USA Taxes when Living Abroad in a Tax Treaty Country (E.G.: Canada?)

[Alan]

I have been following the progress of the TFFAAA and really hope that it actually passes into law. It won’t apply to us because of all our US income and investments but will make life a whole lot easier and less expensive for many thousands, including our son.

He has no US income and like 90% of UK tax payers does not even have to file UK taxes as it is taxed at source using PAYE. However, as a dual citizen he has to file a US tax return every year and although he excludes his foreign earnings he is still subject to US tax on passive income such as interest. As a US citizen he cannot invest in stock funds in the UK, plus other restrictions including adding more than the company match to the UK equivalent of a 401k otherwise it becomes a foreign grantor trust. Even the UK tax free accounts such as Cash ISA’s are still taxed by the IRS. He also has to file FBAR reports every year as a USC living abroad.

[theOAP]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alan There are as many situations as there are different levels and sources/types of income and the need and use of healthcare.

I very much support this statement.

Since the subject is tax and healthcare, I can offer some additional examples which I am familiar with. For the first example, it matters not where the funds come from but is an example of tax rates once taxable income in the UK has been determined.

Person A is a UK resident. Their taxable UK income for 2017 (after deducting the UK personal allowance) was £37,000 ($47,000). Their HMRC income tax on that amount for 2017 was £7,900 ($10,000). Therefore the income tax on $47,000 was 21%. That leaves an after tax disposable income of £29,100 ($37,000). Most purchases made with that remaining £29,100 will have an additional UK National VAT rate (sales tax) of 20% added to the purchase price.

In addition to National Health in the UK, one may also purchase private insurance if they wish.

Person B had private insurance through their employer. in 1997 they underwent a cancer operation and chemotherapy at the UKs' leading private cancer hospital in London. They were in hospital for 4 days. They paid nothing, the insurance covered all.

In October of this year (21 years later), cancer was again discovered. Person B is now retired, but continues to have private insurance through a group policy with that previous employer. 8 days after the cancer was discovered, all tests and scans had been made and Person B was operated on in the same London hospital. The operation uncovered additional concerns (stage 2b) and Person B was in theatre for 6.5 hours. That was followed by 1 day in an intensive care unit and 9 additional days in hospital. Person B is now undergoing chemotherapy at the same hospital.

The private insurance company has warned that this time any mouthwash prescribed (due to side effects of the chemo) will not be covered by the insurance. Everything else will be covered and there will be no additional charges. For 2017, Person B had 'couples' coverage (them and their spouse). For the two, the 2017 premium was £3,200 ($4,050) for the year or £267 ($340) per month.

During the above period, Person B will be attended to additionally by their local NHS doctor if the need arises. Since it's the NHS, there will be no charge for office visits or any additional prescriptions and monitoring.

On a side note, one must be resident in the UK to experience these two examples. For both the UK and the US, the primary way for retirees to become a resident is if at least one spouse, if not both, has citizenship in that country. For permanent residence in the UK, assuming one spouse will need a settlement visa, ILR (Indefinite Leave to Remain) is obtained after 5 years residence and is comparable to a US Green Card. This is not citizenship. For the UK, the process for the non-citizen spouse is:

A spouse visa - duration of the visa is for 2.5 years, therefore 2 are needed. At present, the cost for each is £1,523 ($1,950), or x 2, £3,046 ($3,900). The cost of ILR (the US Green Card equivalent status) is £2,389 ($3,035). In addition, for each spouse visa, there is an NHS surcharge due of £400 ($510) or x 2, £800 ($1,020). The total cost is £6,235 ($7,955). Again, one spouse must already be a UK citizen.