Saving for Retirement in Guatemala

U.S. Tax considerations. The Tax Corner by John Ohe.  Living abroad, many U.S. expats give too little thought to saving for retirement. Some basic financial planning is absolutely critical, and helps to avoid the unenviable position of reaching retirement age without sufficient funds. The purpose of this article is to provide food for thought and encouragement to consider the following […]

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Owning Real Estate while Living Abroad

Many U.S. Citizens are aware of the $250,000 ($500,000 if married filing jointly) exclusion on the gain from a sale of a home in a qualifying transaction. The following general requirements must be met to qualify for the exclusion: You must have owned and occupied the home as a principal residence for at least two out of five years prior […]

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Wages vs Self-Employed

The IRS and U.S. foreign nationals living and working abroad Just because you are a U.S. citizens living and working abroad does not mean that you don’t have to report your yearly earnings to the IRS. However, if you pass two tests and qualify for the “foreign earned income exclusion,” you don’t owe any tax unless you made more than […]

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Avoiding vs Evading

Written by Steven Pittser A few tips on U.S. taxpaying and IRA accounts “I haven’t filed taxes for six years— ever since I’ve been down here.” That was the comment from my co-expat from the States, who had just bought me a drink at my favorite bar in La Antigua Guatemala. “I have had income every one of those years, […]

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