We have three children. One is this semester on exchange with Cornell University. She really likes it and tries to get to do her master there now .Expensive, but worth it she thinks.

She's been talking to our son, who was planning on going to Delft Technical University. Recently he came into contact with a group Americans of his age who started at MIT this year

and now he has gotten the idea in his head he wants to try to go there instead. We are retired and have a comfortable pension. We always planned to sell the family seized house we

have now and scale down to an appartment, so we are freed of the care of the house and grounds. Our other daughter has a boyfriend who got a job at IBM.. ..in the USA !

So wtihin two years probably all our kids will be living in the USA. It is al early days, but I am thinking what we should do. We can still move to an appartment in two years as we planned,

and go for holidays to the USA a few times eacht year. We can also rent a place centrally located to the three kids, and stay there several months a year, although it has to be less then 6 months I believe.

The most extreme version is : sell up here and just move to the USA. This is the option I want to investigate if its viable or not.

I tried to find a website wich has information about taxation in the USA. All I could find sofar is that there is a taxation [on income ?] on the level of the county/city , State and Government.

Anybody knows a website that gives info on how to find out total taxation due on a pension coming from the an other country ? Do you have capital tax ? As we will be almost sixty by then,

we will not stay for many years, maybe 7 or 8 and then return as when you get older eventually you can only remember your mother tongue, once you get

senile [some earlier then others.. ].

 

As you mentioned, taxes are levied at both a Federal and State level. If you know what State you are interested in you could research local taxes via a Google search.

The bigger issue for you is obtaining a visa for living in the US. It's not just a matter of you deciding you want to move here - unless you are willing to invest a significant amount of money ($500k+) in starting up a US business that can hire US employees (E2 visa), or have a child who is a US Citizen who can sponsor you (although Trump is trying to close down that avenue) - your options are almost non existent.

The other huge obstacle to overcome even if you do find yourself eligible to live here is healthcare - costs can be ruinous.

These threads would be a good place for you to start reading about ways to live and work in the US:
https://britishexpats.com/wiki/Pulas...ork_in_the_USA

https://britishexpats.com/forum/us-i...ork-us-585898/

 

@ek993
Thanks for the quick reply. I also found an extensive page on Wikipedia.

I don't think living [ getting a visum or permit] will be a problem since I have a pension and this incudes healthcare run by Cigna, a US company ! So I covered these two hurdles I guess.
As I said, my daughter is at Cornell and she went to a dentist. Much cheaper then in the Netherlands and covered by.. .. Cigna. We don't want to buy a house there since we don't know
where the kids will settle, if they even stay there all three. The eldest may gravitate back the the EU with a Dutch/US law degree. Our son : early days as he has to get allowed into MIT,
which I assume is more complicated then me getting a permit to stay...

But if these do become serious obstacles, we can stay in the EU and go to the US 3 times a year around the birthdays, luckily grouped in two clusters in spring and winter.

But then I would move to Portugal first and get residence there ; no income tax for ten years...

 

 

ek993 has it exactly right, Dan. I wouldn't underestimate the difficulty in emigrating to the US, even as a financially self-reliant retiree.. Unless you have family here who can sponsor you (US citizen or lawful permanent resident) it's a largely employment or investment-based process.

 

@swajames
We actually do have family in the US. In CA, but don't have contact with them. Nephew emigrated 30yrs ago with his parents. But we don't need to live there, some weeks holiday would be fine.
My daughter or son could put an F-Type V8 in their name and I'd drive it when we are around...

 

Good luck, Dan. Hope things work out the way you want them to.

We're actually immigrants ourselves. We're thankful that we had the opportunity to move to the US from Europe around 20 years ago through my work, and we truly love living in our adopted country.

 

"Land of the free", eh? The irony.

 

I never considered moving to the US. Actually declined several job offers 30yrs ago, as I didn't want to go there !

Time will tell. We will first go on holidays if the kids do go there. From then on we'll see. Wife is not to keen anyway.

 

And seen as you asked about taxes, they can be quite excessive here. As well as Federal income tax, State income tax, State sales tax I also pay local City property taxes. Those City taxes stack up quickly and are based on value of the assets. I am in CT and pay $15k per year tax on my house (friends in NY pay around double that), $1k per year for a 4 year old F Type and expecting to pay around $2300 a year on a new Tesla Model X that I just bought a couple of months ago.

US also taxes on worldwide income (one of the few countries to do so). I am originally a Brit who moved here 9 years ago and recently became a US Citizen. I pay taxes on any income derived from UK investments - although there are tax treaties in place to ensure you don't get double taxed.

So.... yes the tax burden is considerable here

 

What you see as irony, we see as sovereignty. Don't look now, but yours is at risk.

 

The risk we have here right now is that Mr. Trumph wants the Ukraine in NATO.. .. the definite way to start WW3 in Europe, with Russia.


Why doesn't he takes China into Nato, then they'll fight there instead of here, with Russia..


..and he prevends China to fight with Russia against the USA and UK...

 

Ah, the allure of living in the great Northeast or the west coast: supporting the masses of illegals and other ne'er do wells, not to mention layer upon layer of corrupt and over reaching governments and politicians.

 

I don't think that the tax burden in the USA is nearly as great as in many European countries. You can easily find the federal rate on line (It tops out at 37% for the portion of income above $600k). There is state income tax that varies greatly between states. Generally states on the coasts have higher income taxes than states in the middle of the country. There are a few states with no income tax. Some localities have income tax as well.

We have no VAT, but we do have sales tax on many purchases. The rate varies by state as does what is subject to tax. (Maryland taxes almost everything. Pennsylvania does not tax clothing.)

Real estate taxes vary widely by state using the same principal as income taxes.

Fuel prices are dramatically lower here. At the height of the oil crush a few years ago, I never paid $4.00 / gal for premium fuel. Now it's more like $2.60/gal.

Our mass transit systems are not nearly as developed as Europe.

 

I am a Brit having lived over here for 30 plus years now.

First lived in Massachusetts on Cape Cod. Absolutely loved it and still have a house and boat there.

Now live in Maryland and hate it here and will be moving back to Cape Cod soon I hope.

My income from pensions in the UK etc is taxed over here, not over there, and if I were to move back my income would be taxed here and in the UK.

Health insurance will be a big expense compared to Europe as will paid time off work which far far worse than European standards.

The rubbish people talk about when mentioning illegals is mostly just that. MUCH more of an issue in Europe, refugees that is.

 

@jackra_1
So if I get your storyline well ; as soon as you get the US-citizinship you are taxed world wide, even if the income is sourced from another lifetime [UK pension],
its been taxed in the UK and you don't actually live in the US at all, but in the UK ?

That copies with what is written above by ek933.. ... scary. Almost a communist approach.. ..what belongs to you belongs to US...

It think that I will stick to "plan B" : move to Portugal, don't pay any income taxes at all , and use the money saved to travel, also to the US..

 

The US taxes all your income if you have that income paid in the US from abroad while living in the US.

Income that I earned while living and working in the UK some of which I paid into pension schemes was mostly tax free when paid into those pensions.

Now that I am collecting those pensions here in the US I am taxed on those pension payments I receive as earned income and I believe that would be the same if I was living in the UK.

I also receive a "state" pension here in the US which is aggregated with all my income for tax purposes. How much tax one pays depends upon which State you live in as some states do not tax pensions but do raise taxes in other ways.

Now if I were to move back to the UK I would be taxed in the UK on all income from the US paid to me in the UK and what I "earn" in the UK. BUT the US would still tax me on my pension in the US above a certain amount even tho I was no longer living in the US. It would be exacerbated with my wife's pension as she has a US Government pension. So I/we would be paying tax twice on the pensions earned in the US. One time by the US and again by the UK.

One big issue is as I have mentioned would for you health insurance for a family.

One other point. If you bring money over here to the US you need to seek tax advice on that money as it just might be regarded as taxable. I forget what we did
when we sold up everything in the UK and brought all that money over here as it was a long time ago.

We were lucky to have attorneys paid for by my wife's US employer.

 

If foreign sourced income was properly taxed in (say) the UK you would, in most cases, only owe US tax if the US income tax liability were higher and then, in most cases, you'd owe only the difference.

While there are always edge cases, tax treaties usually deal reasonably well with cases where income could potentially be taxed twice. Foreign tax credits generally provide relief from double taxation but you're usually on the hook for any difference.

 

Thanks John, for the 'boil down' of this complex matter. I see that for me [ as its never my goal to immigrate permanently ], it would just be opening a can of fiscal wurms, not worth the effort.

First I will see where the kids do land in a few years. By that time our elderly horses will have changed for better pastures as well, so we don't have to worry where they end up.

The only uncertainty is the economy and if I will be able to sell this place as its almost beyond affordable now they cut most mortgages to max out much lower then some years ago.

Not eager to sell yet, so no prize to win in the present boom..

 

When I mentioned a "state" pension I meant Social Security.