Blake

Hello,

I'm emigrating from the U.S. to Australia sometime during the coming
12 month period. I hope to obtain a temporary resident visa and
eventually a permanent resident visa. I plan to keep my U.S.
citizenship. I'd like to make a few comments, then ask questions where
I need advice or a link to a helpful site. Any information would be
sincerely appreciated.

I took early retirement in the U.S. after 30 years of work for my
employer and am currently 57 years of age. I hope to immigrate to
Australia via the category that includes fiancee and interdependent
relationships.

My fiancee/interdependent person is an Australian citizen who is
employed and earns an income of more than $50,000 per year in pre-tax
Australian. dollars. I no longer work, but receive an annual
retirement income before tax of $42,000 inU.S. dollars. The majority
of my income comes from an Individual Retirement Account, but some of
the money comes from personal investments. I pay regular U.S. income
tax on the IRA income and dividend/capital gains taxes on income
derived from personal investments. Although this doesn't fall into
the income category, I also pay about $2,000 per year U.S. for a group
health insurance policy which covers everything but optical and
dental.

In 5 more years I will also be eligible to receive additional income
from U.S. social security of approximately $15,000 per year (includes
an inflation factor). Some of this added income will be taxable in
the U.S., but I don't know how much yet.

My questions are:

1. Will I have to pay additional Australian income tax on my current
$42,000 U.S. income? If so, is there a method to estimate what the
incremental tax would be or a link that might help?

2. Can I still receive U.S. U.S. social security income after I
relocate to Australia? Again, if so, is this income taxable in
Australia, and to what extent?

3. Although I have a request in with my U.S. health insurance carrier
re. transferring the policy to Australia, I don't yet know if this is
possible. Assuming my policy isn't transferrable, will I be eligible
for any type of health insurance in Australia, whether sponsored by
the govt. or a private company? I would be looking for similar
coverage, that is insurance that pays for the majority portion of
doctor and hospital visits, emergency and non elective surgery, and
prescription drug coverage.

I realize I have a ton of research to do, (and I have already begun),
but I've not yet found the above information. BTW, I also intend to
eventually hire a specialist in immigration - either a tax attorney or
an accountant. Thanks in advance for any suggestions or leads.

Blake

Lucy

"Blake" wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > I'm emigrating from the U.S. to Australia sometime during the coming
    > 12 month period.

This group is more for people immigrating *to* the US. You might want to try
posting to misc.immigration.australia+nz

dunroving

Try:

http://www.ssa.gov/

http://www.irs.gov/

- it's really not as scary as it might seem finding the answers yourself on these two sites. I've spent time researching tax and SS implications (I'm UK citizen living in US), and I eventually realized that in the end the only information I could trust was the information I got from the source.

- I find the personal advice I get from this site very helpful, but these regulations can change so often, everyone's situation is just a little different, and people's recollections of their own experiences can be inaccurate, so if it's important enough, make sure you double-check any information or advice with the IRS and Social Security.

Blake

On Wed, 30 Jul 2003 16:27:45 -0500, "Lucy"
wrote:

    >"Blake" wrote in message
    >news:[email protected]...
    >> I'm emigrating from the U.S. to Australia sometime during the coming
    >> 12 month period.
    >This group is more for people immigrating *to* the US. You might want to try
    >posting to misc.immigration.australia+nz


Lucy,

I posted to both the AU and US groups figuring there was a remote
possibility that someone here might have information about the
questions I asked. I realize the AU site is actually the correct site
for my query. Thanks for replying.

Blake