Financial advice for UK-based US citizen

May 26, 2017 7:01 AM

I'm a US citizen who lives and works (indefinitely) in the UK. My financial situation is about to become more complicated. Whom should I consult about taxes and investments?

I am a US citizen who lives in the UK; I just accepted a job offer that means I'll be in the UK indefinitely. This raises some financial questions, mostly because of US citizenship-based taxation. So far, this has been pretty simple (I'm comfortable with the FEIE and other basic filing-income-taxes-from-abroad stuff) because my only income is from my job. However:

1) My new job (at a UK university) has a pension plan in which I'd like to enroll;

2) I have some savings (around GBP 30 000) that I'd like to invest in such a way that they're not just sitting in a savings account earning negligible interest (which is the current situation).

From what I've read, both of these can be very complicated for US citizens living abroad (e.g. from what I can tell, I'm supposed to be very conscious of the acronym PFIC). I'd like to obtain professional advice, but I'm pretty clueless about this sort of thing. I'm not even sure exactly what type of professional I want to talk to, or how to go about finding someone UK-based who can advise on US tax compliance and investing for UK-based US citizens. Please hope me!

posted by busted_crayons to Work & Money (3 answers total)

It's designed for U.K. people but I've found the Money Advice Service quite good.

As well as text resources they offer web chat and phone calls. I do not think they will be able to give you the advice you need, but they might be a start and might point you towards more specialised advice.
posted by Segundus at 9:48 AM on May 26, 2017

Best answer: I am a US citizen who lives and works in the UK. This does get very complicated, and there are choices you can make about what to file when that will impact your liabilities, as well as the need to make sure you're reporting to the IRS how much money you're holding in non-US banks. I use expatriate tax preparers from Buzzacott -- not cheap, but very good in my experience. They can probably also offer investment advice.
posted by shattersock at 10:09 AM on May 26, 2017

I have some experience with this, though I am still sorting it out. It was very difficult to open a bank account here, and the post-Brexit pound fell considerably, so my investments have remained in the US. (This comes with its own set of challenges, of course!) I'd also recommend you look into the particulars of withdrawing the pension when it comes time. If you plan on leaving the UK, it may be difficult if you are not a UK citizen as some plans are not designed to be paid into foreign accounts (e.g., NHS) so it may be difficult to withdraw when the time comes. I haven't run into this yet myself but have learned from their expats online that they had this experience, so YMMV.

In terms of finding more info, there is a fairly helpful group on Facebook (US Expat Tax Questions) where others may have more insight. It's also a good idea to invest in a consult with a good financial and tax planner familiar with US/UK expat issues. Your university may also have more info on pension withdrawal. Sorry I can't offer more specific recommendations, but feel free to MeMail me if I can be of further assistance.
posted by stillmoving at 2:21 PM on May 26, 2017