Search found 145 matches

by marcos123
Sun May 07, 2023 7:55 pm
Forum: Non-US Investing
Topic: US Expats and REAL ID - Problematic?
Replies: 7
Views: 1827

Re: US Expats and REAL ID - Problematic?

Thanks to all who have responded. I plan to proceed with renewal of the standard license as a form of back-up ID, which should be sufficient.

Note to fellow Boglehead expats: Some states, like New York, have authorized online vision tests from certain qualified providers that you take via phone, tablet, or computer, from anywhere in the world, with results directly transmitted to the DMV.
by marcos123
Sun May 07, 2023 7:33 pm
Forum: Non-US Investing
Topic: US Expats and REAL ID - Problematic?
Replies: 7
Views: 1827

Re: US Expats and REAL ID - Problematic?

SnowBog wrote: Sun Apr 30, 2023 7:30 pm I have no insights to the OP...

But I am curious... What address has historically been on your renewed drivers license?

I've always assumed it was supposed to be your current address within the state. I'm a bit surprised you get a license without an address in the state...
Same as what fellow Boglehead expats maintaining stateside institutional relationships (financial, standard licenses, etc.) have posted here. That of a resident (trusted) relative or friend. With emphasis on "trusted."
by marcos123
Wed May 03, 2023 9:41 pm
Forum: Non-US Investing
Topic: any experience with these US bank accounts for [US] ex-pat living abroad
Replies: 100
Views: 29347

Re: any experience with these US bank accounts for [US] ex-pat living abroad

I recently posted a review of Ally Bank, and its treatment of expats, but posted it in the Personal Finance sub-forum, before I was aware of this sub-forum.

The review is quite positive, but policies change, and we must stay alert. Here it is:

viewtopic.php?t=398707
by marcos123
Sun Apr 30, 2023 2:41 am
Forum: Non-US Investing
Topic: US Expats and REAL ID - Problematic?
Replies: 7
Views: 1827

US Expats and REAL ID - Problematic?

Although a long-term US expat I have maintained my state - issued (NY) drivers license (Standard version). My understanding is that historically NY has not disallowed non-residents from renewing their previously held drivers licenses. As of today, even non-US citizens can obtain a New York drivers license (Standard version) The only "problem" that I have faced over the years is, upon renewal, the (eventual) summons for jury duty - whereupon, providing proof of foreign residence, via a foreign utility bill and/or foreign tax return in my name, an exemption is duly processed. My understanding is that there are also no state tax issues in NY (if you have no NY source business or real-estate income) for non-domiciliaries as long as (1...
by marcos123
Tue Feb 28, 2023 12:29 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Ally Bank and Overseas Travelers/Expats - A (Pleasant) Surprise
Replies: 8
Views: 2123

Re: Ally Bank and Overseas Travelers/Expats - A (Pleasant) Surprise

Sorry to hear that your experience was different. When I contacted customer service, while still overseas, to regain access to my account, they asked the standard battery of identifying questions. Can you share the general tenor of the questions that you were unable to answer to their satisfaction? Also if you think the problem may have been more related to the brokerage account - from what I've seen here and elsewhere brokerage arms often take a harder line with KYC issues if they suspect the account holder is not a US resident (including outright closure).
by marcos123
Mon Feb 27, 2023 8:22 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Ally Bank and Overseas Travelers/Expats - A (Pleasant) Surprise
Replies: 8
Views: 2123

Re: Ally Bank and Overseas Travelers/Expats - A (Pleasant) Surprise

Ally does seem to be relatively expat-friendly. They didn't have any issues when I called in to change my address of record to the UK. They said that online transfers would be disallowed and I'd have to call in to make transfers, but I was still able to initiate a transfer through their website a few days later (though haven't tried again since). Then that is a quantum leap ahead of its banking competitors in terms of expat-friendliness. Thanks for sharing djheini, I was not aware of this and potentially great news for a number of our fellow Bogleheads. Do you know if the same goes for Ally Invest? 2FA hasn't been a problem for me, using the voice call option to Google Voice, but I think it's helped by the fact that I am using what used to...
by marcos123
Mon Feb 27, 2023 12:03 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Ally Bank and Overseas Travelers/Expats - A (Pleasant) Surprise
Replies: 8
Views: 2123

Re: Ally Bank and Overseas Travelers/Expats - A (Pleasant) Surprise

Sure, Capital One's products are competitive, but without having online access to monitor them while overseas they just didn't do me much good.

I do want to keep this thread focused on Ally and just mentioned them at the close as I faced the identical 2FA issues as with Ally but with a different response.
by marcos123
Sun Feb 26, 2023 10:41 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Ally Bank and Overseas Travelers/Expats - A (Pleasant) Surprise
Replies: 8
Views: 2123

Ally Bank and Overseas Travelers/Expats - A (Pleasant) Surprise

As has been well documented here, Ally Bank recently disallowed email 2FA in favor of SMS 2FA when detecting access via an unrecognized device. Also well documented here, it is disallowing any type of VOIP 2FA like Google Voice, whether via SMS (all cases) or via phone call (mixed experiences). For those reasons, in order to avoid potential lack of account access, extended overseas travelers and expats alike have been looking for banking alternatives, In practice, unless you have other issues with Ally, you may want to think again. Let me explain. After a system upgrade on my laptop, Ally did not recognize my device, and requested a security code. As I could not access it, via either SMS 2FA or phone call 2FA, I phoned into customer service...
by marcos123
Sun Mar 19, 2017 8:15 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Early Retirement - what to do about healthcare?
Replies: 237
Views: 43994

Re: Early Retirement - what to do about healthcare?

Great thread. A few folks here have suggested moving abroad for the sole purpose of retiring early with affordable health care. I would advise against letting the healthcare cost tail wagging the overall move - or ER - dog . Having said that, if you otherwise intend to live in a particular region, or country, say by having previously worked or lived there, then that may still be a better option, once you do the research - and plan accordingly. Personally speaking, I early retired to South America at the age of 40 just over a decade ago. I certainly didn't do so for the universal care here (Brazil) or its cost (free). However, the private insurance market was much better than what I had been experiencing then in the US. In NYC at that age an...
by marcos123
Wed Jan 04, 2017 6:33 pm
Forum: Non-US Investing
Topic: Wiki (?) - Investing as an expat (US citizen living abroad)
Replies: 57
Views: 9609

Re: Wiki (?) - Investing as an expat (US citizen living abroad)

Ok, Marcos, I'd really love your replies to a few questions: 1. Can you confirm that the text on M2M in the new wiki page makes sense? It looks good to me, from a user perspective, but I hasten to add that I am not a CPA or tax lawyer. 2. Did it get complicated with lots of spreadsheet entries? (I don't think it should, and if it does I could always sell and re-purchase the fund). You need to maintain very detailed records, and as it can get somewhat tedious, I actually keep a running spreadsheet tally of new purchases, rebalancing, etc. Note: I am a do-it-your-selfer in the classic Boglehead style, prepare my local return, and have used TaxAct and TurboTax for US returns for ages. However, given the (intentional) mind-boggling complexitie...
by marcos123
Mon Jan 02, 2017 10:06 am
Forum: Non-US Investing
Topic: Wiki (?) - Investing as an expat (US citizen living abroad)
Replies: 57
Views: 9609

Re: Wiki (?) - Investing as an expat (US citizen living abroad)

Looks really nice. Now I'm hoping to find someone who has actually done this, before I plunge in :-) I've been doing this (MTM option). And (get this) I'm actually doing it inside a locally tax-advantaged account (not recognized as such of course by the IRS), so that the underlying funds are not yet taxed locally, and hence not spewing off any foreign tax credits. Rationale? Local estate planning reasons. If you happen to be resident and/or own property/financial assets in a civil-law country, remember that foreign trusts (i.e. US) are not recognized (and of course local trusts do not exist). Also, foreign wills (common law countries) may enter into serious conflict with local laws and may not even be recognized. The incremental costs? In ...
by marcos123
Sun Jan 01, 2017 9:43 pm
Forum: Non-US Investing
Topic: Wiki (?) - Investing as an expat (US citizen living abroad)
Replies: 57
Views: 9609

Re: Wiki (?) - Investing as an expat (US citizen living abroad)

Looks great, and thank you Lady Geek. I would just like to further clarify that the possibility of ordinary taxes on unrealized capital gains is actually within the underlying fund (as opposed to the investor's not having sold shares himself and thus having recognized a capital gain via an eventual 1099-B), by suggesting inclusion of: "within the underlying fund" directly following the underscored " whether realized or unrealized ". Therefore, the PFIC fundholder, in contrast to the typical mutual fund holder in SEC-registered funds held outside a tax-advantaged account, suffers two major tax disadvantages: - ordinary vs capital gains treatment; and - taxation each year on unrealized capital gains within the underlying f...
by marcos123
Sun Jan 01, 2017 7:56 pm
Forum: Non-US Investing
Topic: Wiki (?) - Investing as an expat (US citizen living abroad)
Replies: 57
Views: 9609

Re: Wiki (?) - Investing as an expat (US citizen living abroad)

Looking good. Under Mark to Market,since both realized and unrealized capital gains are subject to ordinary income taxes each year, I would just recommend the following underscored revision. Each year the gains - whether realized or unrealized - are treated as ordinary income.

I would suggest maintaining the underscore in the actual text since this is such an important - and potentially negative - characteristic for the potential PFIC holder.
by marcos123
Sun Dec 25, 2016 10:31 pm
Forum: Non-US Investing
Topic: US citizen in Japan - Advice for my painful tax situation
Replies: 15
Views: 3053

Re: US citizen in Japan - Advice for my painful tax situation

A couple different observations: 1. When calculating US taxes, I thought they let you subtract any tax you paid another country on the same income . For example, if you owe Japan $5,000 in taxes, the US would not expect you to pay anything if your US taxes was less than that. If the US taxes were more, you could delete $5,000. Isn't this covered under the Foreign Tax Credit? Does Japan have a foreign tax credit? Actually, for the point in bold above, perhaps it is best to see a lawyer. It seems extremely, extremely unfair -- to the point I would hope of it being legally challengeable -- that you have to pay taxes twice on retirement savings!!!! Perhaps you could find others in the same situation and get a lawyer to take the case in hopes o...
by marcos123
Sun Dec 25, 2016 10:22 pm
Forum: Non-US Investing
Topic: US citizen in Japan - Advice for my painful tax situation
Replies: 15
Views: 3053

Re: US citizen in Japan - Advice for my painful tax situation

Problems: 1. To invest my money where I want it, I'm going to need to bite the bullet and liquidate the contents of the IRA and pay a huge Japanese tax bill (I think 2-3 months' salary at least) on it, eating into my emergency fund since I can't very well take the money out of the IRA to pay it. 2. This made me realize that I'm going to be taxed AGAIN on all this money by the US when I take it out of the IRA. It seems to me that earning money inside an IRA is objectively worse for my situation than having it in a taxable account. At least in taxable, once I pay the capital gains tax it's my money, safe from Uncle Sam's grasping paws. Back to the OP's stated issue; query: do the Japanese not recognize a foreign tax credit for US taxes paid ...
by marcos123
Sun Dec 25, 2016 2:46 pm
Forum: Non-US Investing
Topic: US citizen in Japan - Advice for my painful tax situation
Replies: 15
Views: 3053

Re: US citizen in Japan - Advice for my painful tax situation

My Inherited Traditional IRA: JP takes 20% of dividends and 20% of capital gains, then US smacks me around and taxes me again like it was normal income when I take it out. This is again the clear loser. Can you cash out the Trad. IRA in the same year that you take the capital gains, and claim the Japanese taxes against the US ones? (Not sure this works, but might be worth looking into.) Hello there, bpp, interesting. I was thinking along the same lines, but from an inverse perspective. That is, BreadFutures cashing out the TIRA in the same year that he/she takes the local cap gains, as you suggest - but claiming the US taxes imposed from the IRA withdrawal against the eventual Japanese taxes. I hasten to add that I may have missed someting...
by marcos123
Sun Dec 25, 2016 12:17 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Vanguard Index vs American Funds?
Replies: 45
Views: 29230

Re: Vanguard Index vs American Funds?

In a recent post Larry Swedroe had the following to say about AF:
larryswedroe wrote:
....American is very disciplined in sticking with their asset classes, no style drift, and low turnover and relatively low costs. So in some ways closer to passive than many active funds. Also don't rely on "star managers"--- and of course, like DFA and other well run passie shops they can avoid the negatives of pure indexing, including front running and forced trading and inclusion of all securities even when research shows they are best excluded (like lottery tickets). I used to own American funds before I became aware of DFA, for all these reasons.

Larry
From this thread: viewtopic.php?f=10&t=205360
by marcos123
Sun Dec 25, 2016 12:10 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Vanguard Index vs American Funds?
Replies: 45
Views: 29230

Re: Vanguard Index vs American Funds?

bnes wrote: Note there's a way to reduce the American Fund's sales load, which I taught the adviser:
Invest cash in the short term bond fund at 2.50%. Now re-balance into a 5.75% fund,
and no extra fee applies.
This^^^^.

If one happens to invest in AF A shares (and has less than $1MM in a taxable account): no reason to ever pay a higher load than 2.50%.

However, the new F3 share class will apparently be load-free.
by marcos123
Tue Dec 20, 2016 11:25 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Does janus add value, continuing my series on the performance of the leading active fund families
Replies: 15
Views: 2869

Re: Does janus add value, continuing my series on the performance of the leading active fund families

larryswedroe wrote:I always use the lowest cost versions available, so loads would not have been included.

American is very disciplined in sticking with their asset classes, no style drift, and low turnover and relatively low costs. So in some ways closer to passive than many active funds. Also don't rely on "star managers"--- and of course, like DFA and other well run passie shops they can avoid the negatives of pure indexing, including front running and forced trading and inclusion of all securities even when research shows they are best excluded (like lottery tickets). I used to own American funds before I became aware of DFA, for all these reasons.

Larry
Many thanks Larry. Very helpful.
by marcos123
Mon Dec 19, 2016 4:19 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Does janus add value, continuing my series on the performance of the leading active fund families
Replies: 15
Views: 2869

Re: Does janus add value, continuing my series on the performance of the leading active fund families

Very interesting that the only fund family outperforming both Vanguard ( by a whopping +1.1%) and DFA (by a slim +0.1%) is American Funds.

Certainly an impressive relative performance, at least according to this analysis.

Wondering though about the treatment of the front-end load, and if the institutional vs "A" class shares was utilized for comparison?
by marcos123
Sat Dec 10, 2016 5:32 pm
Forum: Non-US Investing
Topic: Ex-pat opening a Global Vanguard account
Replies: 30
Views: 3926

Re: Ex-pat opening a Global Vanguard account

As tempting as suggesting potential solutions is at this point, I'd suggest by starting out with the basics and establishing your investment framework. An investor policy statement (IPS) is a great place to start (again, check the wiki). Think through things like asset allocation, risk tolerance, etc. Once you're able to share a clearer picture of these elements, I (and others) would be happy to help you tackle specifics. Matt This. Many US citizens resident in other countries have posted on this board, myself included, that they keep the equity portion of their overall portfolio in US-domiciled mutual funds and ETF's, as duly advised on this thread, while strategically allocating a good chunk of their fixed income in individual local-curr...
by marcos123
Sun Nov 27, 2016 12:17 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How to become a "U.S. citizen residing overseas"?
Replies: 26
Views: 5799

Re: How to become a "U.S. citizen residing overseas"?

Really interesting thread as I've been wondering about the state tax issue if I retire abroad. My situation is a little different from that of OP. I live and work in NY, and am looking at moving to Latin America in a couple years when I retire (by "retire," I mean when I'm eventually part of a round of layoffs; there's only so long you can keep dodging that bullet). I intend to keep my NY driver's license, but would sell my NY apartment, and wouldn't have a NY mailing address any more. My bank accounts/investments are all online (Vanguard, Ally Bank, etc.) and not local. If I did move back to the U.S. at some point, it wouldn't be to NY, since I'd be leaving partly because NY is too HCOL once I'm not working full time. So my hope...
by marcos123
Sat Nov 26, 2016 10:50 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: if permanently move abroad
Replies: 13
Views: 3934

Re: if permanently move abroad

Just make sure you sever ALL ties with NJ. That means: no storage facility with your stuff in it, no snail mail address of any kind, do no renew your drivers license, do not have any online accounts with any NJ address in it (your banks for example). You must sever ALL ties with NJ to stop paying taxes there. So be sure you have no ties and no intent to return. Radical advice there. I personally am not a radical but do as you please I guess. I personally have a mailing address (brother's house) drivers license, own property (farmland - can't live there) and vote though the State where I was born, however, am not a resident per their definition. Look it up on the NJ tax site. Here is what I found at http://www.state.nj.us/treasury/taxation/...
by marcos123
Sun Nov 20, 2016 4:39 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Take SS at 62 or wait ?
Replies: 74
Views: 18010

Re: Take SS at 62 or wait ?

I retired at 61.5 and took SS at 62 and for a very good reason. Most of the analysis of this decision I have seen ignores the time value of money. Without getting into the political aspects of SS, using the IRR (Internal Rate of Return) function in Excel allows one to take the time value of money into account and run various scenarios. Since I had a portfolio and could either withdraw from it or take SS earlier to cover expenses I could calculate the effects of various rates of return. As the rate of return increases, the break-even age for waiting becomes greater. At some rate of return, one will never break even. This rate is low enough to be considered within the range of reasonable portfolio growth expectations. Essentially, taking SS ...
by marcos123
Mon Oct 31, 2016 1:27 am
Forum: Non-US Investing
Topic: US Expat in Indonesia
Replies: 57
Views: 7933

Re: US Expat in Indonesia

CFM300 wrote: For years I put a U.S. address on my 1040 and my foreign address on Form 2555 where I claimed bona fide residence. I know many others who do this as well. I've never heard of anyone having any problems with the IRS over this.

Seems to me you have a legitimate reason and clear explanation for using a U.S. address on your 1040, should the IRS ever question you about it.
I do not have a view as to whether the IRS is indifferent (or not) to this. However, state taxing authorities are another matter. They may be curious to learn why one has used their state as part of the 1040 filing address if they did not separately receive a state return for that tax year (most have automatic sharing arrangements with the IRS).
by marcos123
Sun Jul 03, 2016 11:02 pm
Forum: Non-US Investing
Topic: Investing as an American living in Japan
Replies: 16
Views: 3535

Re: Investing as an American living in Japan

Thanks Karamatsu. Here in Brazil there is, inexplicably, given the high levels of bilateral commerce and investment, still no tax treaty (although there is a Tax Information Exchange Agreement, which doesn't seem to help individual taxpayers on either side, only their governments!). Given the similarities with TIPS I agree with you that such local inflation-linked securities could reasonably be expected to be subject to US tax treatment on OID's, and unfortunately, I would definitely be in that problematic middle case you outlined, with the timing mismatching of foreign tax credits. While I was originally considering a longer-term issue, which is now absolutely out of the question, I still may opt for, tops, a 7-year. I would suffer the dou...
by marcos123
Sun Jul 03, 2016 11:58 am
Forum: Non-US Investing
Topic: Investing as an American living in Japan
Replies: 16
Views: 3535

Re: Investing as an American living in Japan

Apparently next year they will start offering individual inflation-indexed bonds, which would interest me, but there seems to be no real benefit to holding the normal bonds right now. I am currently thinking about investing in individual local-currency denominated inflation-indexed bonds in my home country as well. However, I am wrestling with the tax treatment - that is not locally - but in the US. Let us say that locally such bonds do not incur taxation on the eventual additions to principal resulting from the inflation indexation until maturity (or early redemption). Do/would fellow expats compute and pay current US taxes each year on the inflation 'phantom income' for being sufficiently similar to TIPS (outside of an IRA), or would cer...
by marcos123
Sun Jun 26, 2016 11:27 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Your favorite country to possibly retire to?
Replies: 171
Views: 25535

Re: Your favorite country to possibly retire to?

Brazil. For the people, the climate, the culture, the beaches (outside of urban centers), the mountains. Don't move however for a COL reduction. Learn the language for a meaningful experience. Be sure to have budgeted for a private health plan (may be local with rider for international travel), as Medicare won't cover you in country and you don't really want to solely rely on the local public health care system. Retired here over a decade ago. It's definitely not for everyone but was definitely for me.
by marcos123
Sun Feb 14, 2016 3:07 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Alarming Morningstar Article - Are Custodians for Inherited IRA's Really this Bad?
Replies: 5
Views: 1561

Re: Alarming Morningstar Article - Are Custodians for Inherited IRA's Really this Bad?

Thank you for your responses, I was actually hoping that those who did respond would respond! I certainly did not mean to call into question Ms. Choate's street cred - I was really just looking for a reality check, particularly on point #4. I was not aware of this issue and indeed am "alarmed" by it. Based on your knowledgeable responses, first of all I have just retitled this thread from "Alarmist" to "Alarming," a much better word choice. Alan S you wrote: "Inherited IRAs are a wasting asset that cannot except contributions, and it is easier to cut a single lump sum check to a trustee or executor than it is to deal with several potential beneficiaries and perhaps confusing trust provisions that could end...
by marcos123
Sat Feb 13, 2016 7:28 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Alarming Morningstar Article - Are Custodians for Inherited IRA's Really this Bad?
Replies: 5
Views: 1561

Alarming Morningstar Article - Are Custodians for Inherited IRA's Really this Bad?

Morningstar posted the following alarming article today: "Inherited IRA Owners: Watch Out for These Plan Administrator Snafus." Author is Nathalie Choate. http://news.morningstar.com/articlenet/article.aspx?id=741393#cpage=1 Point #4 seems particularly disturbing. Note: the other points do not seem problematic as they relate to lack of familiarity of the tax rules by the IRA owner or bene. Point #4 states: "Some IRA providers still do not allow fiduciaries to transfer inherited IRAs out of the trust that was named as beneficiary to the individuals who are beneficiaries of the trust." But perhaps needlessly alarmist since no institutions were named? Many of us here have Living Trusts as the beneficiary of our Roth or Trad...
by marcos123
Sun Dec 20, 2015 8:00 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Foreign Tax Credit - how use it before expiry in eight years
Replies: 22
Views: 2493

Re: Foreign Tax Credit - how use it before expiry in eight years

Thanks ... credit is from passive activity ... not an expat. Understood - those examples however pertain to passive income. Generally, such locally tax-advantaged transactions are available to local residents. Still, to the extent you qualify for certain foreign tax breaks as a non-resident that the IRS will nonetheless tax, you would be able to soak up those credits. By way of example, Brazil does not currently impose withholding tax on interest on its sovereign bond issues for residents of certain countries, including the US. Given Brazil's soaring yields, you would be able to soak up those foreign tax credits in a hurry. Just be prepared for the currency, sovereign, and other attendant risks in what might be a bumpy ride in that particu...
by marcos123
Sun Dec 20, 2015 7:39 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Foreign Tax Credit - how use it before expiry in eight years
Replies: 22
Views: 2493

Re: Foreign Tax Credit - how use it before expiry in eight years

If you were an expat, then I would suggest availing of any of a series of potential asymmetries in the foreign tax code vs the US tax code for a given investment, transaction, or vehicle. For example, if there is a locally tax-exempt investment that generates substantial yield or capital gains that is nonetheless taxed by the IRS, then you could soak up some of your (previous) credits against the foreign source income generated by that investment on your US return. Given that such locally tax-advantaged products are not at all uncommon, and the fact that US expats are often plagued by such tax asymmetries, your stock of foreign tax credits could potentially be put to good use. Alternatively, if you had a tax-advantaged vehicle in your resid...
by marcos123
Sun Nov 01, 2015 10:08 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Questions about Ally Bank
Replies: 16
Views: 4033

Re: Questions about Ally Bank

Eye opening... My wife has had ING Direct Orange (now Cap One 360) for over a decade and had no idea We will look into this, and transfer out accordingly if this is the case FWIW they do allow for revocable trust accounts, for both checking and savings, and, at least in the case of ING Direct, accepted faxed documentation, with a one-day turnaround. There are no operational differences in terms of sending or receiving ACH transfers, or on-line visualization of your account. Ally, on the other hand, from what I understand requires signed hard copies of trust documentation, and I am not sure that on-line access to trust accounts is possible. I have maintained accounts with both, since interest-rate competitiveness obviously depends on the in...
by marcos123
Wed Oct 28, 2015 10:09 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Can you trade-up your credit cards?
Replies: 14
Views: 4099

Re: Can you trade-up your credit cards?

As it is sometimes tricky for expats to apply for new cards, especially if they rely on an overseas income stream and/or do not maintain a US-based address, trading up may well be the only practical option. You forego the short-term bonus, but long-term you get the card you want without placing your existing card at risk. I upgraded to the Citi Executive Aadvantage card, for the long-term ability to forego currency conversion fees. US expats will often have locally-issued credit cards, but depending on the underlying currency's relative strength may opt to use a US-issued credit card for local or traveling expenses when, as currently, the USD is strong. If and when the currency of your local credit card appreciates or is deemed overvalued, ...
by marcos123
Sun Oct 25, 2015 1:39 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Expat concern: Common Reporting Standard
Replies: 7
Views: 1534

Re: Expat concern: Common Reporting Standard

On a lighter note. If Fiji taxed your IRA and you paid wouldn't you get a corresponding Foreign Tax Credit on the other side so you are not double taxed anyways? No. Nor in the case where: - If the US taxed your Fiji IRA and you paid wouldn't you get a corresponding Foreign Tax Credit on the other side? However in the cases where: - If Fiji taxed your Fiji IRA (say upon distribution) and you paid wouldn't you get a corresponding Foreign Tax Credit on the other side? - If the US taxed your US IRA (again say upon distribution) and you paid wouldn't you get a correponding Foreign Tax Credit on the other side? Yes, in those cases you would get a Foreign Tax Credit, but it won't necessarily be "corresponding," there are numerous limit...
by marcos123
Sun Sep 06, 2015 8:25 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Expat: Vanguard declines to give advice. Move to Schwab?
Replies: 16
Views: 3738

Re: Expat: Vanguard declines to give advice. Move to Schwab?

I am a US citizen living abroad with a US mailing address service and I maintain a skype-based US phone number. For all of my financial relationships with American companies, I operate on a "don't ask, don't tell" basis when it comes to my living abroad. If the issue comes up (for instance, for credit card use abroad) I mention that I am staying abroad temporarily. I would be careful. I lived in California and left in 2004 and now live overseas. Last year without warning, the California Tax Authorities got their hands into my Fidelity account and got a chunk of money, for unpaid taxes plus penalties. After having to hire a lawyer, I was told that they sent a request for clarification to my old address in California never mind tha...
by marcos123
Wed Jul 01, 2015 12:46 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Open IRA before moving abroad (to Brazil)?
Replies: 6
Views: 1767

Re: Open IRA before moving abroad (to Brazil)?

Since Brazil does not have a tax treaty with the U.S., does anyone know how they might treat this IRA contribution? I actually know this, as when I became a tax resident down here, I invested in the services of a Big Four accounting firm, for planning purposes. And the answer is: Brazil tax law, not dissimilar to most things down here (!), is ambiguous on the local tax treatment of foreign tax-advantaged retirement accounts, when not in withdrawal mode, including whether tax residents must declare them on their Asset List on their local annual tax return. Bear in mind, that while there is no bilateral tax treaty with the US (there is however a TIEA between the two tax authorities), they do grant reciprocal tax treatment in terms of a local...
by marcos123
Mon Jun 08, 2015 10:27 pm
Forum: Non-US Investing
Topic: Living Overseas, Currency Risk, and International Funds
Replies: 14
Views: 2021

Re: Living Overseas, Currency Risk, and International Funds

As an expat based in Brazil who ER'ed here just over a decade ago, I have had around half of my portfolio invested here and the other half in the US. I aimed to, similar in concept to a LMP, hedge my local currency expenses with local currency income, especially since the overwhelming portion of my expense base is here. Given the extreme volatility over this period of the dollar versus the local currency, and the prohibitive cost of alternative hedging arrangements this strategy has been appropriate in my case. Clearly, however, this was never purely a currency play - I wanted to avail of certain local investment opportunities. Depending on the country YMMV of course. Here in Brazil, for example, for an EM market, the capital markets are co...
by marcos123
Sun Apr 19, 2015 2:33 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: noise-blocking headphones
Replies: 39
Views: 18592

Re: noise-blocking headphones

I've had an old version of the bose noise canceling over the ear headphones. the black ear pieces disintegrated over time.? The mid-2000s Bose over-the-ear headphones indeed had a problem where the plastic over time became brittle and disintegrated (I've seen many held together by zip-ties and duck tape). After some on-ear Denon's (no longer made) I bought a pair of QC25 headphones last year. I fly ~100k miles per year, and am very happy with the QC25 comfort and noise-cancelling ability. Sound is ok for my needs, and I hope the plastic won't disintegrate. Yes. A major problem with Bose. I've had QC1, QC2, QC3, and others, and the earpieces all disintegrated within a couple years. That is, all except QC1 (the original), which says quite a ...
by marcos123
Mon Mar 02, 2015 8:58 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Can I e-file? Form 8938 and 3 foreign accounts?
Replies: 5
Views: 3135

Re: Can I e-file? Form 8938 and 3 foreign accounts?

hmw wrote:
It seems TaxACT will work for me next year. Marcos, what version of TaxACT did you use that let you e-file form 8938 with multiple continuation statements?
I use Deluxe Federal (currently $12.99) just for ease in importing previous year's data. However, given their service model (not based on number of federal forms but on importing data; and state filings) Free Federal ($0 - without a state filing) should also work.
by marcos123
Sun Mar 01, 2015 6:24 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Can I e-file? Form 8938 and 3 foreign accounts?
Replies: 5
Views: 3135

Re: Can I e-file? Form 8938 and 3 foreign accounts?

TaxAct permits e-filing with Form 8938 including continuation page with multiple foreign accounts.
by marcos123
Sun Mar 01, 2015 6:17 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Favorite chocolate candy
Replies: 51
Views: 7754

Re: Favorite chocolate candy

Ghirardelli Dark with Caramel

Lindt 85%
by marcos123
Sun Mar 01, 2015 6:12 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Treasury Direct (no TIPS or Series I) and taxes
Replies: 9
Views: 2123

Re: Treasury Direct (no TIPS or Series I) and taxes

bump - Could one of the fixed income experts just confirm my understanding above? Many thanks in advance.
by marcos123
Sun Mar 01, 2015 11:43 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Treasury Direct (no TIPS or Series I) and taxes
Replies: 9
Views: 2123

Re: Treasury Direct (no TIPS or Series I) and taxes

Many thanks for all the responses - very helpful.
stlutz wrote:
With amortization, you would want to amortize any premium as that is most advantageous from a tax perspective.
Understood.

But just for simplicity sake, instead of amortizing the premium:

- I could still opt to use the default option, right, with the purchase price as cost basis, and then take a capital loss on the premium when the bond matures at face value (or if I sell the bond for less than the cost basis)? And there certainly would be no non-compliance or tax penalty for not amortizing the premium, right? (On the contrary, I would expect, given the increased taxes!)
by marcos123
Wed Feb 25, 2015 7:36 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Treasury Direct (no TIPS or Series I) and taxes
Replies: 9
Views: 2123

Treasury Direct (no TIPS or Series I) and taxes

I am thinking about diversifying my US portfolio with individual USG notes and bonds (no TIPS or Series I) with semi-annual interest payouts via Treasury Direct. This would be in my taxable account, and my other key objective is to absolutely continue to keep my US tax reporting simple. My question is: if I make all purchases via their web site, and hold to maturity, never buying or selling on the secondary market, would I just report Interest Income on Schedule B from 1099s to be received that reflect the year's interest payouts; or would I still have to contend with potentially amortizing premiums and accreting discounts, and that attendant tax reporting headache as well? Apologies if this is overly simplistic - but KISS is really importa...
by marcos123
Sat Jan 31, 2015 5:12 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: forgoing foreign tax credit
Replies: 8
Views: 1441

Re: forgoing foreign tax credit

But if one is faced with the issue of which to put in taxable and which in tax protected, and one has the choice, all else being equal, one should put the domestic in tax protected and the foreign in taxable The problem is that not all else is equal. The foreign funds right now have higher yields and a lower percentage of the dividends are qualified. So, the tax credit is nice but it gets counteracted by the other factors. Couldn't agree more. Other factors influencing this particular asset location decision that I consider include the proportion of foreign source income in the fund to total income; and the differential between the in-country withholding tax rate on that foreign source income that the fund is subjected to vs. your personal...
by marcos123
Mon Jan 12, 2015 6:44 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Why buy total international and not each country?
Replies: 21
Views: 3820

Re: Why buy total international and not each country?

I am an American retired in the Philippines. I keep about 4% of my portfolio invested in the Philippines country ETF (ishares:EPHE) and that is the only country ETF that I own. So this is about 6% of my equity holdings. This is an overweight of about 20x relative to the country's portion of global stock market capitalization. I do this strictly as a currency hedge and an imperfect hedge against local inflation, especially service inflation due to a rapidly rising standard of living. I am living off passive income with almost all assets domiciled in the USA, so I have no income in the local currency (pesos). Also, one of my major future assets, social security, is entirely denominated in dollars. I don't hold more of the country ETF simply ...
by marcos123
Sun Dec 28, 2014 7:14 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Did/do/will foreign banks issue form 1099INT?
Replies: 8
Views: 1950

Re: Did/do/will foreign banks issue form 1099INT?

Very unlikely as the report you reference is not mandated by the Fatca reg's! Which of course is not very helpful for you or any fellow expat's on this board (like myself) with such accounts who would simply like to ensure matching of their, vs. their local bank's, reporting to the same US entity. Note though that the first report by your local bank (due March 15, 2015) no longer requires income reporting. So the matching issue would not appear to be an immediate concern in this year's tax return. As of now at least that would commence as of March 15, 2016. YE account balances/values are to be reported however by March 15, 2015. Even this could be tricky for expats as some local banks list "net" balances (i.e. net of potential wit...
by marcos123
Sun Dec 28, 2014 6:00 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: retirement spending covered by SS
Replies: 34
Views: 3618

Re: retirement spending covered by SS

I can't speak for the OP, but he appears to be using social security's own definition of retirement age.

Which is "the age at which you begin receiving Social Security retirement benefits."