Moving to the US with work.
Discussion
Myself and wife are due to relocate to Georgia in a couple of months from the UK, and basically we need some advice on the financial side in the UK.
I've had a quick look at financial advisors in the UK but they mostly seem to deal with mortgages & debt consolidation. What we really need is advice on tax payments in the UK (what we need to do prior to departure)as we plan to rent our house out and purchase another in the US.
Also, any other pointers regarding re-locating in general......would be appreciated.
Cheers
Neil
I've had a quick look at financial advisors in the UK but they mostly seem to deal with mortgages & debt consolidation. What we really need is advice on tax payments in the UK (what we need to do prior to departure)as we plan to rent our house out and purchase another in the US.
Also, any other pointers regarding re-locating in general......would be appreciated.
Cheers
Neil
jeff m said:
First decide how long you intend staying.
That can of course change. Mine did.
So what car do you intend to get?
Jeff,That can of course change. Mine did.
So what car do you intend to get?
Thanks for the reply, we had a look around a couple of weeks ago, and the firm is paying foran apartment/hotel for a month when we get out there, so it should give us a chance to look about.
The visa (L1-B) is for 5 years, but they advised if we wanted to stay to apply for a green card after two.
Car choice is a little difficult - open to suggestions, I was thinking of circa $10K ideally a SRT-8 Charger (but well out of my price range!) so I'm thinking about a Mustang GT (manual) or possibly (if I can scrape a bit more cash together) a RAM SRT-10......I did fancy a late 60's early 70's Camaro/Firebird/GTO but the prices have gone haywire since my last visit to the US and I can't think of any '80's stuff which "floats my boat" so to speak!
Matt Harper said:
I did exactly what you are about to do, back in 2001. The company I worked for relocated me to Florida on an L1-A.
Based on my experiences (not all of them good), I would suggest:
A solid contract with your employer, in terms of relocation and repatriation if things don't go as planned. Remember that on any kind of work visa (L in particular) you place yourself completely in the hands of your employer. You cannot transfer your status to a new employer if things don't work out for any reason. If your employment with that company comes to an end for any reason, so does your status. So make sure you have all the bases covered ahead of your move, in this regard.
Will your company maintain your Employer NI contributions throughout the period of your visa coverage?
I maintained my property ownership in the UK (as was required by the L1 at that time - though I think that may have changed). Frankly, it was a pain in the arse. Absent landlords are very vulnerable to piss-taking by tenants - if I had to do it again, I would have used an agent - but even then, I've heard a few horror storys re. unpaid rent, unfixed damage and abandonment.
Your rental income is taxable in UK, so you will need to continue to file UK tax returns.
Your biggest challenge upon arrival will be lack of US credit history. Your UK creditworthiness means naff-all here - so establishing credit is a challenge. If you don't have one now, get an AmEx card immediately (like, TODAY). Getting a mortgage is going to be fretful, even with assurances of your position from your employer. You're also faced with a couple of points over base, due to your non-immigrant status, if you can find a lender willing to work with you.
I'm not certain, but I suspect that you can begin Green Card proceedings sooner than you have stated. Your employer is the driver here - not you. You are just a passenger in the process. L1-B means you (and your company) will have to satisfy Labor Certification criteria (long-winded, expensive and complex) and the process takes years, so persuade them to start as soon as possible.
I'm not sure I agree with Gavin re house purchase. Here in the south, prices are in the toilet, so you can get a lot of property for very little (unless you are looking at the up-scale parts of Atlanta). So if the opportunity to get on the ladder presents itself, I'd take it.
I sold my house in UK at the end of 2007, just before the UK market s
t it's pants - and because I'd been out of the UK more than 5 years I had no UK tax liability on the proceeds - less than 5 years it is taxable - good to know, I just got lucky.
I won't try to advise on cars, because that is where I become reckless and irresponsible - suffice to say that the choices are endless.
GA is nice - a little 'country' but the folks are friendly (in the main) and the climate is agreeable. Atlanta is great, as long as you stay well away from the ghetto.
Good luck - and if there's anything I can do to help, I'd be happy to.
Sorry if I sound a little gloomy on some of this, but the excitement of a move like this can sometimes lead you to gloss-over some of the harsher reality.
Matt
Thanks for the reply (to all), I know what you mean regarding keeping your eyes open on the pitfalls, one of the issues I'd raised was regarding repatriation if everything goes wrong - which hopefully it wouldn't.Based on my experiences (not all of them good), I would suggest:
A solid contract with your employer, in terms of relocation and repatriation if things don't go as planned. Remember that on any kind of work visa (L in particular) you place yourself completely in the hands of your employer. You cannot transfer your status to a new employer if things don't work out for any reason. If your employment with that company comes to an end for any reason, so does your status. So make sure you have all the bases covered ahead of your move, in this regard.
Will your company maintain your Employer NI contributions throughout the period of your visa coverage?
I maintained my property ownership in the UK (as was required by the L1 at that time - though I think that may have changed). Frankly, it was a pain in the arse. Absent landlords are very vulnerable to piss-taking by tenants - if I had to do it again, I would have used an agent - but even then, I've heard a few horror storys re. unpaid rent, unfixed damage and abandonment.
Your rental income is taxable in UK, so you will need to continue to file UK tax returns.
Your biggest challenge upon arrival will be lack of US credit history. Your UK creditworthiness means naff-all here - so establishing credit is a challenge. If you don't have one now, get an AmEx card immediately (like, TODAY). Getting a mortgage is going to be fretful, even with assurances of your position from your employer. You're also faced with a couple of points over base, due to your non-immigrant status, if you can find a lender willing to work with you.
I'm not certain, but I suspect that you can begin Green Card proceedings sooner than you have stated. Your employer is the driver here - not you. You are just a passenger in the process. L1-B means you (and your company) will have to satisfy Labor Certification criteria (long-winded, expensive and complex) and the process takes years, so persuade them to start as soon as possible.
I'm not sure I agree with Gavin re house purchase. Here in the south, prices are in the toilet, so you can get a lot of property for very little (unless you are looking at the up-scale parts of Atlanta). So if the opportunity to get on the ladder presents itself, I'd take it.
I sold my house in UK at the end of 2007, just before the UK market s
t it's pants - and because I'd been out of the UK more than 5 years I had no UK tax liability on the proceeds - less than 5 years it is taxable - good to know, I just got lucky.I won't try to advise on cars, because that is where I become reckless and irresponsible - suffice to say that the choices are endless.
GA is nice - a little 'country' but the folks are friendly (in the main) and the climate is agreeable. Atlanta is great, as long as you stay well away from the ghetto.
Good luck - and if there's anything I can do to help, I'd be happy to.
Sorry if I sound a little gloomy on some of this, but the excitement of a move like this can sometimes lead you to gloss-over some of the harsher reality.
Matt
The house in the UK we plan to rent out through an agent, I'm not sure my parents or the in-laws could cope with any issues which may arise if we asked them to be the landlord whilst we were absent from the country. It's good to know about the tax implications regarding a house sale in the UK if we're out of the country for 5 years - I'll have to look into it.
The NI contributions would stop with my employer in the UK, as it's essentially being treated as a new start with the US employer (within the organisation) essentially I believe it would be up to myself and wife to continue to pay the NI?
Regarding mortgages, the firm works with a few financial firms - so I'm hoping this may make things easier, but it is a bit of a concern. I'll take a look into the AmEx card.
Thanks Again
Neil
Thanks for all the help, I'm planning on opening an AmEx card ASAP - I was also talking to my bank (HSBC) and they suggested that I could switch to an international account, but they didn't seem to know a great deal about them and just passed a telephone number to me. I'm pretty sure that they have branches in the US, but I'm getting the impression that credit history doesn't seem to carry over!
Do the experian credit checks count in the US, as it's possible to get a copy in the UK - I suppose it wouldn't hurt in the same manner as all of the details of no claims bonus etc. for insurance?
Regards
Neil
Do the experian credit checks count in the US, as it's possible to get a copy in the UK - I suppose it wouldn't hurt in the same manner as all of the details of no claims bonus etc. for insurance?
Regards
Neil
Gassing Station | USA & Canada | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff