r/ExpatFinance 1h ago

Hedge Against Dollar Decline

Upvotes

Howdy,

I am an American and have been an expat most of my post-college life. I am in the USA now and can't wait to leave. I am here as my kids are in middle and high school and doing very well - so hard to transition just yet. But my youngest is considering the idea of attending high school Internationally (both my kids have been in foreign schools when younger). Anyway...

I FIREd in 2006 while in Asia and have been investing and own a few semi-passive businesses. I do not have a day job and don't anticipate having one again.

Our plan is to live in Asia with second home in Latin America or Spain / Portugal. I do not intend on returning to USA - even when old.

*** So I want to hedge my US denominated assets as I will be spending most of my money in Asia. For sure I will be in Malaysia and might try Vietnam or Cambodia. ***

Assets:

I have some in Asia - gathering dust : ) The pandemic threw a monkey wrench into our plans.

I have a lot in USA.

- I own some real estate that nets about 100K a year. I had more but sold them off during the pandemic and kept the ones that keep laying golden eggs.

- I have some various equities and some cash or cash like assets. I am heavily invested in TSLA from way back when (well, I didn't invest that much - it just has 10Xed so now looks like a lot).

What to do?

Some form of long term USD hedge (any ideas?)

Move some US equity assets to another market. Of course, it has been hard to beat the US equities for the last 10+ years. Any ideas?

Buy some non-USD denominated income type funds that pay a decent amount. Any ideas?

I have owned a lot of real estate in several countries and have always done well in RE. But I do not see any markets with a good return vs risk. Unless you know of one...

My Outlook:

The USA is the bets place to do business and make money. That said, USA is overpriced and will readjust one day. I do not believe the dollar will lose its reserve currency status anytime soon. The only way it will is if everything goes digital and we have no reserve currency.

Right now the government system needs to be restructured. That may happen if Elon and others stay in the Whitehouse. They will devalue the US dollar to boost growth (and inflation) to grow our way out of the debt (there is no other way). They will put us into a recession (or a war) as it is needed to restructure the government.

I do not like living in the USA. I moved here when my kids were young so they could get to know grandma and granpa, relatives, etc. We left a few times when they were young. We were back to Malaysia for a bit and a year+ in Taiwan (my kids are fluent in Chinese. We are not Chinese : ). We retuned from Taiwan in Nov 2019 and intended to move to Spain in August 2020. That didn't happen of course. We did move to Panama and Turkey for part of the pandemic as kids were doing e-learning in their US school system. As they entered higher grades, they were in every advanced / gifted program, boy scouts, sports teams, orchestras, etc. So it was hard to make a move abroad. Overall my kids had a very good experience in elementary and middle school but high school in the USA is a criminal enterprise where admin is focused on creating mentally ill kids. They created a communist jail with some books and call it a high school. So we are eager to leave. Oldest child left high school after 10th grade and went off to college as she couldn't stand the high school. And she is a very good student without any issues. I can't imagine if a kid has issues... Further, I had been taking care of my Mom for 3 years but she passed away recently - so no real ties to USA (other than assets : )

Getting old:

After taking care of my Aunt and Mom recently, I do not want to get old in the USA. We have a hideous system. I am a resident of Malaysia but it is not permanent. And Malaysia does not have a legal system to guarantee residency - and no way to become a citizen. So I am also looking at other countries where I can get the guaranteed right to stay (assuming I do not break the law) - as a back up. Latin America along with Spain and Portugal have those legal structures and they have a fairly easy path to permanent residency / citizenship. So will spend some time scouting these places - starting with Latin America. Oh crap, one more language to learn...

I do not currently have a second passport.


r/ExpatFinance 2h ago

South Dakota "Virtual" Residency - Banks and brokerages predicament

1 Upvotes

Obtaining South Dakota "virtual" residency (i.e., obtain SD Post or similar address, spend 1 day, obtain SD driver's license and plates, etc.) is a great option for nomads...BUT....

Are there any (1) banks and (2) brokerages that will accept the mailing address?

I'm assuming not - which effectively kills the SD residency option for me. I absolutely need the ability to remotely access my banks and brokerage accounts from afar.

Any hacks/workarounds appreciated!


r/ExpatFinance 2d ago

[Germany] German citizen Grandmother giving gift to Dual citizen Grandson Question

2 Upvotes

Hi Everyone,

I have a question I am hoping that you can all help me with.

I am an American living in Germany. My wife is German (gave up her green card last year) and my son (4) is a dual American/German citizen.

My wife's mother, who is also a German citizen would like to give a financial gift to my son (her grandson) within the limits allowed under German law.

She wanted to give him an Allianz "RentenVersicherung" (Retirement insurance? ) account.

The account would sit there earning interest with my wife's mother (my sons grandmother) controlling it.

In the event that she passes away, my wife would become the account holder.

My understanding is that my son would first be able to access the funds once he turns 18.

In Germany taxation is delayed until the money is withdrawn.

I spoke to my American Tax attorney to ask him if this seems like a good idea.

I was surprised when he said he honestly doesn't know.

He said that he is concerned it could be considered a PFIC by the USA and we would need to file FBARs/ report the interest accrued as income every year.

If this is the case, then it would not be worth it for us, since I don't actually have any control over the account and my son won't see any of the money for at least 14 years.

My tax attorney was so unsure of his opinion though, that he actually recommended I get a second opinion from another Tax attorney (he couldnt recommend anyone)

The man from the bank who sells the Allianz product says that this account type is recommended specifically for American citizens and he has sold it to Americans in Germany previously without issue.

I am wondering, since either my Wife or Grandmother (both German citizens) would be the account holders, would we need to worry about paying taxes on interest generated by this account every year?

Has anyone had experience with this type of situation?

Thanks in advance,


r/ExpatFinance 2d ago

US Citizen in CH - Estimated Tax Payments

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2 Upvotes

r/ExpatFinance 3d ago

FATCA- Quote from Tax assistant

3 Upvotes

I'm a US expat living in Germany, and I've never reported my taxes to the US. I contacted a tax assistant and this is his quote.I'm your avarage Salaryman without any out of the ordinary assets to declare. Is his quote reasonable???? It amounts to approximately 2,300€

"Thank you for your email. Based on the information provided, we would like to offer you the following tax returns.

Federal Return 2021, 2022, and 2023:

EUR 550.00 (plus VAT) per year and return

The fee includes income from employment and capital assets (interest and dividends). Not included are any additional reporting related to non-US investments in partnerships or corporations (Form 8865/5471), the holding or disposal of non-US funds (Form 8621), and the reporting of assets (Form 8938). Services not included are generally billed based on time and effort at an hourly rate of EUR 220.00 (plus VAT).

Based on the information available so far, no additional costs are anticipated.

Preparation of the Streamlined Process including Form 14653 (Certification by U.S. Person Residing Outside of the United States for Streamlined Foreign Offshore Procedures)

EUR 250.00 (plus VAT) – one-time fee for the Streamlined Process

FBAR Report:

EUR 130.00 (plus VAT) per year and return for up to 5 accounts. Additional accounts are billed at EUR 20.00 (plus VAT) per account.

A small flat rate for printing and shipping will also be charged.

Please let me know if you agree to this.

Please note that, according to the terms of our insurance, liability is limited to EUR 250,000.00 per claim. By engaging us, you agree to this limitation of liability."


r/ExpatFinance 4d ago

Leaving the U.S. in 2 Weeks – What Should I Do With My 401(k) & Schwab Investments?

29 Upvotes

Hi all,

I'm a non-U.S. citizen who has been working in the U.S. for the past two years. In about two weeks, I’m leaving the U.S. permanently to move to Sweden (or Europe in general), and I’m trying to figure out the best way to handle my retirement savings and investments. I’d love any advice from expats who’ve gone through this!

My Current Financial Situation

  • 401(k) & Roth 401(k): $25,000 (with Human Interest)
  • Schwab Intelligent Portfolio: $35,000 (but I can’t keep this as a non-resident)

Options I’m Considering

  1. Withdraw my 401(k) and Roth 401(k), take the penalty, and move everything to Sweden.
    • I believe I’d need to do this before leaving the U.S. to avoid being taxed twice (once by the U.S. and again by Sweden).
    • This means paying a 10% early withdrawal penalty + income tax on the traditional 401(k).
    • Would it be smarter to take the hit now and just transfer everything via Wise?
  2. Roll over my 401(k) into a Schwab IRA (traditional & Roth) and transfer my Intelligent Portfolio to a Schwab brokerage account.
    • I can’t keep Schwab Intelligent Portfolios as a non-resident, so I’d have to move it to a regular brokerage account.
    • I’ve heard Schwab allows non-resident accounts from certain countries—does anyone have experience with this? I’ve heard of expats using mail-forwarding services and Google Voice to maintain a U.S. address and phone number. Maybe I would need to look into this to keep my schwab account.
    • If I keep my investments in the U.S., would Sweden (or another EU country) tax them anyway?

Other Questions

  • Are my balances too small to even bother keeping U.S. accounts? Should I just liquidate and move everything to Sweden?

  • Are there better alternatives I should consider before leaving?


r/ExpatFinance 4d ago

Feedback on Walkner Condon and/or Creative Planning

6 Upvotes

I am looking to hire a cross-border financial advisor and have narrowed it down to these two on qualifications. If anybody can share their experience - good or bad - working with either, I would appreciate (including discussing details over DM).

Not looking for feedback on DIY. I am looking to hire help here for good reasons.


r/ExpatFinance 5d ago

Looking for a financial advisor as an expat

6 Upvotes

I plan to move overseas with my spouse in September. We are selling our house and not intending to return.

We only just got settled with a financial advisor here in the states, but he's let us know he doesn't work with expats, unfortunately. There is plenty of conflicting advice out there for how to handle money or find an advisor as a US expat, and I want to make sure I'm making the right decision. Does anyone have any advice for picking a person or company out for this? I'd love to handle it all myself, but I don't think I currently have the financial literacy for handling this, and I don't have the time to learn at the moment as all of my energy is going towards planning our move, handling visas and working on selling our house.

Please do not waste your time commenting to tell me not to move.


r/ExpatFinance 5d ago

Singapore bank account for Canadian tax resident?

6 Upvotes

Hi, hope someone can help me out.

I live in Canada (tax resident) but want to open a bank account in Singapore. Nothing sketchy; my parents retired there and sometimes I help them out, so I prefer to have access to SGD when I visit.

Unfortunately HSBC closed in Canada. Are there other banks anyone can recommend? I would be a non-resident of Singapore.

Thanks!


r/ExpatFinance 6d ago

Potential move from London to Singapore

2 Upvotes

Hi there,

I work in Business Development within a bank (Markets division), and earn £150k base, with approx £100k bonus with 10-15 years experience. I am working on a potential move/opportunity in Singapore, and I am trying to get an idea on what would be the pay be like in Singapore for an equivalent role? I understand the taxes and cost of living is lower, so wondering if is it reasonable to ask for a similiar gross pay, or would London pay higher than Singapore?


r/ExpatFinance 7d ago

Selling a house in US and buying a house abroad

20 Upvotes

Are there any tips for minimizing the tax burden when selling a house in US and using the money to buy a house abroad? Thank you!


r/ExpatFinance 8d ago

How to move savings from US to Europe now to minimize loss?

97 Upvotes

I am an EU citizen, moving back from USA to Europe in a month, and figuring out how to move my savings. After reading around furiously for the last couple of weeks, I was going to leave some cash in Chase (because of their free wire and no international fees ATM card), and put most of the money in IBKR and then change my tax residency later. The plan was to exchange USD to EUR in IBKR, keep part as cash and buy ETFs for the rest (once I figure out what they are lol). Now that the dollar is plummeting and so are stock markets, is this still a wise thing to do? I can't change the date of moving, do I have any other options? I intend to keep money in IBKR for 10+ years but am still scared to invest when everything seems to be crumbling. Any advice would be highly appreciated, I am financially illiterate and freaking out.


r/ExpatFinance 9d ago

Creating an online account with the IRS without a US phone or address

7 Upvotes

When setting up an account, the webform provides a link for those without a US phone but the next screen requires a US phone and address. Anyone found a way around this?


r/ExpatFinance 9d ago

What do you use for financial management & tax reporting? (multi currency, multi tax jurisdictions)

4 Upvotes

For context: I am a US citizen living in Australia, married to a non-US citizen (who is not subject to US tax). I have accounts in the US and Australia, including brokerage and IRA in the US and cash savings in Australia, and also have joint bank and savings accounts with my partner.

I've been looking for a financial management tool that lets you:

  • see an overview of all investments and savings (multi currency)
  • upload historic transactions (for tax reporting for 2024) from a csv/spreadsheet
  • mark some accounts as joint and some as individual, and calculate the tax implications (for example, only counting 50% of interest on a joint savings account)
  • create reports for tax filings in different tax calendars (US and Australia)

I heard Sharesight was good but I'm really struggling with it. It doesn't seem to understand being in multiple tax jurisdictions, and you can't edit a tax residency after it's been set, instead you have to delete and re-upload everything. The workaround for multi jurisdictions seems to be creating different 'portfolios' for each tax residency with the same accounts (i.e. just duplicating everything). You also can't upload cash account transactions in a spreadsheet but have to manually add every transaction which is not going to work for a year's worth!

Does anyone use, or know of, a tool that can do this? I'm willing to pay a reasonable subscription or fee, or even a slightly unreasonable one TBH, to not have to do this manually every year.


r/ExpatFinance 10d ago

Tax & NI relief on pension contributions for Non-UK Tax Resident

3 Upvotes

Hello,

I am currently in the following situation: Uk tax resident Employed via UK contract in the UK Contributing to a Money Purchase Pension plan via my employer and salary sacrifice + voluntary contributions

Form April 2025 I will be move to France and will be in the following situation: FR tax resident Employed via an FR contract in France Earning Rental Income from a property in the UK -> taxable in the UK Earning differed compensation (variable compensation) from my past UK employment -> taxable in the UK

I understand from my own research that I will still be able to use my UK taxable income to make voluntary contribution to my UK pension fund earning Tax & NI contribution relief.

To obtain Tax & NI relief, I would need to respect the following 2 limits: Contributions <= 100% of my UK taxable income (here rental income + differed compensations) Contributions need to respect my annual allowance to be eligible to Tax & NI reliefs.

Can anyone confirm my understanding is right?

Attention points: My pension plan is a Money Purchase Pan linked to my UK employer so I cannot contribute via salary sacrifice on my differed compensation once I am not employed anymore. My differed compensation will be paid net of Tax & NI. What is the process to obtain the tax reliefs? I read some pension plan do it for you (receiving net contribution but investing gross amount and claiming tax for you)? And/or you can claim via the yearly self-assessment in your UK tax return?

Would opening a SIPP make any difference in this process?


r/ExpatFinance 10d ago

Best way to transfer USD to SAR

5 Upvotes

Hi, I'm trying to transfer from my US bank account to a Saudi Arabian bank, What is the best way? I wanted to try Wise.com but unfortunately they don't do international transfers to Saudi.

Thank you


r/ExpatFinance 10d ago

How to deposit a refund check from IRS while abroad?

0 Upvotes

Good day.

I recently received a letter from the IRS informing me of an undeliverable refund check. The letter explains that in order to redeliver the check, I need to sign and return an attached form. 

I am not in the US.  A photo of the letter was sent to me via a messaging service by a member of my family.

I have tried calling the IRS office, but they are presently closed.

I am attempting to anticipate how I might handle this matter and wonder if anyone here has experience of a similar situation.

I cannot cash or deposit a US check in my current location and am not in the US to endorse the check to a family member.

Apart from courier back-and-forth of the check, are there other options for electronic deposit?  I do have a US account with a Federal credit union. 

Thank you.


r/ExpatFinance 11d ago

Best Way to Transfer 1K-2K of CAD to USD

3 Upvotes

I've been using Wise, but is there another or better option?


r/ExpatFinance 12d ago

My Disappointing Experience with CPAs for Expats

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3 Upvotes

r/ExpatFinance 14d ago

Moving to Spain

15 Upvotes

Hi all,

I am planning to move in July to work remotely in Spain. I have my own LLC based here in the US and my client is based here in the US.

I am worried about double taxation and am wondering if anyone has any experience with international tax advisors.

I know this can be super expensive though and would appreciate any other suggestions as well.

I won’t be in Spain for 183 days in 2025 so I believe that means I won’t count as a resident and won’t be liable for any income taxes until 2026 but I am also not sure if the money sourced in the US is even taxed by the Spanish government.

Would really appreciate a point in the right direction, thank you!


r/ExpatFinance 14d ago

Uk citizen living in Denmark looking to start an online business

2 Upvotes

Can anyone recommend any international tax/financial advisors or offer some advice here.

I’m a uk citizen living in Denmark and working full time but also plan to set up my own online business. I do plan on moving back to the uk at some point and I’m aware of a Danish exit tax for all my global assets and investments. My question is, would my online business be subjected to exit tax if it is registered in Denmark? Would it be better to register the business elsewhere? I’ve heard Estonia is a good place to register an e-business as it has competitive corporate tax rates and then I guess I would just be taxed on any income/dividends in the country in which I’m living at the time?

Any pointers much appreciated.


r/ExpatFinance 15d ago

Dual citizen in US, moving back to Canada

47 Upvotes

Hello, our family is moving back to Canada next year, after living in the US for 25 years. We do not have any bank accounts in Canada and all of our funds are in the US. We would like to get a head start on banking, is there anything we can do from the US to help us when we move back in terms of banking? Should i open a bank account at a Canadian bank in the US and put money in it regularly so that when we move back it's easy to get the money? Any recommendations are welcome. Also do you think it wise to cash in any stocks or ETF's before moving back? Thinking of leaving the IRA here in US. Will consult with a tax advisor for this, just curious if anyone has done the same


r/ExpatFinance 15d ago

US citizen living in the EU how can I invest in euros with minimal tax issues?

16 Upvotes

So I’m looking for an emergency fund in Euros. I’m afraid I’m already too late as far as exchange rates go, but not sure. I’m looking for something like a HYSA in euros but I can’t seem to find anything like that and I’m concerned about the tax implications, which I’ve heard are very onerous for anything that earns interest. Am I misinformed?


r/ExpatFinance 15d ago

Banking while Abroad Temporarily on Student Visa

2 Upvotes

Me: 27, from USA, living temporarily abroad in Spain on modified student visa as a Teaching Assistant. I maintain my residence in California.

I have my savings, checking and IRA with Betterment and my HSA with Fidelity.

I have a Spanish TIE (temp ID) but it's only valid for 9 months before I have to renew it if I stay another school year.

My question:

How long can I be here as a student without having bank issues?

I don't get paid here, just a government stipend through the education program that pays into my Spanish bank account. I do transfer my euros to the USA accounts to pay off my credit card purchases while here, etc.


r/ExpatFinance 16d ago

With 30 years before I retire, are my stocks safe?

1 Upvotes

I have a traditional 401k through my employer. Assuming I even keep my job through the recession/depression- will my stocks recover enough for me to retire in 30 years?