mudcat

Every situation is different - the most important considerations in evaluating how to leave a Roth IRA to one's spouse are age and citizenship status. A spouse has a number of options beyond inheriting the Roth including a lump sum, distribution, a tax-free lifetime RMD, and a 10-year withdrawal plan. See https://www.investopedia.com/terms/r/rothira.asp for more information. Roth IRAs post-date the U.S. Thailand tax convention so it is unclear where in the treaty they are counted - I assume they will be covered under Article 21. See Roth IRAs (https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/408A). It is important to do your research based on those facts, as simply assuming that what applies to her in respect distributions from an inherited Roth IRA. See the helpful calculator the IRS provides https://www.irs.gov/help/ita/is-the-distribution-from-my-roth-account-taxable , note that this calculator defaults to assuming U.S. Citizen/Resident Aliens - there is a 'jump' link in the calculator for non-citizens non-resident aliens. Principal issues we faced even though my wife is a U.S. citizen within 6-years of having penalty free access to her inherited IRA include because 85% of the account balance is the result of Taxable IRA to Roth conversions (2021, 2022, and 2023) which take a penalty if distributed within 5-years and under 59 1/2. Even if your spouse is a U.S. citizen >59 1/2 years old her ability to designate non-resident aliens such as children is not a simple matter: https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/plan-distributions-to-foreign-persons-require-withholding How the Thai Revenue Department will treat distributions of contributions (capital) as opposed to the earnings from an inherited IRA is a question that has not been addressed anywhere I have found. We decided to take a cautious approach and recommend to my executor and her Power of Attorney agent to take a lump-sum distribution which we can easily document as an inheritance through our beneficiary page and U.S. will. This documents that the distribution is an inheritance and, as the recipient is a spouse exempt from taxes on balances up to 20-million baht. Furthermore we can document that the investment (non-IRA) account she is the beneficiary of is an inheritance through similar documentation of beneficiary statement and U.S. will. As an aside, we recently needed to close out our investment accounts because the institution was dropping their offering - we took the opportunity at the end-of-2023 to establish a cash balance for each of us so that amount supposedly is not subject to Thai income taxes is and when she transfers it to Thailand.

Here is single document with the Thai/U.S. Tax Convention (DTA) interleaved with the U.S. Treasury Departments 'Technical Explanation). This should save some scrolling back and forth and allows one to highlight provisions that apply to your situation. Articles covered are 1 (Personal Scope), 20 (Pensions and Social Security), and 21 (Government Service). ARTICLE 1 Personal Scope, 20-21 Pensions and Social Security Payments.docx

I understand that FinCEN 114 is relatively easy to complete once you have a template, but explaining to my Thai wife who is a U.S. citizen that failure to file this form could put her Social Security survivor benefit at risk has been a long struggle. Estate planning for U.S. assets is relatively easy with beneficiary statements and joint accounts - here not so much so I leave the bulk of my assets in my U.S. Roth IRA until I pass. I agree that a $50K threshold makes more sense, but once my wife inherits and moves assets to here (which is her decision) even $50K will not exempt her from the necessity to file, so we go through the exercise of extracting interest and high balance from each of her accounts each year. The latest issue I have with FinCEN 114 is the necessity of having Acrobat Reader installed to download or open the pdf form. I can complete and file her template with my Acrobat 9 program, but needing to have a computer (desktop or laptop) may prove to be a problem in the future for her.

I also wish to point out for U.S. people cashing out the ThB 800,000 bank account and keeping your combined overseas bank balance at any day of the year less than $10,000 removes the requirement to file FinCEN ,114 to comply with FATCA.

Remember 2024 is a leap year with 366 days ( not that Immigration would be aware or so picky)

I am working through this issue with a friend who is turning 65 soon. He is planning to move overseas for an indeterminate time (he may not think so, but I have known him for more than 25-years and expect changes). My recommendation to him is to enroll in Medicare Part B and a MediGap plan now even though he is not planning to expat until the fall, as MediGap plans offer a 6-month guaranteed enrollment without exclusions for pre-existing conditions (he has had both knees worked on). The most important feature is that, unlike Medicare Advantage plans, your coverage does not end when you go expat. You can return to the U.S. at any time and immediately receive treatment, unlike some options where you need to declare your return as permanent under 'special enrollment period' conditions to pick up Part B and enroll in a Medicare Advantage plan. I would certainly not recommend hiding your non-U.S. residence from a Medicare Advantage plan as that could come back to bite you should your care get expensive. My recommendation to him is to budget for Medicare Part B (2024 $174.70) and MediGap Plan G - High Deductible (2024 $35-70). I attach what that plan offers, including coverage for foreign travel emergencies (you pay $250 deductible, then the plan picks up 80%). If you budget can afford I am currently enrolled in Part B which comes out of my Social Security benefit payment. When I retired I kept my HMO from work at their rates, and when I turned 65 I got the Medicare Advantage plan that work had negotiated for their retirees. In between retirement and Medicare eligibility I married my Thai wife and we lived together in the U.S. under the work sponsored plans for the next 8-years until she received her U.S. citizenship and Covid drove us to Thailand full time. As we were no longer living in the U.S. we needed to drop our U.S. health plans with the exception of Medicare Part B where we have Thai based health insurance for local care and purchase travel insurance for trips back to the U.S. both for the treatment coverage but also for the repatriation/evacuation - my Medicare Part B serves as an reinsurance plan should I need expensive treatment in the U.S. Relocation to the U.S. would probably mean enrolling in a Medicare Advantage plan in my new location as a MediGap plan would entail underwriting that would lead to exclusions for some of my pre-existing conditions. Supplement Insurance (Medigap) Plan G-high deductible details.pdf

Suggest you take a look at the Toyota Yaris Cross. The Smart version just makes it under your 800K limit and it is a Hybrid which Toyota has been building and servicing for almost 20 years. The two higher priced varients may be worth a value vs cost evaluation.

For anyone attempting to decipher the Thai/U.S. tax convention, I interleaved the relevant articles (Articles 1, 20, and 21) with each technical explanation into a MS Word document so it is easy to highlight or copy sections without needing to keep multiple windows open.. ARTICLE 1 Personal Scope, 20-21 Pensions and Social Security Payments.docx

I think we are missing the salient fact that a primary goal according to the article is 'a construction project to expand Beach Road and provide more parking' I can smell and hear the idling tour busses from here.

Caddied for pocket money through High School, Navy service, and Junior College. Don't hate golf, just have no interest in it. As an aside I grew up in a New York City suburb with FOUR private country clubs, but our 20th reunion committee reserved the Polish American hall for the festivities - I am forever grateful that I did not need to walk in the front door of a club where I would not be welcome as a member.

In reference to LTR-WP visas issued using the 'self-insurance' option: As one of the early applicants, I was caught up in the 10-month insurance validity issue and did not want to wait for my policy to renew a few months later so I submitted the first page of my JPMorgan statement for my Roth IRA that showed a current value, actions, and a chart with a three-year look-back showing three-times what they required in a 'bank' account. I also submitted a description of the Roth IRA tax and penalty-free withdrawals available for my situation. I will re-submit the then current statement for the account when my visa comes up for renewal in five-years which will (hopefully) show an increase in value and no withdrawals (we live comfortably on my SSA and pension). I will be prepared to argue if they do not accept what they accepted before; as a fall back I do have qualifying health insurance here, but I will stand on principal.

Here as a start on a TM-95 as a MS Word document converted using Acrobat 9.0 Pro. If someone wants to use it, get it to look more like the Acrobat PDF and Immigrations TM-47 form. You can use Immigration's 90-day reports in document format if you need symbols. Once you have it 'pretty' upload it here for other's use. TM.95 blank.doc Blank TM47 Form for Alien to Notify of Staying Longer Than 90 Days.doc

I also faced the taxable IRA (TIRA) vs. Roth IRA (ROTH) dilemma, but I am fully retired and my wife never worked in the U.S. My wife, a U.S. citizen, was the primary beneficiary for both accounts (our ages are 53 and 75 respectively. For her to inherit the TIRA balance upon my passing could result in a largish tax bill should she choose to move the balance to Thailand immediately or move the balance over a number of years to stay within the 10 or 12% tax rate after her standard deduction. In a worse case she could be evicted from our banking relationship because of no longer having a U.S. residency (see many threads on banks terminating accounts of non-resident citizens). To use IRAs as estate planning tools rather than retirement savings vehicles has no simple answer. Factors include whether your wife is a U.S. citizen, her stated desire to return, and who you have stateside that can and be willing to help her with all the paperwork necessary to be compliant with the rules and regulations. After attempting to devise a simple method to use both IRAs as an estate planning tool I decided to convert my TIRA to my ROTH over three years. This cost ~$50,000, but most of the taxes paid would have been paid either by myself or my wife - my RMD was running around $6,000 per year. After completing our move to Thailand we had the income to pay the estimated taxes without needing to use the TIRA withdrawal to pay the bill, thus moving the entire balance to the ROTH (minus the decreasing RMDs). A few notes about ROTH inheritance; the account can be 'assumed' by your wife but she also is subject to the same conditions as any ROTH holder including penalties (especially withdrawals before 59 1/2-years old). My recommendation to my wife who is already here in Thailand is to cash out the ROTH and transfer the balance to her U.S. checking account and wire most or all of it to her accounts in Thailand. Our separate Robot investment accounts should be converted to cash and moved to Thailand after canceling her U.S. VISA card ending her U.S. financial ties. Once this is done she would have ongoing responsibility to file FinCEN 114 to comply with FATCA and file with FBU Manila for her survivor benefit from Social Security.

Simply submit your tax return transcript which truncates your name(s) and address and only includes the last four-digits of your SS#(s) making it ideal for submitting to agencies but making it useless for anyone else. A point to note is this document is not editable, so the original is true but a printed copy that you modify by crossing or blanking out is not. You will need to point the BOI lines giving your pension income. Taxable IRA Distributions and conversions, pensions, and Social Security all have their own lines which you should call out by page and line number on the transcript.

Here is a sheet of mailing labels to Immigration you can print on label stock. Do one for home and you are set for the decade Immigration - LTR Unit.docx

The TM95 form for annual LTR visa holders who have been resident for 1-year (i.e. have not left the Kingdom) is attached TM.95 blank.pdf

U.S. procedures at Kaiser required a driver to stand by to take you home as their anesthetic was enough to disorient one. Not sure what the recommendation is here but you might inquire - maybe a promise to take a motorcycle taxi would be enough. The first test I had after my sister's colon cancer was a sigmoidoscopy which was an office procedure vs an operating room. Why would you have a sigmoidoscopy instead of a colonoscopy? A flexible sigmoidoscopy is a quick, safe and efficient way for healthcare providers to diagnose and treat conditions in your lower large intestine. It doesn't go as far into your body as a colonoscopy, so it doesn't take as much time or preparation. It can be done with or without sedation.

I put my faith in a treaty between two sovereign states before any decree, because there is no recourse or appeal and the language is clear and less subject to "new" readings.

It never made much sense to market a new visa program to persons who demonstrate the wherewithal to bring significant assets, income, or cash benefits into the kingdom only to turn around and subject the transfers to taxation. The exception for highly skilled workers being granted a capped low tax rate is reasonable recognition they are not bringing assets but their skills.

The purpose would be to have a tax return or transcript showing the sources of your income. Basic process is to add half of your Social Security benefit to your gross income. If the result is under $25/32 thousand (single/married filing jointly) your benefit is not taxable income and your taxable income is likely to be less than your standard deduction. See definition of gross income footnote to "do you need to file" in your i1040 instructions. Having a return or transcript will give you the information you may need to answer questions from the RD who may not understand the tax treatment of Social Security benefits

Should your income in the U.S. be under the standard deduction after calculating the tax status of your Social Security benefit and thus a tax return was not required one can file amended returns back three years to organize your paper trail.

One of the rare instances that I am grateful for paying U.S. income tax on worldwide earnings. As I have not worked since I walked out the door in 2010 with my Social Security entitlement and Civil Service government pension from the agency I worked for, I believe the DTA has me well covered. My Social Security is direct deposited into Bangkok Bank for our living expenses here and my pension is deposited into my Chase checking account that I use to pay my credit card, one insurance payment, one-time PayPal payments I don't want to run through my credit card, and for investments. My investments are in a Roth IRA and two robot taxable accounts (one each for myself and my wife into which I invest $1,000/month each). Neither of my investment accounts is withdrawn from but rather form the bulk of my estate through beneficiary designations, currently my wife with two charities as contingent beneficiaries. I am not worried about tracking ATM withdrawals (typically one a month for which Chase reimburses the Thai bank charges), as I can easily demonstrate the source of funds being my pension - and I use a few different Thai banks for convenience which makes tying the transaction to my Thai tax ID number unlikely. As I am on a LTR-WP pension I do not need to worry about the local IO or RD officers making discretionary interpretations of what appear to be a very vague proposal. A headache yes, something to make us uproot our lives here - no.

Going the other way (back to th U.S. for a visit where I wanted cover for initial treatment and repatriation) I ended up using a Thai company's travel plan (MSIG). I appreciated reading in their terms and conditions a definition of pre-existing conditions: Pre-existing Conditions means Physical conditions of the Insured as follows: 1. In case of insurance for a Single Trip and for annual Open Policy, it shall mean the disease (including complications), symptom or abnormality occurred to the Insured within twenty-four (24) months preceding the effective date of this Policy with sufficient indication for a person to seek diagnosis or treatment or for a physician to provide diagnosis or treatment; 2. In case of insurance for Annual Trip, it shall mean the disease (including complications), symptom or abnormality occurred to the Insured within twenty-four (24) months preceding the effective date of this Policy with sufficient indication for a person to seek diagnosis or treatment or for a physician to provide diagnosis or treatment and medical conditions for which the Insured has claimed during a previous trip or medical conditions for which the Insured has sought treatment or diagnosis within twelve (12) months before the trip. Such conditions shall be considered pre-existing conditions for subsequent trip. Although this policy is only available for residents reading the definition gave me assurance that a long term condition (in my case cholesrerol) that is under control through medication is not a pre-existing condition. Other plans required having one's medical history being reviewed by an underwriter.

Flew out from Bangkok this morning. Used the Fast Track lane all the way down the terminal past the escalators. They allowed my wife (Thai national) process with me. It was pretty busy but altogether around 15-minutes and we were on our way to our gate.

The BOI employee must be reading the notice to report stapled into our passports as the attached shows: