Investing from outside of the US

 serves as introduction to the investment and taxation concerns of US and non-US citizens domiciled outside the US.

In most countries, the domicile of the investor determines the applicable rules; there are two notable exceptions to this: nationals of Eritrea and the US are taxed by their country independently of where they are domiciled.

In law, domicile is the status or attribution of being a lawful permanent resident in a particular jurisdiction. A person can remain domiciled in a jurisdiction even after they have left it, if they have maintained sufficient links with that jurisdiction or have not displayed an intention to leave permanently (that is, if that person has moved to a different state but has not yet decided to remain there indefinitely).

Most of the Bogleheads investment philosophy is universally applicable and hence the principles also apply if you live outside of the US assuming you take into account the local situation, rules and taxation. Please refer to the investing start-up kit for non-US investors for a first introduction.

Introduction
This section concentrates on topics that apply to the non-US domiciles; some would be very "alien" and unbelievable to US investors. Short topics are explained in this page itself. Larger topics are split out in separate pages.

There is a set of pages that guide the reader through the maze of "domicile" investment choices: choice of domicile of the funds, choice of currency, ...

Next to these generic pages, there are a set of country pages that give an overview of investing in specific countries. They treat a varying set of topics. Some of these country pages contain sample portfolios or suggestions for (ETF) funds for the specific country. While these can be taken to draft a first portfolio it is good to post a question on the forum as every country is different and the recommendation might change over time.

Taxation of your investments
Every country has its own tax legislation. Cross-border taxation is determined by tax-treaties between the countries. Depending on the situation of the individual investor one can optimize the taxation. Sometimes countries allow to claim local tax credits for taxes paid in other countries, also based on the respective tax-treaties.

Taxation as a US person living abroad
US (tax) resident investors are invited to start their journey with the Taxation as a US person living abroad as their situation is very specific.

Impact of US legislation on investors outside of the US (Nonresident alien - NRA)
The US stock market is a large portion of the world equity market. As such there can be a large impact of the US legislation on investing from outside of the US. Nonresident alien taxation summarizes how a non-resident alien (NRA) is taxed when investing in US domiciled ETFs. Pay attention to the US withholding taxes and US estate taxes.

Levels of taxation
Investors that hold funds that hold securities are taxed at multiple levels.
 * Level 1: Taxation by the home country of the security.
 * Level 2: Taxation by the country where the fund is domiciled.
 * Level 3: Taxation by the home country of the investor.

Kinds of taxation
Investors may face many different types of taxes on their investment, for example: They may also be subject to more than one overlapping tax regime. For example national taxes, local or regional taxes, city taxes, and foreign taxes levied by the country of source of income might all apply at the same time. Investors need to find an efficient way through this maze of taxes. This is often not straightforward.
 * tax on dividends; Investors that hold funds that hold securities can be taxed on dividends by multiple countries at multiple levels : tax on dividends received or tax on dividends accumulated inside a fund (and not received),
 * tax on interest received,
 * Index funds and ETFs outside of the US,
 * wealth tax,
 * transaction taxes (sometimes referred to as Tobin taxes),
 * gift tax,
 * inheritance tax,
 * value-added tax,
 * ... and so on.

Guidance and decision tables for Non-US investors

 * Nonresident alien with no US tax treaty & Irish ETFs: This page intends to discuss why it may be better for a nonresident alien with no US tax treaty to invest in Ireland domiciled exchange-traded funds (ETFs) as opposed to the popular US domiciled mutual funds discussed often by US-based investors.


 * Non-US investor's guide to navigating US tax traps: US tax laws contain multiple traps for unwary non-US investors. This page contains a guide for non-US investors planning to use index tracker funds or ETFs, with the aim of helping these investors to avoid falling into US tax traps by navigating around, through, or between them.


 * Nonresident alien's ETF domicile decision table: When selecting an index tracking fund, US nonresident alien investors have a broad choice between US domiciled ETFs and non-US domiciled ETFs. This page summarises the recommended ETF domicile that US nonresident aliens might use, based on their own country of residence and domicile. The goal is for investors to obtain the best tax result.

Investing start-up kit for non-US investors
This kit is designed to help you, a non-US investor, begin or improve your investing journey. Investing is a complex topic and can easily become overwhelming, but we are here to help! The start up kit will help you start your investing journey and navigate the steps.

Index funds and ETFs outside of the US
Index funds and ETFs were first created in the US and are now widely available outside of the US.

Depending on the domicile of the fund it is subject to local legislation leading to local differences. Notable characteristics that are explained in the main article on index funds and ETFs outside of the US, are:
 *  Differences between accumulating (or capitalizing) and distributing ETF share classes
 *  Differences between base currency of the fund, trading currency of the fund, and currency of the underlying assets
 * Securities lending
 * Index tracking strategies: replication or synthetic
 * Net total return and gross total return index
 * Cost and expenses related to UCITS index funds and ETFs
 * Index tracking strategies: replication or synthetic

Safe withdrawal rates across the globe
There are several studies related to safe withdrawal rates across the globe:
 * PFAU : does-international-diversification-improve-safe-withdrawal-rates and 4%-rule-work-around-world/
 * Portfolio charts: withdrawal-rates-faq and your-home-country-is-inseparable-from-your-withdrawal-rate
 * The "Investing in the World" articles by Siamond on the Bogleheads blog: investing-in-the-world, especially this table.