American living in Ireland - investment advice

M

mmunoz

Registered User
Messages
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Hi there,

I moved to Ireland last month, working for an American IT company and I'm seeking investment advice.

About me:

- 27 years old, married, single income, no kids planned;
- €95k annual salary;
- $100k RSU vesting over 4 years. I have an account on Schwab and first 25% vests in September 2017. I have completed form W-8BEN and Irish taxes are automatically collected on the time of vesting by selling the necessary number of shares;
- Pension plan where I contribute 4% and the company 5% for a total of 9%;
- Renting an apartment for €1750;
- We don't have any medium or long term plans regarding residency. We might live in Ireland for 2 or 20 years;
- I have investments in my home country (to remain anonymous I will retain the Country name, but it has a different currency) which I plan to keep and make regular investments of ~€250 by sending money through TransferWise. Since the two countries don't have a double taxation agreement and I must pay capital gain taxes in my home country, I will not notify Revenue about those investments. I don't plan to move money from those investments into Ireland.
- I've opened a current bank account with Number26 and I'm keeping my money there to avoid an Irish currency exposure in case of an Euro crash. I currently have €10k there.

Objectives:

- I'm able to spare around €1000 monthly for further investments.
- Medium term capital accumulation - buy a house in 4 years time when I decide on a place to settle.
- Long term capital accumulation - retirement.
- I'm tolerable to risks.
- Since I'm already making pension contributions for the long term, I was thinking in investing in ETFs (that track both the US and Global market). I've been reading about DeGiro but the complications and bureaucracy around taxes are overwhelming. Is it wise to use my Schwab account to buy those ETFs? How do I go about paying taxes in the USA and Ireland? Are there any other options?
- What is the general advice regarding opening accounts in tax heavens like Luxemburg?

Many thanks,
 
mmunoz said:
- What is the general advice regarding opening accounts in tax heavens like Luxemburg?
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Due to US FATCA rules, you will probably find it very difficult to get anything beyond a savings account and a checking account if you are a US citizen or a Green card holder. That is unless your assets on deposit with the bank qualify you for private banking services. The compliance costs are just to high for them to accept clients of the street.

PostFinance, the Swiss postal bank, was one of the last Swiss bank accepting ODC Americans and as of 1.1.2017 the will cease to do so. Clients received letters last month instructing them to move their assets else where before year end or their accounts would be frozen.
 
Jim2007 said:
Due to US FATCA rules, you will probably find it very difficult to get anything beyond a savings account and a checking account if you are a US citizen or a Green card holder. That is unless your assets on deposit with the bank qualify you for private banking services. The compliance costs are just to high for them to accept clients of the street.

PostFinance, the Swiss postal bank, was one of the last Swiss bank accepting ODC Americans and as of 1.1.2017 the will cease to do so. Clients received letters last month instructing them to move their assets else where before year end or their accounts would be frozen.
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Thanks for the considerations, but I'm not American neither a green card holder.

Rory T Gillen said:
You need some professional advice, not a blog site
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That is my next option. Would appreciate input from forum members that are in a similar situation.
 
mmunoz said:
- I have investments in my home country (to remain anonymous I will retain the Country name, but it has a different currency),
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How small do you think the world is that your identity would be revealed by you identifying your home country?! If you were less evasive in this regard then you wouldn't get posts making assumptions your nationality.

To be honest I'd be surprised that many posters are in similar situations, as it sounds like very complex set up with multiple countries, multiple tax laws and Luxembourg! I think the adviser advice is the best you'll get. Good luck!
 
username123 said:
How small do you think the world is that your identity would be revealed by you identifying your home country?! If you were less evasive in this regard then you wouldn't get posts making assumptions your nationality.

To be honest I'd be surprised that many posters are in similar situations, as it sounds like very complex set up with multiple countries, multiple tax laws and Luxembourg! I think the adviser advice is the best you'll get. Good luck!
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Well, this is as comfortable as I could get, since I was already sharing a lot. I would have thought

1) there are other non Irish or American folks living and working in Ireland that receive US RSUs
2) that also invest in US stocks and ETFs.
3) that kept investments in their home countries and made a decision on wether or not to mix that with their Irish residency status

Luxembourg was just an additional question, I was talking about tax heavens in general as means to reduce taxes. Thanks for the considerations though.

Bronte said:
But the thread title says you are American!
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It was edited after I created the post.
 
Get a grip, and pay up for some professional advice - if deed your scenario is real. Why would someone in your situation - who quite clearly understands a lot - would use a blog site as a substitute!!
 
Rory T Gillen said:
Get a grip, and pay up for some professional advice - if deed your scenario is real. Why would someone in your situation - who quite clearly understands a lot - would use a blog site as a substitute!!
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Well he's as entitled to post as anyone. Personally I didn't really understand what he is at. Not my area of knowledge.
 
It is very easy for US citizens living abroad to unwittingly break tax laws of the United Sates and/or of their host country. OP will need to file Irish tax returns because s/he has or will become tax resident in Ireland whilst retaining investment accounts in the United States. In addition, OP will need to file US Federal tax returns because all US citizens, regardless of where in the world they live, are obliged to file. Professional, paid for, assistance is needed from the start. If this is let drift a few years it will cost a lot more to regularise. And for the record, Ireland and the United States do have a double taxation agreement and the tax authorities in both countries share information with each other.
 
TLO said:
It is very easy for US citizens living abroad to unwittingly break tax laws of the United Sates and/or of their host country. OP will need to file Irish tax returns because s/he has or will become tax resident in Ireland whilst retaining investment accounts in the United States. In addition, OP will need to file US Federal tax returns because all US citizens, regardless of where in the world they live, are obliged to file. Professional, paid for, assistance is needed from the start. If this is let drift a few years it will cost a lot more to regularise. And for the record, Ireland and the United States do have a double taxation agreement and the tax authorities in both countries share information with each other.
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No US citizens involved here.
 
The OP should go back into this OP and amend the thread title to say Foreigner instead of American.
 
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