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THE LIBRARY · PROTECTLife on a US Visa shelf

Life on a US Visa

For people building a life in the US on a visa: your tax status, paychecks, money back home, the green card, retirement, and leaving.

Three books, read in order: the foundations, then the strategies, then a deep dive. Each chapter works its numbers out with the calculators and cites its sources.

Volumes3
Chapters24
Reading time2.4 h
Calculators8
READ IN THIS ORDERFoundations → Strategies → Deep dive
01
VOL 1 · FOUNDATIONSArriving and Working on a Visa8 chapters · 46 min
  1. 01Your Tax Status Is Not Your Visa
  2. 02Counting Days: the Substantial Presence Test and Form 8843
  3. 03Your First Year: Dual Status and the First-Year Choice
  4. 04Social Security and Medicare: Who Pays and When It Starts
  5. 05Your Paycheck: Withholding and the W-4 for Nonresidents
  6. 06Bank Accounts, an SSN or ITIN, and Credit from Zero
  7. 07401(k), IRA and HSA When You Might Leave
  8. 08Filing Your Return: Form 1040 or 1040-NR, and State Taxes
02
VOL 2 · STRATEGIESTaxes, Money Back Home and Reporting8 chapters · 46 min
  1. 01When the US Taxes Your Income from Everywhere
  2. 02Reporting Foreign Accounts: the FBAR and Form 8938
  3. 03Rent, Interest and Gains from Home, and the Foreign Tax Credit
  4. 04Foreign Mutual Funds and the PFIC Rules
  5. 05Tax Treaties and Social Security Agreements
  6. 06NRE and NRO Accounts and Bringing Money Over
  7. 07Sending and Receiving Money and Gifts Across Borders
  8. 08Filing with a Spouse Who Is Not a Resident
03
VOL 3 · DEEP DIVEThe Long Game: Green Card, Retirement or Leaving8 chapters · 49 min
  1. 01A Runway If the Job Ends
  2. 02Money Planning Around the Green Card
  3. 03Retiring Early When You May Not Stay
  4. 04Roth or Traditional When You Might Leave
  5. 05Leaving the US With a 401(k) and IRAs
  6. 06The Expatriation Tax for Long-Term Green Card Holders
  7. 07Social Security When You Leave
  8. 08Estate Rules for People Who Are Not Citizens
CALCULATORS FOR THIS SHELF
401(k) withdrawal when leaving the US →Leaving the US on a visa: what do I net if I cash out now vs later, leave it or roll it over?Return home vs stay in the US →Should I move back home or stay in the US, and when could I stop working in each?FBAR / Form 8938 threshold checker →Do I have to report my foreign accounts on an FBAR or Form 8938?H-1B layoff runway →If I am laid off (on H-1B), what severance, how long does my money last, and what is my 60-day deadline?Take-home pay, visa-holder variant →What will I actually take home per paycheck, including as an H-1B, F-1 OPT or nonresident alien?Nonresident spouse: §6013(g) election vs MFS/HoH →Should my nonresident spouse and I file jointly or separately?PFIC cost of home-country mutual funds →What does holding my home-country mutual funds cost me in US tax?Prepay home-country education loan vs invest in USD →Should I prepay my home-country education loan or invest in USD?
TERMS ON THIS SHELF
Substantial presence testResident and nonresident alien (for tax)Nonresident spouse election (§6013(g))FBAR (FinCEN Form 114)Form 8938 (FATCA)PFIC (passive foreign investment company)60-day grace period (H-1B and similar)FICA exemption for F-1 and J-1 studentsTax treatyTotalization agreement401(k) withdrawals after leaving the USRoth versus traditional contributionsRent versus buy break-evenPrepay debt or investExempt individual (substantial presence test)Form 8843Dual-status alienFirst-year choiceEffectively connected income (ECI)Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN)Worldwide incomeDual-status tax yearForeign tax creditMark-to-market election (PFIC)NRE and NRO accountsForm 3520 foreign gift reportingRemittance transfer costLong-term resident (expatriation rules)Covered expatriateSailing permit (certificate of compliance)