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Comment by nobody9999 | Hacker News Reader

>Meanwhile, if you’re an average joe American expat living abroad, your financial life will be a nightmare since the US automatically assumes you’re some rich tax evader. Good luck opening even a basic bank account while abroad.

That's not even close to being true. As long as you're paying taxes where you're living (and most foreign jurisdictions are quite prickly about such things), if the taxes you pay to the foreign government exceed what you'd owe the US government, you generally don't have to pay any US income tax[0].

[0] https://www.americansabroad.org/us-taxes-abroad-for-dummies-...

Edit: Apparently, while the income tax situation isn't too bad for expats, the US has reporting requirements for foreign banks that are rather onerous. As such, many American expats have a hard time getting bank/investment accounts abroad, which is what OP was talking about.

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That is correct, but you are still not.

Many financial institutions will block US taxable people due to the complications supporting them. Especially if you're a peasant whose support costs will exceed your value to the institution.

Additionally, you must still file taxes every year, and declare all bank accounts on which you are a signatory (under threat of seizure), or for which your spouse is a signatory.

>Many financial institutions will block US taxable people due to the complications supporting time

My apologies. I don't understand the second half of that sentence. Would you please explain?

Typo. Time == them.

Few non-us financial institutions are willing to shoulder the burden of supporting the US Gov. Requirements. So they ask "are you a US taxable person?" "sorry we cannot offer you services at this time".

>Few non-us financial institutions are willing to shoulder the burden of supporting the US Gov. Requirements. So they ask "are you a US taxable person?" "sorry we cannot offer you services at this time".

Gotcha. I poked around online after reading your comment and it does seem that FATCA[0] is causing issues for American expats.

That's a shame. :(

[0] https://www.congress.gov/bill/111th-congress/house-bill/3933...

As a financial institution outside the US, if you have a US taxable customer, you effectively come under the jurisdiction of the US governement, along with all their forms.

I was just shot down by most brokerages in Europe because I'm a US/Irish dual citizen. Interactive Brokers finally said "yes". Meanwhile, every account I have been able to open asks if I'm a US citizen and demands my (US) details - they do this even if you've never set foot in the US before.

Can confirm. My son was born in the US (and still holds on to his citizenship), and it has been quite a bit of work to set up bank accounts for him.

Another confirmation here: I, an American citizen living and working in Germany, have been able to get simple checking accounts, but no one will open a regular brokerage or tax-advantaged retirement account for me. However, that's kind of ok, because if I were stupid enough to buy ETFs outside the US market, I’d be in for some spectacular US taxes on them (look up “PFIC”)

However, to top that off, the few brokerages in the US that will openly serve Americans living abroad (Schwab) can no longer allow those of us living in the EU to buy boring index funds or any other sort of ETF on the US market because they don’t comply with the EU’s new customer disclosure rules.

There are taxes besides income tax, though. Capital Gains Tax on your house to give one random example. Things like AMT can complicate this as well, though 2021 is the first year I'll have to find out what happens.

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