The 2024 elections are behind us. In this episode, we discuss the aftermath of the US elections, focusing on the concerns of foreign-born clients and US expats.

We explore the uncertainties surrounding immigration laws, visa changes, and the emotional impact of the election results.

Our conversation emphasizes the importance of financial preparedness, including maintaining an emergency fund, being flexible with career plans, and ensuring proper estate planning.

We include practical advice for navigating potential job loss and the complexities of financial planning in uncertain times.

We remind you to lock your credit to protect your identity, especially if you have to leave the U.S. 



Episode Links & Resources

• Ep 29: Stay A Step Ahead of Cyber Criminals. Protecting Your ID and Other Important Matters.

• U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services  - Become a Student of Your Visa

• Are you Tax-compliant With Your Overseas Assets? - Free Guide - Scroll to the bottom of the page.

In this solo episode, I discuss the five questions I ask to create the financial planning framework for foreign-born families.

Each question has many nuances and determines which way we go with the plan.

I believe any foreign-born individual should ask themselves these questions as part of the settling process in the US. Money is tied to all aspects of our lives.

• What's your Immigration status?

• What's tax residency status

• What are your long-term residency status?

• What's your home country of citizenship, what other citizenships do you have, and if married, what's your spouse's citizenship?

• What assets do you have in foreign countries?

Yeah, it's not green anymore, but the name has persisted.

Do you know why the Permanent Residency Card is called the Green Card?

We answer this question and provide many more details about this "magic" document, which permits you to live and work permanently in the US if you are foreign-born.

We know quite a bit about it, having previously held this card.

We discuss the tax obligations and financial planning implications of being a green cardholder rather than a US citizen.

It's challenging to get, based on your home country, but once you get it, you must be careful if you want to abandon it to do it right.

Are you a green card holder? What questions do you have?

Assume that your information is already out there. Your goal is to ensure that nobody misuses your data."

In this episode, we discuss the importance of protecting yourself from identity theft.

We provide practical steps and tips for safeguarding your personal information and financial accounts.

 Key takeaways

• Place fraud alerts on your credit and consider extended fraud alerts if your identity has already been stolen.

• Place a credit freeze on your credit to prevent new accounts from being opened in your name.

• Use a password manager to generate strong, unique passwords for each account.

• Enable two-factor authentication on all your financial accounts.

• Create a separate email address for your financial accounts, and be cautious of suspicious emails.

• Monitor your account activities regularly and set up alerts for any unusual transactions.

• Create a social security account to monitor your earnings and prevent unauthorized access.

• Create an IP PIN with the IRS to prevent fraudulent tax filings using your social security number.

Take proactive steps to protect your identity before leaving the country.

In this episode, we discuss the various health insurance options available during open enrollment.

We break down all the different insurance plans - including PPO, HMO, EPO, and HDHP plans.

We discuss the differences in premiums and coverage and the benefits of flexible spending accounts (FSA) and health savings accounts (HSA).

The conversation also touches on the implications of Medicare for those over 65 and considerations for ex-pats and retirees living abroad who are considering the HSA plan.

It's important to check with your provider about using the HSAs abroad. 

It's essential to consider your length of stay in the US when choosing an HSA.

Cue the Confetti.

Today, we celebrate a huge milestone - a year since we started this journey. 

What started as a coffee chat has become a one-year podcast, and there are plans to do more.

In this special episode, we look back on our beginnings, lessons learned, and things we've learned about each other, appreciate those who've been with us on the journey, and plan for the future.

Please tune in to find out what we have in store for you and our big, hairy, audacious goal and vision for the International Money Cafe Podcast.

Let's celebrate!

In this episode, we discuss PFICs (Passive Foreign Investment Companies) and the dangers of investing in them.

We start by defining them with some examples and then discuss the tax compliance requirements and the potential penalties for non-compliance. We include financial planning considerations like foreign exchange and repatriation. 

We explain why we want to get a detailed idea of any PFICs clients may have when we start working with them on financial planning or tax preparation.

Most of our clients /prospects are not aware that they have PFICs in their overseas portfolio.

We discuss ways of dealing with them, how to stay compliant or get rid of them, and also mention the particular case of those with work visas - who may want to keep the PFICs in their portfolio. 

It's a fun discussion.

If you receive a gift or inheritance from a non-US person, you have specific reporting and tax obligations before enjoying your gift.

In this solo episode, Manasa details the thresholds, reporting forms, and tax implications based on the type of gift or inheritance.

Different thresholds apply depending on the type of gift or inheritance, such as $100,000 for gifts from non-US citizens and no threshold for gifts from foreign trusts.

She discusses some forms, like Form 3520, that may need to be filed to report foreign gifts or inheritances.

She also points out possible tax consequences that may arise if the gift is from a covered expatriate—it’s not business as usual.

One thing she points out is to watch out for possible tax obligations in the country where the event occurs – that needs a tax professional (in that country) to figure out.

Tax treaties may help avoid some possible double taxation.

Resources

Ep 22: What Is English For "Covered Expatriate"

Ep 13: Between A Rock And A Hard Place: A Guide To Mitigating Double Taxation

We lightly appreciate the spirit of this statement within certain immigrant communities: "My kids can study anything in college after they get the medical or engineering degrees out of the way."

According to the IFS - Institute of Family Studies research, immigrant parents have even higher expectations that their kids will not only get their undergraduate degrees but will go on to get graduate and professional degrees. 

In other words, the kids are expected to attend college; ideally, it should be an Ivy League school. The question is, how do we pay for this education?

According to migration policy data, the highest number of immigrants are trying to get to the US. For those wanting to become Americans, it's a stressful situation, and the process can last for years.

But then there is another group of people who live outside the US, some of whom have no idea they are Americans, especially because they don't have a US passport. For the record, not having a passport does not determine citizenship.

This group somehow acquired US citizenship because they were born to US citizens outside the country (probably on deployment), were born to non-immigrants in the US, or were born to US parents but left the US at a very young age. They may not be aware of it, but they are "American." in all ways possible.

We call this group "Accidental Americans."

In today's "shortie" episode, we discuss the implications of being an accidental American and the tax and financial implications of being an American overseas and make suggestions on how to deal with them. Ignorance is no defense, and you can't really ignore it.

Owning foreign or overseas rentals is very attractive, especially for foreign-born individuals with strong ties to their "home" country.

The question has also frequently come up with foreign nationals on work visas who are not going to be in the US for the long term and want to start building passive income overseas. Given the current situation in the US, we can appreciate the attractiveness of the proportion. 

There are different areas to cover, but in today's episode, we are going to answer the top five questions we see over and over again. In the future, we'll tackle more questions.

Also, if your top question is not addressed, please send it to us, and we'll add it to a future episode. 

Today's questions are:- 

• How do you determine the value of the property?

• Are you required to report it to the IRS (your US taxes), and if so, how?

• What forms do you need to report rental income?

• Can you convert a primary resident to a rental property and vice versa, and if so, does the section 121 exclusion apply?

• What about the exit plan? What are the financial, tax, wealth, and cultural implications of the decision?

Translating financial and tax Legalese into English in 10 minutes or less. In today's episode, we'll explain payroll taxes.

We'll describe the what, the why, and, more importantly, what you need to know.  We'll answer the question, "What are FICA taxes?".

We'll also discuss how these payroll taxes affect workers on nonimmigrant work visas. Depending on whether you are a nonresident for tax purposes, you may be exempt from FICA taxes.

We finally touch on totalization agreements for US tax residents overseas.

The US taxes you on your worldwide income, regardless of where you live. If you live in the US and have foreign income, or live abroad, you have to report your foreign income on your US return.

The other country in the equation is also very interested in your income, especially if you live there. And so the fear of being double taxed is real and justified.

We are going to talk about Avoiding Double Taxation.

In this episode, we'll discuss the two main ways of mitigating this issue.

FEIE - Foreign Earned Income Exclusion and Foreign Tax Credits

Translating Financial & Tax Legalese to English in 10 minutes or less. In today's episode, we walk you through all the tax forms, you are going to need to file your taxes.

In other words, what information do you as a US resident or US nonresident need to compile your tax information?

We promise by the end of the 10 minutes, you'll have a pretty good list of all the forms you need to make this tax filing season a success.

In this episode of the International Money Café Podcast your co-hosts Jane Mepham CFP® and Manasa Nadig, EA explain exactly what you need to do to be considered a US tax resident.

In this episode of the International Money Café Podcast your cohosts Jane Mepham CFP® and Manasa Nadig, EA walk through the top 10 wealth-building mistakes they see when people are new in the US.