ian-mstm

Ah, okay then!


Most of the questions you've asked so far aren't right for this forum either, since none of them are actually related to immigration. They revolve around taxes, moving, rent, insurance, living in the US, etc. All of that information is better suited to the general USA forum.

Good luck to you!

Ian

The Moose

Thanks for the replies everyone.

I must say, this is the route I think is going to be most comfortable for us to go down. That way, he can have a 'home' set up at both ends and not have to worry. Then, also, there's no faffing around in the airport trying to deal with both of us and then the cat. Having never gone into the US with a Visa, I don't know if the process is any different the first time around?

Thank you for the clarification.

To get around having to file a FBAR, am I best off keeping my non-US based accounts at or around zero and move money back and forth? I don't know if I can have a US based account with, say, BOA, that is not in USD? With a bit of effort, I could arrange for all worldwide income to go straight into a US account - however I don't know if this is an issue as far as assets go. One for my prospective CPA I feel!

Of course, the same the world over! My potential landlord is actually likely to initially be a close family friend which hopefully should help ! Although very often it means both sides think they can take the piss where in reality both sides just need to treat it as business.

Thanks for the pointers - I'd seen the deductibles, out of pocket maximums and coinsurance. A bit of a minefield ensuring the right policy is bought!

I try to at least have some idea of what I'm trying to do before attempting it! And thank you for your good wishes and comments!

Obviously

Thank you

Nutmegger

One thing to bear in mind, airlines won't fly animals in the hold into the southern airports from May through September (think those are the months) because of safety concerns due to the temperature.

The Moose

Thank you for that. From what I read, it's not hard to find an airline that will fly animals into the Southern airports during those months (as the animals go in a climate controlled area of the place and the animals are taken straight from the plane to a climate controlled room) - it's flying out that they won't do during those months.

I could be wrong, but that's what I've read!

I'm not going to have the cat in the cabin for 2 reasons - first, he likes to be free and a cabin bag will be much smaller than his travelling cage and secondly it's not fair if another passenger has a feline allergy.

Pulaski

Kudos to you for that. I find the thought of sharing a transatlantic flight with a cat or dog in the cabin to be, at best, unpleasant, and I'm not even alergic to cats or dogs.

Pollyana

Not often someone makes a statement like that As someone like a severe allergic reaction to many cats I have a mortal dread of one day finding myself sat next to one on a flight. Most owners seem oblivious to the issue.

Wintersong

Definitely something that needs to be talked over with a CPA. FBAR is required if foreign bank account totals were over $10K at any point during the year so if you keep it below that amount, you wouldn't need to file FBAR. However, ALL foreign income MUST be reported to the IRS on your tax returns. Your CPA would be able to determine the best way to handle it depending on your total income and assets.
Our situation was relatively straightforward as it dealt with a one-off inheritance which passed through a UK bank account on its way to us. We declared it, filed FBAR, were not taxed on it and it wasn't too much of a headache once we found someone who knew what they were doing. Your situation is clearly very different as you'll have ongoing income which will need to be declared.

Steve_

You will be resident for tax purposes in the US, but in a non-immigrant classification. There is no direct path to permanent residency, although you can sometimes pull off EB-5 if the business gets large enough.

Read IRS publication 519. Especially the bit on dual-status tax returns.

Generally, you will claim a foreign tax credit on Form(s) 1116, so essentially you end up paying the higher of the two.

Depends on the landlord at the end of the day but two important points - they usually do a credit check and you haven't got a credit history. The easiest way around that one is to get an Amex card now and transfer the account to the US when you move.

Property tax is a pig in Florida because only US citizens and LPRs can claim the homestead exemption, so you if own property you get charged the full whack of property tax.

As far as cats go, be sure you have a rabies vaccination certificate.

The usual trick with E-2 is for the primary bread winner to be the person that gets the EAD and the other person gets the visa. That means the person with the EAD has more flexibility because they can work for anyone.

Who is the best insurer depends on your perspective, hence www.healthcare.gov

Probably a million things, but as far as E-2 goes, bear in mind the situation with the children. If you have children, they will age out at 21 and no longer have any legal status. On the other hand if you're thinking of having children, if they're born in the US they're US citizens and can sponsor you for permanent residence when they turn 21.

In a nutshell, incorporate in Delaware or Nevada, if it's a small corporation, use an S-corporation, if you're going to have any sort of significant payroll it's better to use a C-corporation.

Don't be scared of being self-employed instead, accountants will always tell you to incorporate but personally I think the paperwork is easier if you're self-employed (but far from easy). But it saves you from doing all the payroll paperwork. You can always incorporate later once you're more comfortable with how the tax system works.

The absolute main #1 snag other than healthcare is that if you're running your own business you have to pay both halves of FICA, which means you're paying 15.3% before you even get to income taxes. (Payroll taxes and healthcare costs are the two main reasons I live in Canada).

Read the IRS self-employment guide.

If you haven't already figured it out, your tax return is going to be a pig, because it sounds as though you will be filing dual-status and self-employed at the same time, as well as claiming foreign tax credits and all the foreign account paperwork too. Think KPMG not H&R Block.

Jerseygirl

As most of the questions in the opening post and subsequent replies are not relevant to this forum I am closing this thread.

The Moose..if you have further questions regarding visas please open a new thread in this forum. Please open a new thread if you have questions about accommodation, healthcare, pet travel, taxes etc in the Main US forum. Thank you.

USA - British Expats