Expat Investment Advice
I’m a 26 year old American citizen living in London via a Tier 2 skilled workers visa, sponsored by my company. I have been here for a little less than a year, and my stay will be indefinite as long as I like it here and have company sponsorship. I may be here for another 1-2 years or possibly longer.
My worry is that I’m losing precious investment time since I don’t have a return date. In the past year, I have not made any real investments besides adding $2,500 USD to a Roth IRA while I was in the US and being enrolled in my company’s UK pension. I am very confused about where I can legally invest. As my plan is to eventually move back to the US in the long run, I would like to put my money there (e.g. mutual funds, IRA contributions, etc.) but I have read that this may/may not be legal if I’m in the UK and may have tax implications.
I have been trying to find a financial advisor who can help me figure out what the correct thing is to do in my situation. However, I’ve read in some places that financial advisors are only allowed to advise for their jurisdiction, so I wouldn’t even be able to discuss my situation with them.
My question to you is, do you know of anyone who has expertise in these expat investment scenarios? From my research, it’s complicated and everything online is contradictory so I would rather pay for a consultation with an expert.
Thank you very much for your time and help!
Terry Says
This is an interesting question. Here’s the simple answer:
Americans working abroad can contribute to an IRA, but only with money they haven’t excluded from U.S. taxes by using the foreign earned income or foreign housing exclusions.
But I suggest you read the entire article here.
And then I realized you might actually need some good tax help. Here is a site that I think will help you immensely –giving you an accountant who specializes in expat tax issues.
