ujong

Why would race make any difference? Are they Nazis? There are Thai citizens who are 0% Thai. What could matter is if the mother renounced her Thai citizenship before the birth of their child. Most countries require at least one parent to be a citizen in order to transmit citizenship to their children.

There was one time the IRS “corrected” my return and sent me a tax bill. I disputed this through written correspondence, siting various sections of the tax code. I was able to get away with it. But, had they dug deeper, they might have found a reason to reject it… but they didn’t. I consider myself lucky, not vindicated. Similarly in this case, I have to believe the IRS hasn’t looked into it deeply or doesn’t even know that Thailand is not imposing any tax. If they ever dig into this, what do you think is gonna happen? I have a pretty good idea.

The IRS has been known to reverse course once it realizes it’s own folly. This occurred in Singapore when their changed their mind about how employer contributions to the mandatory government social fund (CPF) should be taxed by the IRS. They issued a new ruling after issuing a past ruling. I’m not trying to pee in your punchbowl… I genuinely hope it works out for you — but I also think you need to be clear eyed about the risks, and that includes possible future action by the IRS that applies retroactively on your past filings. Hopefully the statute of limitations runs out before they get the chance… I believe 6 years needs to pass if the income in question is > 25% of your total income… then you’re home free.

If the tax maneuver is already getting nastygrams from from the IRS, it is unlikely that the IRS concurs with this interpretation, rather, they may have decided it isn’t a priority to pursue… yet. Until they actually issue a ruling, you are skating on thin ice. it sure smells like a BIG reach based on a technicality, and the intent of the savings clause sure seems to be a claw back. Rulings are typically issued based on “what is the intent” — and I can’t see how there would be any intent to let an RMD go tax free. I don’t mind being a little aggressive with my tax filing within reasonability, but this seems more far more bold than that. That is just my take.

A lot of people get away with a lot of things when it comes to the IRS, especially when it comes to the application of the US tax code overseas. This is because the IRS systems are mainly designed to sniff out bread and butter filing incongruities and the more common red flags areas. Everyone hopes they won’t get caught or hauled into court for a ruling if it’s a gray area. At the moment, give the current state of affairs in the IRS, it’s probably not a bad time in history to roll the dice… but that doesn’t mean they won’t catch up with you. You’ve got to ask yourself one question… do I feel lucky. Well… do ya punk? - Dirty Harry.

So the treaty allows you to opt for Thailand to tax distributions from your US pre-tax retirement accounts. And, since Thailand doesn’t levy a tax on retirement accounts, the entire distribution can be tax free? Am I understanding this correctly? It sure sounds too good to be true.

Among the military affiliated credit unions, Navy Federal really seems to be pulling ahead of the competition. If you have base access, NFCU has branches and ATMs overseas. They even have one here in Singapore.

I’ve seen mixed reviews on USAA. One thing they did recently that lit up the message boards was to disallow new account opening if you live overseas. If you’ve already set up the account in the US, you can continue using it overseas, but once you are overseas you can’t make changes to the account or open additional accounts with them. This policy really strikes me as odd and has not gone over well with existing customers. It also begs another question in my mind — if they are making these kinds of weird, xenophobic changes… what’s next?

It’s a great point - imagine traveling abroad and you need to access the app to lock your card… if you are unable to, who pays for the unauthorized charges? But honestly, I’ve yet to come across any FI that outright blocks overseas access, though it would not surprise me if there are a few. There is an FI or two that monitor your logins and will give you the boot if you always login from overseas - Merrill Edge is famous for that. The main blockages I’ve seen are with streaming media. Newer apps like Peacock (NBC) have found a way to detect and block VPN when I use my Amazon Fire Stick or my iPhone.. but somehow it still works on Apple TV. I think it depends on the VPN and also the app. For Netflix, it can detect sometimes, other times it can’t - - it’s almost like a cat & mouse game. I suspect VPN providers keep switching IP addresses as they get flagged, and app developers keep trying different ways to sniff them out.

No guarantees that they can’t detect you are using a VPN. Even some streaming services out of the US (the main reason most people get a VPN) are starting to detect it. Personally, I wouldn’t get a VPN for banking/brokerage services. I have been logging in from overseas for 26 years now and almost never had any issues with my banks/brokers. The only FI that gave me issues with VoIP 2FA is Citi, but they could call my VoIP number when they needed to authenticate me for Face ID, and now that Google Voice can ring my phone starting last year, I was able to do that. Overall, I couldn’t be happier with Google Voice, been using it since 2013 and haven’t paid a single cent.

I often complain to IT providers in the US for blocking all foreign internet traffic. One even told me I should use a VPN… to which I replied, well if anyone can get around the block with a VPN, then why block it at all? They didn’t respond! VPN will probably work, but I always feel a little uneasy logging into my accounts through a VPN, even though I use one that is supposed to be reliable. I use StrongVPN. They have been around a long time and have good CS. They always have promos that bring it down to around $3/mo, and I even bought one of their VPN routers so I can connect any/all devices to the additional wifi point that is always on VPN. I’ve also consistently heard good things about ExpressVPN and NordVPN.

That is the #1 reason I opened an account with SDFCU, in case I get locked out of my FI. SDFCU is primarily set up to serve more than 13,000 members of the foreign service, they are not going to turn their backs on overseas customers.

I agree, some brokers like Merrill Edge are famous for this — they see you logging on from overseas too much and they’ll shut you down. Schwab & Fidelity are better in this regard. I’ve used TD Ameritrade for the last 26 years, never changed the address, never use VPN and it’s never been an issue. The driver’s license thing is more sticky, I had to do tick that box. I just told myself - well, things change, maybe I was expecting to be a resident, but my employer called me up and renewed my contract to work overseas again. Things don’t always fit neatly in little boxes.

The ACC has a promo code for free membership, so you don’t even need to pay $8. Just google it.

I used to think it was somewhat questionable to use a US residential address while living overseas. But 26 years abroad has given me a lot of time to learn about it. One thing for certain, there is nothing illegal about providing a US address despite not living in the US. Anyone who tells you otherwise is either misinformed or is trying to sell you something. You are well within your rights. On the rare occasions when I’ve been asked directly by my US FI about where I live, I just tell them that I work overseas. They have never pried any further about my actual residence. I have observed there are 3 categories of US FI. The first are the “blissfully unaware” — the small credit unions that have no exposure to the world. Second are the “running scared” types — they just know it’s a risk and decided it’s not worth their time or trouble. Third are the “well informed” — they are smart enough to know that by you giving them a US address, that gives them enough legal cover in case any issues come up. What kind of issues you might ask? Here are a few examples: Like the US, foreign jurisdictions often have laws regarding consumer protections and disclosures that apply to any residents who may live there, this is especially so in places like Europe. Failure to comply can bring legal action on the FI for failing to comply, when they have account holders who clearly live there based on their address. Within the US, most traditional mutual funds have terms and conditions that restrict their sale to US residents only. If a US FI sells a MF to you while knowing you are not residing in the US, it is violating those terms and could get in trouble. You will notice I haven’t mentioned the Patriot Act, and for good reason, there really isn’t anything in there that prevents a US FI from working with customers abroad. The rules about identifying suspicious transactions and the like, apply to all accounts, no matter what address is tied to it.