I decided to start saving for retirement and opened an account at one place using a VPN, but that’s obviously risky. I have a US address, but the utilities are not in my name and I have no other way to show I live there. This information wasn’t requested when I signed up, but rules change. I’ve been asked on other services where I’ve been detected logging in from abroad.
I’m sure it’s possible to have an IRA while abroad, but I need to be able to make investments and whatever else one does with an IRA. From what I’ve looked at, some firms restrict what one can do while abroad.
Fidelity Investments allowed me to invest (and otherwise freely manage all my accounts) while I was in Taiwan. That said, I didn’t create any new IRAs; all activity was in accounts I’d established while living in the US.
I wouldn’t call my experience painless, though. If I recall, at least once I did have to contact Fidelity via phone for a particularly large deposit.
InteractiveBrokers doesn’t say much about having an IRA with them overseas. But it looks complicated for an American to open an account with them while overseas, but easy for a non-American. Though non-Americans can’t open an IRA.
Reduced tax rates
IBKR does not support reduced tax rates for distributions from US IRAs to foreign beneficiaries.
That was the first one I looked at. I can’t remember the details, but there were restrictions on account holders abroad. It may have mostly been about margin account, but I think there were several issues.
I’ve never had issues accessing Charles Schwab while abroad.
Note that there are some rules about a Roth IRA if you are using the Foreign Earned Income Tax Credit I believe (you can’t take untaxed dollars and put them in a tax advantaged account)
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Interesting. That would be a problem, but I renounced the FEIE when I had kids. With the child tax credit, it just worked out better.
You’re most likely then using FTC (Foreign Tax Credits) which is fine if you want contribute to an IRA as long as the amount you put in could be taxed by the US government before any credits which include FTC and the CTC either lower or cancel out the amount owed.
Fidelity is fine for opening an IRA, or pretty much any account while abroad, and even using their website while abroad without VPN is fine. Sometimes a disclaimer pops up about knowing you’re using the website while abroad but it’s a just a reminder. You’ll need to use a US address linked to your account, but that’s it as far as location goes.
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Yes, and for me that address was just a mailing service in Houston. Which, by the way, has tax advantages when filing for Uncle Sam (no state income tax in Texas).
Is that the thing where you reduce the amount your taxed because you’ve already paid taxes to another government? I thought you could only claim that if the US and that country has a tax treaty, and I’m fairly sure the US and Taiwan don’t.
Fidelity doesn’t allow starting an account from outside the US according to their FAQs, but neither does the one I started my account at. Neither seems to mind investors using it from abroad, and I don’t think I’ll ever to asked to prove I was in the US when I started the account.
- If you don’t pay state taxes, wouldn’t that be Uncle…Houston maybe? What’s symbolic of Texas?
- I hate it when threads go off topic, but I’m going to ask one OT question: would it be possible to establish residency using a mailing service? I might not even mind paying taxes. I need to eventually have some state home, but I’ve been gone for too long and I’m not from one of the better states. In the near term, I want to get a driver’s license when I go back to the US. In the long term, I want my kids to be able to pay in-state tuition when they go to school, if they go in the US.
Maybe Sam Houston?
For most states the tax deadline is the same. So when you file for Uncle Sam you also file for your state. And most states use your Federal AGI as a proxy for their own, and for states with income tax the filing date is the same (as far as I know). But yeah, state income tax is a completely different critter.
That may depend on the state. For Fidelity’s purposes, Texas worked for me.
Well, whatever state you move back to will require that you get a new DL. If your current license is expired, then you’re probably in for a treat: a wonderful day spent at a crowded and colorful DMV. You’ll get to take a written exam, and possibly an eye exam. With an actual, physical driving test thrown in as a cherry on top! 
No idea about in-state tuition, sorry. I suspect the school might ask you for a list of residences going back some years (10? 5? 2? dunno), and then perform some check against it. The DMV will likely require you to present a recent utilities statement as proof of residency (as well as other evidence). But again, just a guess. Good luck!
Not moving back, that’s the problem. I was hoping to get a license in a state that would let me get a Taiwan license with less hassle. Plus, it helps to establish that I have residency in that state.
Sorry, I thought you were planning to move back at some point. 
I think that even California requires proof of residency before issuing a DL, so if yours has lapsed you may be out of luck.
Maybe you can try for a state-issued ID instead of a DL. That document may allow you to open a bank account there. Not familiar with what’s needed to qualify, though.
My license lapsed when I was in Taiwan, and I had to start from scratch to get a new one. Texas (finally) accepted my mailing service address (Houston), but it was touch and go and it took a few weeks. Fortunately I was in the state capital and their DL issuing authority was physically nearby. Otherwise it could have taken much longer, I think.
Bottom line is, don’t allow your DL to lapse. Easy to renew online or by mail for most states. Very difficult to revive a lapsed DL from Taiwan, verging on impossible.