Frequently asked questions by Americans living abroad

FAQs

What does our process look like for Americans living outside the USA?

Here are the three steps we take with every client:

  1. Tell us about your situation: First we meet in person, over the phone or via video-call to assess your current situation and your future needs. We take a holistic look at your entire lifestyle, from current income needs to life insurance protection. Once we better understand your unique circumstances we organize a tailored plan for you.

  2. Organize: Secondly we organize a plan that usually takes 4 pillars into account: investments, retirement, your estate & taxes. For some people, we may start with one or two pillars, it depends on your situation. As your life continues, your needs may change as well, hence we make sure each pillar stays on track to support your lifestyle.

  3. Continual review & monitoring: Lastly, we continue to monitor your strategy to keep you on track with changes in your life.

    We have clients that have been with us for +20 years and throughout their life their situation and lifestyle has changed - and so did their strategy.

How does the US citizenship tax work?

The USA is one of the only countries that has a citizenship-based taxation system instead of a residency based taxation system. This means no matter where US persons live in the world, you still in most cases need to file a US tax return.

How can Americans invest their money while living abroad?

The US passed the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act. This requires non-US banks & financial institutions to report accounts held by Americans & US Green Card holders to US tax authorities. This has made investing for Americans living abroad much more challenging as many foreign and US financial institutions will reject doing business with them.

Through our selected advisory providers we can help Americans who live outside the USA.

What is FATCA and how does it affect Americans abroad?

FATCA (Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act) is US regulation introduced in 2010 that foreign financial institutions must comply with for their American client base. Whenever a European bank works with a customer who has an American passport or Green Card, that institution must provide account details to the IRS when they use certain products (e.g investment accounts).

As a result, many institutions have started rejecting working with Americans due to the compliance burden. This has also had a big impact on Swiss banking secrecy.

FATCA has made planning for Americans more complicated, but not impossible. With the right advice Americans can work on improving their financial well-being, wherever they reside in Europe.

Why can’t I open a bank account in The US while living abroad?

In most cases you must have a physical US address in order to open a US bank account. There are some options available for overseas Americans.