becoming an expat

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New member
May 31, 2012
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I am soon becoming an expat from the usa and have some questions. If they have been answered in other posts, just direct me to them.

1. If i do not have a physical address in the usa, can i still get a drivers license for ID purposes? If not, will my passport work or is there some other ID i can get.

2. Will i still be considered a resident of the last state that i lived in? If not, do i still have to pay state income taxes?

3. If i open up a savings account in the DR, is there a minimum amount of interest i can receive and not have to report it?

3. any other problems i may encounter back in the usa on becoming an expat?

thank you
 

Ken

Platinum
Jan 1, 2002
13,884
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I am soon becoming an expat from the usa and have some questions. If they have been answered in other posts, just direct me to them.

1. If i do not have a physical address in the usa, can i still get a drivers license for ID purposes? If not, will my passport work or is there some other ID i can get.

2. Will i still be considered a resident of the last state that i lived in? If not, do i still have to pay state income taxes?

3. If i open up a savings account in the DR, is there a minimum amount of interest i can receive and not have to report it?

3. any other problems i may encounter back in the usa on becoming an expat?

thank you

If you don't want to pay state taxes, don't apply for a driver's license from that state after you move to the DR. Your passport is an excellent ID. Take the passport to a copy shop and have them photograph the page with your picture and the page you signed. Put those pages back to back and have them encased in plastic. The copy shop can do this. Carry that plastic encased ID with you and keep your passport in a safe place. Don't take it out unless it is necessary to show it for some reason, such as opening a back account.

In the future, if you decide to become a legal resident, you will have a cedula (the same ID Dominicans have) and a Resident card. But your passport will always be an excellent ID.

I have been in the DR for 26 years. I file a US tax return every year, but no state return. I am not a resident of any state.
 

La Profe_1

Moderator: Daily Headline News, Travel & Tourism
Oct 15, 2003
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I have a NY drivers' license, so I file both state and federal. However, since my pensions are state tax-exempt, it is just a paperwork issue and I end up not owing any income taxes to NY state. If I had to pay, things might be different!
 

wuarhat

I am a out of touch hippie.
Nov 13, 2006
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I think there is a minimum total income which, if you make less than it, you are not required to file taxes. I don't know the number, but it's small, maybe $1500-$5000. However, if your total income exceeds this number then you have to report the interest income also, no matter how small. Then there is the foreign earned income exclusion, which excludes you from paying income taxes on the first $9x,xxx.xx of foreign earned income, but not from reporting it. There is also an annual requirement to report an aggregate of $10,000.00 or more in foreign financial assets (bank accounts, bonds, etc.) to the IRS and maybe one other agency (I'm not sure). This is all pretty rough information, and you should visit Forms and Publications for more precise information. They have downloadable copies of all the forms and instruction manuals there. A foreign driver's license will most likely not be legal to use after 90 days in the Dominican Republic.
 
Jan 17, 2009
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Whether or not you pay state taxes depends on you having an income AND which state you resided last. You need to read the residency requirements for state taxes for your specific states. Virginia is a difficult one to show that you moved with no intent to return if you cannot show you are paying taxes to another state.

So, damp your driver's license and return your voter registration. Close your bank accounts and credit cards. Sell any property you may have purchased in the state.

Any investment income that you have abroad is subject to federal taxes. Earned income from foreign sources is not up to a limit, which I believe is now above 100,000.

I am soon becoming an expat from the usa and have some questions. If they have been answered in other posts, just direct me to them.

1. If i do not have a physical address in the usa, can i still get a drivers license for ID purposes? If not, will my passport work or is there some other ID i can get.

2. Will i still be considered a resident of the last state that i lived in? If not, do i still have to pay state income taxes?

3. If i open up a savings account in the DR, is there a minimum amount of interest i can receive and not have to report it?

3. any other problems i may encounter back in the usa on becoming an expat?

thank you
 

Tamborista

hasta la tambora
Apr 4, 2005
11,747
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Answer to #3 on bank interest: YES you must file the interest as income and the proper IRS form for Foreign Accounts no matter how little.

According to The IRS:
You only have to file an FBAR if your account exceeds US$10,000 during the year.

Income from Abroad is Taxable

The Bank Secrecy Act requires you to file a Form TD F 90-22.1, Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR), if:

  • You have financial interest in, signature authority, or other authority over one or more accounts in a foreign country, and
  • The aggregate value of all foreign financial accounts exceeds $10,000 at any time during the calendar year.
 

windeguy

Platinum
Jul 10, 2004
42,211
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Many good responses so far, just adding a few points:

I am soon becoming an expat from the usa and have some questions. If they have been answered in other posts, just direct me to them.

1. If i do not have a physical address in the usa, can i still get a drivers license for ID purposes? If not, will my passport work or is there some other ID i can get.

Yes your passport will work as an ID. I did try to keep my US license by using a mail forwarding address in the US in home state but that did not work for reasons I will never be able to discover. It is actually good that I could not keep a US license because there may have been tax obligations in that state. If your current US license expires before you become a DR Resident and therefor still unable to get a DR driving license, you may be in the position of having NO valid driving license for a while so keep that in mind as your research your best choices. Once you have your DR license, you should not have any issues renting a car with it if you travel back home or elsehwere.


2. Will i still be considered a resident of the last state that i lived in? If not, do i still have to pay state income taxes?

Others have given you good advice on this. Some states may claim you failed to file a tax return. You have to politely inform them you no longer live there. That did happen to me.

3. If i open up a savings account in the DR, is there a minimum amount of interest i can receive and not have to report it?

All interest is taxable.

3. any other problems i may encounter back in the usa on becoming an expat?

We discussed the possibility of your no longer having a valid drivers license depending upon when yours expires. There is also the issue of that license being valid in the DR for a fixed period of time after you arrive. I believe it is 3 months.

Another potential issue: Identity theft is something to watch out for and harder to track because you will no longer have an easy way for banks and credit card companies in the US to contact you if they suspect something is wrong. I speak from experience on this.

I do not recommend using US based credit cards while in the DR.

thank you
 

oriole100

Bronze
Oct 9, 2005
807
18
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If you live out of the US. for 6 months and 1 day, you do not pay state taxes. You can keep your drivers lic., voters card, etc. However you have to pay fed. taxes.
 

DR_Guy

Bronze
Feb 17, 2010
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You also get a deduction for almost 90k on federal if you you are out more than 335 days (something like that). Also there is a new law where you have declare EVERY bank account and fill out a lengthy form. I a from Texas so do not worry about state income tax.
 

windeguy

Platinum
Jul 10, 2004
42,211
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If you live out of the US. for 6 months and 1 day, you do not pay state taxes. You can keep your drivers lic., voters card, etc. However you have to pay fed. taxes.

That is certainly true for NY State regarding avoiding paying taxes in NY. I had no idea the law was the same in all states. As I mentioned before, I was not able to renew my US driver's license from California for some reason. Hopefully the OP can find a way that will work to renew. California also tried to tax me after I departed and I just had to tell them that I no longer lived there.
 
Jan 17, 2009
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I'm going to have to insist that the OP co silts with his state. Not every state is the same. We went through hell a couple of years back with Virginia wanting to charge us backed taxes plus late filing fees. It took many attempts, discussions on the phone, providing documents (including our residency papers here), and a full investigation that they did in their own before they finally agreed that that they had gathered enough evidence that we have moved abroad permanently. And yes, in our state keeping a driver's license is not legal once you move out of the state.

Voter registration is the same. To vote from abroad, you need to register as living overseas. Your old voter registration cannot be used.

If you live out of the US. for 6 months and 1 day, you do not pay state taxes. You can keep your drivers lic., voters card, etc. However you have to pay fed. taxes.
 

Celt202

Gold
May 22, 2004
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I live in the DR. I keep a bank account in the US and have credit cards in the US. My address for these accounts is my DR based remailer service with a Florida address

I file a US return and pay no income tax because my income does not exceed the threshold.

I pay self employment tax to the feds because that's the law. If I understand the law correctly self employment income is subject to self employment tax no matter where it is earned.

I file a tax return to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts when I take some money out of an account that was funded by 401(k) monies that were state and federal tax deferred. I usually keep that amount low enough to qualify for state 'no tax' status. I file anyway and pay no tax.

Plan carefully and don't make decisions based on posts on a message board by people you don't know. Creating this thread is just one leg in you due diligence.
 

Chicagoan

New member
May 27, 2011
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If you are living in the DR, but retain US citizenship, how do you go about voting in US elections?
 

Tamborista

hasta la tambora
Apr 4, 2005
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If you are living in the DR, but retain US citizenship, how do you go about voting in US elections?

You vote via absentee ballot a few weeks prior to the election through FEDEX, or have someone drop it in the USPS mail on the way back home.
 

Ken

Platinum
Jan 1, 2002
13,884
495
83
If you are living in the DR, but retain US citizenship, how do you go about voting in US elections?

I'm eligible to vote in the US national elections only, not state or local elections, because I don't have residence in any state and don't pay state taxes.

In advance of national elections, the American Embassy has been putting out information telling US citizens living in the DR how to get your ballot and vote.
 

Celt202

Gold
May 22, 2004
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If you are living in the DR, but retain US citizenship, how do you go about voting in US elections?

I'm registered with the voting office in the last municipality I lived in the US. That city allows voting by e-mail. I have to renew my registration data every year.
 

oriole100

Bronze
Oct 9, 2005
807
18
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I live in maryland, part time. Cabarete, most time. I sent coppies of my Res. card to my tax guy. When he filled the taxes no problem. I guess if you don't provide the docoments up front, it may be a problem. Md. gov. is messed up, but at least they get this right.
 

Chicagoan

New member
May 27, 2011
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I'm eligible to vote in the US national elections only, not state or local elections, because I don't have residence in any state and don't pay state taxes.

In advance of national elections, the American Embassy has been putting out information telling US citizens living in the DR how to get your ballot and vote.



Then, is your ballot counted in the state you lived in last?