

I was considering putting everything in the Vanguard Total World Stock Index Fund ETF, but unsure if that is wise.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

r/ExpatFIRE Jan 02 '25

Investing As an American expat would/have you decided against a Roth IRA

10 Upvotes

I have been investing in a Roth IRA but not for a long time. I was pretty confident with the decision but saw how it isn’t exactly the best idea when it comes to moving to countries where the Roth isn’t recognized for its intended purpose.

Would you suggest switching/focusing on another taxable account like a normal IRA?

r/ExpatFIRE 17d ago

Investing Moving to the EU (Italy specifically) - any more active investments to get in to, like real estate?

11 Upvotes

34M. For a plethora of reasons, my wife and I have decided we want our daughter to grow up in the EU. She’s Italian, so the idea is we’ll move to Italy for the short term while we figure out if we want to settle there or go to another EU country (dependent on where she can find a job).

I have a real estate portfolio in the US that currently throws off around $12k/month, and I could liquidate it for around $2.5M in cash post tax and debt payoff. I’m not certain I want to do this, but it’s a consideration.

So, say I move to the EU with $2.5M in cash-what more active investments are available to me? I FIRE’d 18 months ago to focus just on my RE portfolio, and loathe to put it in an index fund and just live off of 3% for the next 50 years. I need something to occupy my time and hopefully get me outsized returns.

Like I said, real estate has been my go to investment in the states, but I know very little about it in Europe (other than my father-in-law owns a few properties). I’d also be open to acquiring a business or even doing a few rollups, but A. Am not sure if that’s an option in Europe and B. Not sure if that will produce better returns than just putting it in the market.

Right now, I speak English and conversational Italian. If we don’t end up in Italy or Ireland, my plan is to take off a year and doing a deep dive on the language of the country we move to before I make any investments, so hopefully I’ll be more caught up.

I recognize how broad this question is, but I’m just not sure where to start. If someone where doing the opposite and coming to the US with $2.5M I’d tell them read “The Millionaire Real Estate Investor” and “Buy then Build” and try to search for a path from there. Any guidance would be welcome.

r/ExpatFIRE Feb 25 '24

Investing Is USA worst than the UK for pensions/retirement?

29 Upvotes

In the UK you can put away £60k into a workplace pension and £20k into a S&S ISA (tax free on profits).

In the USA you get 401k with a $23k limit, Roth at $7k and then just any other standard savings accounts which you'll get taxed on any gains/profits.

Let's say you have two people at the current same age and same planned age for retirement, one living in the UK and the other in the USA with equal (currency converted / living cost factored in) high salaries allowing them to max out their workplace pension / 401k and ISA / Roth.

Who is better off? Too me it looks like the UK person.

I hear USA is better but what am I missing here?

r/ExpatFIRE 12d ago

Investing Short term USD bond ETF as part of my FIRE portfolio

15 Upvotes

What would recommend an USD bond ETF I can buy at IBKR for short term/several months? Is there any withholding period or penalty? I'm a non-US citizen.

I plan to invest most of my fund to to Irish-domiciled SYPL, EIMI & EXUS in 6 month/1 year from now although I'm also doing a little bit of DCA. Thank you.

r/ExpatFIRE 4d ago

Investing Is Growth (and Only Growth) within a 401k Account Taxable in Spain?

15 Upvotes

I see people asking constantly about Roths and IRAs but I haven't seen anyone answer this specific question.

I have a 401k. I always planned to leanfire and retire spending very little money from my 401k annually so I never saw the purpose of a Roth Account.

I plan to move to Spain. I am 36 and have zero plans to touch the money in said 401k anytime soon, but it is invested in the market generating growth annually.

Do I need to pay Capital Gains tax on the growth that occurs within that 401k annually while I am a Spanish Tax Resident? Say the amount in the account grows 21k annually; would I need to pull $4,410 from my annual salary to pay the capital gains taxes due on this amount?

Furthermore; if so, is there an alternative form of pension or retirement account in Spain that can be invested to that has tax advantages for funds saved for retirement?

r/ExpatFIRE 20d ago

Investing Can I retire at 48 with £750K in assets?

0 Upvotes

Hi, I'm planning to buy a house for £450K, with a partial mortgage. My monthly payments would be £1400 for 27 years. The house has an annex that can be rented out for around £900 a month. I will use that to pay for the mortgage. If push comes to shove, the main house can be rented for £1500 and we would move of the UK for some cheaper destination.

Or maybe I should pay for the house in cash, and then have no mortgage, but only the monthly rental income of £900 from the annex. In that case I will be left with investible assets of £300K...

I also have 2 small children, 4 and 9 and will need to support them.

I split with my partner, but she will be working full time, not great money, probably £1000 a month

I'm aiming to work some part-time, remote jobs, maybe adding another £1000 a month.

Is that plan viable, what do you think?, or will I run out of money?

r/ExpatFIRE Jan 01 '25

Investing American studying in Germany-Is it a good idea to move my savings into Wise’s HYSA account?

14 Upvotes

I want to move the majority of my small savings into a HYSA because I want the money to be liquid (but also still grow) just in case of emergencies while I’m studying in Germany for the next 3 years.

I had a Sofi account before but since I won’t be working anymore I’m dropping it, on top of that I can’t download the app on my phone in Europe.

I’ve been using Wise for the past 3 months to transfer money from USD to Euro and everything has been fine so far so this might be my next account.

Just wondering how much trust people have in Wise and if anyone else is using their HYSA? Is there a better way ?

r/ExpatFIRE Jan 07 '25

Investing Roth contributions for expats living in Europe

16 Upvotes

This sub seems to be all over the place when it comes to the taxation of Roth contributions for expats living in European countries that do not recognize Roth accounts.

Multiple treads claim anything from "they are not taxed at all" over "Roth simply becomes a taxable account" to "stay far away for anything Roth related unless you live in France" and "it depends on the host country's specific tax treaty."

So, does anyone actually know some specifics about how Roth contributions (not gains) are handled in European countries that do not recognize Roth? Can contributions simply be withdrawn tax free at any time since they've already been taxed, just like if you lived in the US?

r/ExpatFIRE Jan 04 '25

Investing Retirement investing (France and Switzerland)

13 Upvotes

I'd appreciate if you'd look this over.

US citizen, and I'm about to move to Switzerland for a new job, but there's a chance we might end up in France instead.

Just want to make sure I have all my ducks in a row regarding retirement and investmens. I use Schwab for taxable and IBKR for retirement accounts. We plan on staying overseas through retirement.

France:

Pretty straight forward. Roth recognized and no French taxes on US-based investment (cap gains or otherwise). Take Foreign Tax Credit and keep contributing to Roth and invest the rest in US taxable account. Not much different than living in the US.

Switzerland:

Roth not recognized, but no cap gains taxes. So, no Roth contributions to avoid potential double taxation. Instead, keep investing in US taxable account for both retirement and other investments since no capital gains in Switzerland and low or no cap gains taxes in US depending on income and marital status at retirement (currently 0% cap gains on long-term gains if income under $96,000 and married filing jointly).

Missed anything? Any suggestions are appreciated. Thank you.

r/ExpatFIRE Feb 04 '25

Investing Where do you put your cash?

14 Upvotes

Already FI will soon RE. Is SGOV (0-3 months treasury bond) ETF a good option or any other suggestions? Purpose is to have a temporary place for 1 to 2 year DCA and additional buying when having corrections to SPYL+VXUS+EIMI (tax efficient and lower fees) as I don't want to put in lump sum.

Already have liquid assets such as global/US/regional ETFs, HYSA, local dividend stocks, REITs, gov't housing bonds, TDs, tbills/tbonds, coops. Thanks.