@jackra_1
I never heared of 'social security' in the US if you had other income ? What I've heared you can be a maximum of 10 yrs on welfare.
If you are unlucky enough you are over 16yrs and your parents are on welfare, this is deducted from your "10 years in-a-lifetime" too..

 

Social Security is the name of a pension you earn while working legally anywhere in the US. In order to qualify for payments when you are 65 or so you must work for a number of years (credits) The more years you work the more Social Security you receive up to a point.

The same applied when I was working in the UK to qualify for the UK state pension.

You do not have to be a citizen to earn Social Security. A Resident Alien will earn "credits" while working which I did for a number of years until I became a citizen.

In England it is called the State Pension but "state" there is different from "state" here in the US!

 

Jez, now I'm depressed for John. Its not bad enough to pay taxes, but it sounds like for you world travelers it is a huge PIA. I like the Portugal plan.

 

John,
Then this 'social security' is what we named 'AOW' . This is short for the translated " general old age pension ". If you life in the Netherlands, you start to accumulate when you are 16yrs old untill the official old age pension applies,
you don't even have to have a job already, or ever work. It applies to housewifes too... Thing is : I did work from when I was 14yrs old, in school holidays, and I paid these taxes [ I kept the tax statements.. ].

So when I was 15yrs I started accumulating. At 26 I started to work abroad, not accumulating it anymore. It used to be 65 , so one accumulated for 50yrs at 2% a year. So if you worked like I did and the moneys accumulated interests
for 40yrs, you would get the same pension if you worked from 55 to 65 , no accrued interest in it at all.. Now it even gets stranger. Not too long ago they changed the pensionable age from 65 to a higher age. Now I don't even know
yet when that will be in roughly 10 yrs from now. But I do know that I do not have the reckonable '10 yrs' I used to have anymore. They now say that you cannot acrrue more then 50 years and they count down from the new age.
So if I would be pensionable now, it would be 68. They would count back to my 18th brithday and then look how many years I worked AFTER that. In other words : they stole 3 years of my pension , and they will steal more !

I can not even appeal to it yet, as I have to be 'pensionable' first. So when I'm 70 , I can appeal. Trial takes 3 to 8 years, so by the time of the verdict, I've joined our horses...

 

The tax on income is liable whether you bring that income into the US or not. And for Dan - its when you become resident in US for tax purposes (31 days during the current year), not when you become a US Citizen or even a Legal Permanent Resident (Green Card).

As well as reporting UK income to the IRS on my annual tax filing, I also have to file an FBAR (Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts) to the Treasury and there is a new requirement now that requires additional reporting - FATCA (Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act) also needing to go to the IRS.

If you get any or this reporting or filing wrong - you are liable for substantial penalties. Its vitally important to get a tax advisor who is very well versed in foreign tax reporting. A colleague of mine from UK who was also working here was getting advice from a tax advisor who he trusted however gave him bad advice. He ended up paying tens of thousands in attorney fees and fines to the IRS to resolve the situation he found himself in due to this bad advice.

 

Correct.

Just recently went thru all the FATCA paperwork. Was not easy and did not happen in 'one pass"!

 

@ek993
So you say that my daughter who is an exchange student and has a single semester , stays roughly 120 days, now is elegible to pay tax in the US ? She spend a fortune there, never earned a cent !
The bad advice gives grounds to prosecute the tax-advisor and sew him for moral damages as well : that is 'the American way' , isn't it ? .. ... And you get a 'no cure-no pay' lawyer to do it ??!!!

 

 

Because of a prior position. I am asked about tax burdens on a regular basis. The answer is that general answers are false. You have to take your own particular situation and crunch the numbers for the jurisdiction you are interested in. There are some US Cities that have income taxes, but they are the exception. There are some states that do not have an income tax and again they are an exception. The real estate property taxes go from zero to incredible. The personal property taxes are all over the map. Some states concentrate on taxing assets, other states concentrate on taxing income. The Federal income tax is incomprehensible to mere mortals. There is no VAT here, and there are some remnants of progressive taxation. There are some places like Nevada and Delaware that can be tax havens. But folks do what you are thinking about, its not mission impossible. I just had friends move from the UK to the USA. I suppose it helped he was a CPA.

 

@Suaro
..and then everybody here thinks our tax system is complex [ even tax advisors don't understand it anymore ]. And some proclaim that USA has a 'flat-tax' and whcih is sóóó much easier...

I am quite a tax wizard, with some help. We have a plot of land thats listed under the " Nature Law " , intended for vast stretches of land like castles and stately homes, to keep these as whole and affordable.
But we only have 3 acres, partly forest, partly 'landscape of outstanding beauty' . It did use to belong to a larger estate with which we have a common listing. This would under present law not be possible,
unless you can find historical evidence it belonged together for at least 50 years. I needed to go back to Napoleon Bonaparte's reign to find the proof. He introduced the landregister [ to be able to tax landownership ].

So now we have a 70% reduction in the valuation of the property. Since scores of taxes depend on this, we save a pretty penny. My hope is they are not introducing a law that you can not have a mortgage
above this value, as then we'll have a problem...

 

Dan_Nl,
Just come in illegally and apply for asylum, especially in states like here in California. The government will end up paying you to stay. Join The Caravan from Honduras, why should Europeans be discriminated against?

 

That's a bit hard to pull off, arriving in a Boeing from Europe.. .. swimming is a bit too far..

 

Calif. is one of the few states that do not tax Social Security earnings..they "get to us" in many more ways..

 

Probably beats walking 2000 miles from Central America

 

I know where you are coming from!
I worked for the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) for nearly 35 years, and the volume of legislation when I finished was 10 times the amount when I started.
Can't say I'm completely blameless though, I wrote some of it.
But I did try to keep it short sweet and simple which was a tough fight against those who wanted to over-complicate things.

 

Dan, Cornell is my graduate school alma mater as well. Your daughter will love it there. Regarding taxes, just schedule your visits appropriately to continue qualifying for a visitor's (tourist visa). That should give you the flexibility you need without incurring any tax complications.

 

I confess, I am reticent to get entangled in this thread, but Dan, here is my two cents....

You sound like a intelligent guy, and are already doing the due diligence to research so I won't beleaguer you with watch-outs. Understand that our For-Profit health care system sucks , so make sure you research that to nth degree. Our healthcare system is designed to line the pockets of everyone in the chain by simply vacuuming every cent out of your wallet (I can attest to this, I have been a part of it on the manufacturing side for 20+ years). Seriously, don't assume anything on coverage or gap management.

But that said, you are welcome. We are a nation of immigrants, unless you are native American. Those willing to earn their keep and contribute are always welcome, it's who we are.

South Carolina is overtaking Florida as a favorite retirement destination for folks all over America. Wonderful weather for us car types, low taxes, and very reasonable cost-of-living. I was originally from the North East (NJ), but have lived in the Carolinas for over 30 years. Can't say I ever had one day of regret. Great location, great people, and retirement friendly.

 

 

Its an on-line community.