Author Topic: Moving to the US after 20+ years of teaching in Asia  (Read 996 times)

kurtflav

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Moving to the US after 20+ years of teaching in Asia
« on: November 16, 2021, 05:27:05 AM »
My wife and I have been living and working in Asia for 20+ years.  We are relocating to the US in June 2022.  Over the years we have been investing our savings in the US market and we have a chunk of capital gains in our brokerage account that have not been taxed. 

My biggest question is how to proceed with our transition home, tax wise.  We have always filed the FEIE and have always come under that number (paid no taxes).  We are just wondering if we should think about some capital gains harvesting in 2021 while still under the FEIE.   

Appreciate any insight you can provide,
Kurt

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Re: Moving to the US after 20+ years of teaching in Asia
« Reply #1 on: November 18, 2021, 08:40:48 AM »
Assuming your current country of residence won't tax you capital gains AND your joint total income is still within the 0% capital gains tax bracket, then yes, harvesting capital gains is a good idea. You could also potentially do a Roth conversion if you have US Traditional IRAs

You can use this calculator to figure out the target amount.

If you repatriate before 12/31, then income earned once you are a US State resident may be taxed by that State. Income from cap gain harvesting may result in this income being taxed at a higher rate if it pushes you into a higher State tax bracket.
https://www.gocurrycracker.com/federal-income-tax-calculator/

For example: with $80k joint income all excluded with the FEIE you have about $25k of combined 0% bracket that can be split between Roth conversions and cap gain harvests