I have some questions on retiring early and would like some input on my strategy. I've been reading up on FIRE for some time but haven't ever felt the need to post yet.

I'm 40 with about 1.1m total in Roth IRA/IRA accounts, about 200k in 401k accounts. I also get a few hundred dollars a month in VA disability. I also have about 70k in a taxable brokerage account. I'm currently in the process of selling my investment property, pocketing about 150k from the sale. I plan to put this into my taxable brokerage account. About 57, I also would start getting a retirement check from the National Guard.

I plan on FIRE to Thailand, with purchase of the Thai Elite Visa for 10 years and then transitioning to the retirement visa after I meet the age requirements for that. I have spent extensive time in Thailand and have been going through projected expenses with my friends in Thailand and most months it looks like spending will be roughly $2500 a month living my current lifestyle.

My plan is not touching any of my IRA/401k accounts, continuing to let those grow, and occasionally selling covered calls in those accounts like I have been doing to continue to grow those accounts slowly in addition to usual growth. Now, for income, I plan to use the roughly 200k in my taxable brokerage account after the sale of my property to generate income with a mix of FEPI/YieldMax ETFs/JEPI, as income to live off before I reach an age where I can touch my retirement accounts. Anything extra I would reinvest. Seems like I can get roughly $3500 a month fairly easily from that, in addition to the few hundred monthly I get from the VA disability, it seems like it will be plenty.

Now, I do understand that you shouldn't put all your eggs in one basket, especially with YieldMax and covered call ETFs, but most of my eggs aren't in that basket and I'm just using it for the income. My retirement accounts would simply continue to grow since I would not be touching that capital. I'm currently in the planning stage and saving up extra cash while I continue to work, but if everything works out, I would likely make the jump to retirement in about 12 months. There still is enough time to make some course corrections if needed and I'm not committed to the point where I can't go back to the drawing board while continuing to work.

I'd like some opinions on this - running the numbers it seems like this works fine. Am I missing any thing or not including something in my plans? Any considerations that I'm missing?

I live in Portugal and the tax system here allows one to choose if to tax the capital gains at 28% flat rate, or, "eglubamente", which is tax the capital gains as part of normal income according to brackets. I wonder if only Portugal offer this kind of "advantage" for the citizen to chose from, or spain also allow the same?

Hello,

After considering many countries in Europe, I’ve settled on France as my target for Expat FIRE. I wish to be near the mountains as hiking is my primary exercise and hobby. I’m looking at areas east of Nice (such as Menton). These offer good access to the hills with the advantages of Nice just a train ride away. So, down to my question…. My sustainable spending level will be €55,000yr (net of taxes). I know this is higher than the average salary in France but my lifestyle is on the chubby side. I am single and enjoy going out to eat and socialize and that tends to be expensive. Also, while I have visited Nice and passed through these towns on the train line, I haven’t spent considerable time there. I know that the Riviera is expensive...

Does this budget seem doable for a single person living a chubby-ish FIRE lifestyle in a more expensive area of France ?

Edit: Adding that I’m an EU Citizen, healthcare will be thru PUMA. Clarified that I’m more chubby-FIRE than FAT based on the responses.

I met my wife after returning to the states from teaching abroad, a month before I started law school. Fast forward 21 years, I’ve been practicing law for 18 years and I’m three years from being able to retire abroad. I lived abroad as a kid and I’d like my kids to have that experience and solidify their second language. My wife and I have discussed leaving the USA for years. Recent political developments have only strengthened my resolve to leave.

Now my wife doesn’t want to leave. I think she was leading me along all these years. Recently, I started talking about selling our rental property and factoring our move abroad into that calculation and, I suspect, it became real to her.

I can’t leave the country without my wife because we have two kids together. On the other hand, I really don’t want to abandon my dream of retiring early abroad. It appears that my only choice is to wait an extra five years until the kids are in college before leaving.

Have any of you navigated this predicament? Any advice is appreciated.

Looking for any advice / strategy on allocation, 'bond tenting' or as close as I can get, and especially if anyone has tax advantaged strategies for moving to Sweden :)

General Plan

I won't be able to push enough into 401k/IRA accounts via mega backdoor or other methods, so need to build a glide-path 'bond tent' via cash or 72t as I approach my FIRE number at the end of 2025 as a way to draw down incase of downturns, and Glidepath away back to heavier equity focus as I approach 5-10 years after. I'm not sure how to navigate the tax requirements between countries though, and see conflicting advice about whether to sell all assets as a way to move them to Swedish accounts (incurring a significant taxable event) vs moving funds to a current 401k which may still be recognized in Sweden. IIUC, in Sweden Investment income is subject to tax at a flat rate of 30 percent but there is a tax treaty with the US to prevent double taxation. Likely if things are successful I could also sell my home in the US and move the funds to an ISK account in Sweden down the road. Any advice on the strategy, glidepaths, optimizing my move in the best way financially is welcome.

Income

• Post Tax Salary $136,500 annually

• Additional $250,000 RSU Post Tax per quarter for the foreseeable future

Taxable Accounts

• VFIAX $355,832.52

• VIMAX $59,874.07

• VSMAX $64,739.33

• VTIAX $146,724.04

• VTSAX $3,002.66

• AAPL $230,936.19

• High Yield 4.5% Savings $345,308.36

Tax Advantaged

• TDF ~80% Stock (60%US / 40%Int) 20% Bonds (15%US / 5%Int) $620,752.05

Assets

• Condo $600,000

Debt

• 0$

Expenses

• ~$40,000 a year

I receive US Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI). The US doesn’t tax my benefits regardless of my residency. Given this, one then wonders, are the SSDI benefits taxable by Germany?

Here‘s the thing though, I’ve scoured the web looking for a definitive answer to this question and I have found answers…every answer you can think of, but nothing definitive.

Some sources say the Germans will tax my SSDI as normal income.

Other sources say only a portion my SSDI can be taxed by Germany and that’s determined based on some calculation applied to my first full year of receiving benefits.

Then there are some sources that say only the US can tax my SSDI because, per article 19 of the US-GER tax treaty (yeah way above my head), "if a person receives Social Security from one country and that person is a resident in the other country, only the country making the payment has the right to tax it.“

So many Americans receive Social Security, I‘m surprised there isn’t a definitive answer for such a basic question…I can’t be the first American to ask it.

Thoughts? Guidance?

I am from the U.S. and will be moving to Asia this fall on a tourist visa as I will be rotating countries and will come back to the US annually for a couple of months. I would like to the book round trip in advance but the return lag is not available. My timeline is fall to fall. How have you dealt with this? Purchasing a one way would be a red flag I believe. Thanks in advance.

Note: cross posting in r/expat

Hi, I have seen a pattern here where immigrant who came from a different countries or has ties have advantages while considering expat fire option. Specially if you know language and accustomed with culture. For example, I am in Canada now but came from small SEA country. Usually that country is not foreigner friendly e.g. safety, language, political unrest but for person who grew up there and has extended family its not that difficult to retire there. I am 39 , married, no kid. planning to work till age 50. Has investment worth 300k, no house. 120k/yr income, Expenses fixed 40k/yr and variable 10k mainly travelling. My wife dont have savings much, but she can save money as she started working just recently after finishing school. We do not have kids and may not have ever. Given our savings rate we can save 1-1.25 mil+ by age 50 so realized may have to work longer but when I was talking to my family back home I realize how cheap to live back there. We can live same/better life Standerd back there with 12k/yr. We will still planning to travel frequently so another 5k-10k. Which bring total exp 17k-22k/yr. We can even both work part time back home if we get bored which may cover half the expenaes. I also may receive a condo back home when I go back as inheritance then my cost will be down further. My wife will have 1 condo and may be extra 100k as inheritance from her family in future. We can save 500k by age 45 which may be enough to retire if I go back. Live on my investment income, (part time job not needed but as back up )and travel cheap in asian countries. Offcourse, things can change then I will change my plan too. What do you guys think about the plan?

Hello. My husband and I have about a million invested in index funds, a paid off house in the US we can rent out for anywhere between 4500-5000 usd/month, and we plan to save up about a 100k in savings before we try to retire in Italy. No kids and no plan for any. Just a married couple.

My husband is an Italian citizen by descent and though we never lived in Italy, we loved our time in Rome earlier this year. I understand it will be VERY different there, culturally, and also the buracracy. And living there will be very different from going to Rome as a tourist but we are willing to learn Italian, and embrace the different culture and lifestyle after we move. We are just completely exhausted from corporate life and would like to wind down a bit.

We have been looking at furnished apartments in Rome and have found many for 1500 euros or less and we hope to keep all our fixed expenses (rent, utilities, groceries, public transporation) under 2000 euro a month. We hope to travel around Italy slowly and also enjoy eating out and stuff which may add 500euro or so a month at most. So 2500euro a month spending at most.

We live a pretty frugal lifestyle already and am confident we can do that in Italy as well by enjoying all the low cost activities like parks and beaches, and local events that an international city like Rome has to offer.

I know Italy has higher taxes so I'm assuming our rental income of 4500-5000 usd will be more like 2500-3000 euro after taxes, property tax of 7000/year, home insurance of 2000/year, HOA fees of 1100 a year, and exchange rates.

Do our numbers seem solid enough? Or should we save more before we make the move? Please give us a reality check! Thank you.

Welcome to the ExpatFIRE weekly discussion thread. This thread may be used for discussions which don't merit their own post, or which might not otherwise survive moderation - Cost of living, visa, travel or other discussions without explicit link to FI, but of interest to seekers of Expat FIRE.

All ExpatFIRE rules still apply-- it is only moderation which is slightly relaxed.

Cross-posted in Spain FIRE.

I'm a Spanish citizen and US resident married to a US citizen. We hope to move to Spain in 5-10 years, but for now we're in the US, where we live, work and own a home.

We're considering buying a second home in my hometown in Spain. Now that we have a kid, we'd like to have a place of our own when we visit a few times per year.

I'm most interested in understanding if it's difficult to get a mortgage from a Spanish bank as a US resident? With my spouse being a US citizen, would it be easier to get the mortgage by myself? Are there any major tax implications in the US or in Spain that I should be aware of?

Thanks in advance!

Looking at retirement in five years which we will be living off of dividends paid out of our international Schwab account. If we decide to live in France and become a tax resident how does this work?

Does the tax treaty still work for us?

Some of the dividends pay out as LTCG, some STCP and some as Return of Capital. Depends on the individual funds.

Would we file our US taxes and ask for exemptions from France on the dividend distributions for a tax filing in France?

We haven’t settled on France, we may settle elsewhere in the EU but wanted to ask the question for France as it seems they are the most tax friendly major European country.

Thanks for any info.

Another US/Spain tax residency question that I haven’t been able to get clarity on.

Multiple lawyers/expat CPAs claim that Spanish tax residency is not in question if we’re in country less than 183 days.

Several posts here and the tax treaty seem to say the opposite.

Our situation is we are earning a significant amount (~400k) this spring before we set foot in Spain. We are also planning on selling our house and expect ~400k in capital gains that are exempt in the US.

However we are planning on moving to Spain after July and enrolling our kid in school in September. We will effectively live in Spain sometime in the second half of the year.

So are these CPAs and tax lawyers wrong? Because reading posts in here, it seems like we’d be reporting our US income and gains in Spain, and they’d consider us residents for the whole year despite adhering to the 183 day part.

I'm wondering what to do as I'm 2 years away from Fi. I'm 52, 2 homes, which I plan to liquidate, ( one has my inlaws in it , sticky situation) with a total value close to 1 mil. 400k equities and 100k cash. We are downsizing and moving to France. I live in a desirable area where real estate is likely to stay steady. I am holding the cash in order to reduce stress in the scenario of down market when I quit my current job. Should I think of my real estate as my cash reserve, since I will be liquidating, and therefore invest the current 100 k into the market now? And second, in 2 years, when I plan to diversify with bonds should I ladder t-bills or vanguard total bond market?

Many people consider tax havens to build wealth tax-free. Why don't more people consider French Polynesia.

Of course, I appreciate it is in the middle of nowhere. However, with an EU passport and work online and end up with no income tax/ capital gains as a base.

You see many people move to Dubai all the time for this reason. Ignoring the distance, why do more people not consider it for a few years?

Most low-tax jurisdictions require significant investment, e.g. property. Tahiti has basically no requirements for EU citizens.

Hey friends.

My Greek partner and I are considering taking the next step in our relationship, getting married and starting a family. He lives in Greece permanently and I've been traveling to Greece routinely to live with him for a couple months at a time under a Schengen visa. The only thing that's keeping us from doing this like yesterday is that we're both a little unsure of the residency, tax and business registration situation for me. We're only just beginning to delve into this topic.

My main source of income is through my LLC which I can operate remotely with no interruption to services. All of my clients are US based and I don’t have the desire/ability at this time to seek Greek clients. With that said, I just have so many questions like:

• Do I need to register the business in Greece/EU as well?
• If I have residency here, will I need to pay both sets of income taxes?
• What about business taxes for both countries?

Recommendations for expat law and tax professionals to consult with, content creators to follow, etc. so I can educate myself are very welcome!

Thanks for your help, friends!

Right now I’m Canadian, and always wanted an EU passport for obviously reasons

I heard German citizenship takes much longer to process than French , and Germany have so much more bureaucracy than in France

In terms of passport ranking, both passports are tie at second and third spots every year so I’m having trouble deciding which country should I go for

Anyone has any suggestions or tips?

Hello everyone. I just joined this group recently to research expating to France from the US.

My context is not exactly FIRE, but already retired (and financially independent).

Thank you all for the very informative information posted here about the US - France tax treaty etc., which I have been studying.

I still am finding it difficult to find a clear answer on how France regards FIXED ANNUITIES of US origin (Joint Life With Last Survivor, if it makes a difference) for a US citizen resident in France.

How does France treat the regular distributions from a Fixed Annuity for tax purposes?

I also assume this income needs to be reported on the French tax form and CSM (Cotisation Subsidiaire Maladie--contributions to the French health care system) would be assessed. Is that correct?

Thank you in advance for any clarification you can offer.

Hi there. My husband is on a very expensive biologic medication which requires administration at a hospital by a nurse every 4 weeks - sort of like chemotherapy. It is called Entyvio for ulcerative colitis/chrons. Similar to meds like Humira. We were planning to move from the US to Spain to retire early. My partner is a EU citizen (Italy) and I am a US citizen. Since we have never worked in Spain, we are not eligible for the national health care plan so we would have to get private health insurance. We asked for quotes and they said they would cover both of us but medications are not covered. So we would have to pay for the monthly infusions 100% out of pocket.

In the US, Entyvio costs $24,000 USD per dose, every 4 weeks without insurance. Thankfully our insurance pays for 100% of it after our annual maximum so it's not too bad. But in Spain, if this is not covered, I dont know if we would be able to retire there. Even if Entyvio is much less expensive in Spain, lets say it's 1200 a dose instead of 24000 a dose, that's still a lot of money to pay per month. Basically more expensive than our monthly rent. Since the insurance wont cover meds, they cannot provide me a cost estimate on this medication if we were to pay out of pocket. It is not a drug we can get dispensed at a pharmacy so we cannot contact a Spanish pharmacy to ask for quotes either.

Anyone have experience with getting biologic drugs in Spain covered under private health insurance? If it wasnt covered, how much did you pay for your medication per dose? Is there a private insurance company that DOES cover prescriptions like this? If so which companies?

Any insight would be appreciated.

I lived in US for about 10 years, and I've decided to go back to India for good. Both me & my wife(non-working) are neither Citizens or have Green Card. We have a kid who's a US citizen.

Over the last decade, I've accumulated some money in 401K, ESPP(Employers' stocks) and brokerage accounts - all of which i want to leave untouched until I'm 60 - just for diversification. I don't have any other assets besides these.

Given this situation, what's the best way to deal with these assets in terms of estate planning and inheritance. For now, i'm only concerned about setting up things in US. India assets planning would be much simpler as I'll be living there and i'll take care of it later.

From what I researched, I should be setting up a living trust with guardian as my wife and benefitiary as my kid who's a US citizen (so there are no gift taxes upto 11 Mil). But wanted to check with folks who have been in similar situation and what are the actions they've taken.

I guess just setting up beneficiaries in 401K or brokerage accounts without any of these wouldn't work when we aren't in US. Thanks for your help.

If you had a guaranteed $15,000 a month passive income where would you choose to live with a newborn and wife? Currently in USA but with the price of everything so high I wonder if the quality of life would be greater elsewhere. We love Hawaii but it’s so expensive!

I am currently In Europe for a few months and trying to get a Wise debit card is very difficult. Their website says debit cards for US customers has been suspended. I am not going back to the US any time soon, is their workaround for getting a card as I'm not a US resident any more?

Hi all! We’re looking at retiring in France in a couple of years. I understand the US-France tax treaty enough but really vague still on if/when we pass in France.

As of today, we are sitting on 25% taxable and the rest in ROTH with a small amount in traditional which I will convert all to ROTH in the next few years. Per tax treaty, these will not be taxed.

We plan on not having more than €200k in taxable and own a not too expensive property, ~€200k-€250k.

The inheritance tax… Does this take into consideration of the tax treaty? Per our financial portfolio, France will only tax on our property and whatever that’s taxable?

When we both pass, the ROTH will rollover to an inheritance IRA to each of our two kids. Since it’s ROTH and not taxed per treaty, this will not be taxed, yes?

Then the taxable will be tax free since it’s €100k/kids. The house… whatever gain is taxed at whatever percentage?

In essence, only the house will be hit by inheritance tax?

I will speak to an accountant when it comes time but right now I just want to understand more and if my reading comprehension is good or way off when reading all the different info. TIA.

Edit: I may have found the answer to this based on this detailed post by a lawyer.

It seems like the types, like ROTH, doesn’t matter. So if you have a total of, random example, €2mil in ROTH and two kids, the kids will each have to pay tax on €900k, the first €100k is tax free.

Property is where it’s located. So if there is a €200k house then add this tax.

This is a lot!

In essence, living there as an American has great tax benefits per the treaty. But if you die there, and not the spouse, a lot of tax.

Oh, there is also an auto succession. If the husband die and if there is no French will or the marriage is on way and not another, or the joint account doesn’t say “or” then kids automatically get the share… I haven’t delve into this part yet but from skimming, there is another layer of inheritance and dying in France.

36F, looking to relocate to another country but questioning healthcare options. I had a scoliosis fusion at 13 years old. I’ve lived in major cities across the U.S., and it’s been extremely rare to find good care. At some point, I’ll need a further fusion, and I also need regular imaging to monitor the degradation of my spine. It’s taken me nearly 20 years to find a good doctor here in the U.S., and I currently get treatments that aren’t covered by insurance. Since the spine is so sensitive, I’m terrified of moving abroad and not being able to access equivalent care.

I’ve tried care in New York, San Francisco, and Texas, but none were as good as the care I’ve finally found where I live now, in Los Angeles, because. Finding the right kind of physical therapist has also been almost impossible. I currently pay out of pocket for a trainer who has followed me through my last few moves and helps keep me in good shape. When I try to maintain my routine on my own, I often throw my back out or need manual manipulation. During COVID, when I couldn’t access care, I was in a lot of pain. I am currently looking on going on disability here but can't afford to even have a house by my doctor where I live even though I was making 180k annually.

Stress also causes me significant pain, but I’ve noticed that when I’m happy, my basic needs are met, and I’m not stressed, I tend to feel much better.

Right now, I’ve been waiting four years on the outcome of my citizenship application in Portugal, which would hopefully give me access to healthcare across the EU. I’ve also considered Mexico, since I need to live somewhere warm for my back (cold weather makes it worse), or even parts of Asia, like Bangkok, where I know there are excellent hospitals.

I’m struggling with the logistics of leaving the U.S. with a health condition like this. I guess I could always try to maintain health insurance in the States if I need surgery, but I worry about lapses in coverage and the possibility of the Affordable Care Act being repealed, leaving me uninsurable. I also worry about the cost of care in the U.S. if I return after 20 years and need top-tier surgery—potentially having to pay $200,000 out of pocket.

Does anyone have advice on managing healthcare when relocating abroad with a chronic condition? Is there a way to maintain access to quality care, or are there better countries for someone in my situation? If this isn’t the right subreddit, I’d also appreciate being pointed in the right direction. If anyone has had similar challenges, I’d love to hear your thoughts or experiences.

Will be leaving the US indefinitely for a multi-year motorcycle trip and eventual settling in another country. Could use advice on the basics like changing state residency to a no income state, general tax approach, etc.

But also need specific help with startup shares, QSBS tax exemptions plus separate profit interest distributions from working at a investment firm.

Would appreciate any recommendations for accountants you like.

My assumption is that one can avoid state taxes but one is stuck with federal taxes. Conceivably one can probably move money to the Caribbean but I like the safety of holding the investments in US with US institutions and nobody reliable would touch a smallish portfolio in a tax shelter (probably need tens of millions at least). True ?

I'm currently living in Las Vegas NV, and looking to move to Asia.

Both my parents died and I have no reason left to live in USA. My biggest passion in life in learning languages, and my only goals left are to learn Mandarin and Russian.

What would be my best options for FIRE? I saw that a passive income of 1500$ per month could be enough for me, and that number seems reasonable from the money I own.

I am planning on moving abroad with my wife who is a dual EU/US citizen, and 1 year old. For the next 2-3 years we will continue to save and live in the US as we plan our move (and make visits to find the right place for us).

We were considering some other lower cost of living countries, but the tax treaty in France is very appealing, especially since my wife already speaks French.

I am trying to understand my tax obligations of doing Roth conversions, or SEPP (72(t)) distributions - no other income is expected. My understanding is that due to the France-US Tax Treaty I would pay only US income tax, which is pretty crazy. By my estimate, that's barely over $1k/2k/3k for 40k, 50k, and 60k respectively gross withdraws per year accounting for a standard deduction, potentially less. No tax at all from Roth accounts, just like the US. Any advice on how taxes on taxable/brokerage accounts are levied? Most of our net worth is in Roth/Traditional accounts so I have not explored this yet.

My other question is how can we estimate healthcare cost? I have seen that it is an 8% PUMA fee on amounts over a certain threshold, others say 6.5% over a lesser amount, some say 0% since these accounts are treated as "pensions". Some also mention it is optional, and private insurance is complementary/better/more flexible. I'm just trying to make sense of it all and get a reasonable expectation of net amounts so we can really evaluate the cost of living in different areas.

Thank you. I am looking for recommendations for US/French tax advisors that can provide general advice (and later tax preparation help), regarding the taxation of earned and passive income, wealth tax, etc and PUMA considerations.

It would ideally be a team or individual that could offer general advice regarding certain classes of income, as well as an overall assessment of what to look for, pitfalls to avoid, etc.

There are quite a few firms that do this- but I am interested in one that is thorough, willing to be flexible and provide a foundation for future work, with not a lot of billing up front- until I finalize on my financial/relocation decisions.

Internet sources can be a helpful, but unintentionally confusing and wading through tax law can be difficult and may not result in the most current interpretation of the law.

The Spanish Senate has yet to vote on it. What is the likelihood that they will vote for it before the year ends without any amendments. And if they do, will it immediately cancel the program on January 1, or will the implementation of the new law still take some time