scb12345

Hi everyone! Thanks in advance for any advice. I am a US citizen that has lived in the UK since I was 18, married a Brit and we have 5 children born here, all have dual citizenship and both passports. I have a couple questions as we are preparing to move to the US to live near my family (we lived near his parents for many years but both have passed away now and we would like our children to be around their grandparents on my side). Firstly, I read on another thread something about potential Capital Gains Tax might be owed when selling your house in the UK. We have our house on the market and do not own any other property, will we be liable for any tax when we sell our house assuming we have not already bought a house in the US? I have plenty of my lifetime of allowance on personal residence left for US tax purposes, though this current house we purchased in Feb 2018 so we have 4 months until we have owned it for two years. Potentially we could push back completion to after the 2 year anniversary to meet that if necessary, especially as we have not accepted an offer yet and house sales take forever to complete here! Additional info, my husband is just about to get his green card through me with my parents as his sponsor, so none of that is a problem, we just have to decide when we want to go.

Another question I have is in regards to health insurance. My husband will probably apply to a few jobs and take interviews to get us a start when we first move, (at the moment he runs the family business he took over from his father which he plans to sell the contracts for as it is local and service based, not something he can take with us). With regard to healthcare, would it make sense to get him some sort of temporary health care and set myself and the children with something through the government when we first arrive in the US assuming he doesn't yet have a job? As he will be on a green card but we all have citizenship it seems logical that we would qualify for some things that he won't? I know very little about navigating the healthcare system as I left the US aged 18 and never dealt with any of it. Again, thanks in advance for any advice/suggestions.

Noorah101

Hi and welcome to BE. Just a couple of clarifications...your husband is getting an immigrant visa (not a green card). When he uses that visa to enter the USA, the visa gets endorsed and then serves as a green card until the plastic card comes in the mail. Also, your parent is a joint sponsor. You are his sponsor even if you don't qualify financially. You will submit an I-864 as well as your parent.

Rene

scb12345

Hi, yes sorry I meant they are his joint sponsor for financial reasons. Obviously, I am his sponsor for eligibility in the first place, as his spouse.

scrubbedexpat099

There is some degree of commonality between the States but also a lot of differences.

As a general comment look at the State Exchange for wherever you are moving to.

Will he be obtaining a job with benefits hopefully?

Can you family not help?

scb12345

Thanks for your reply. Yes, he would be planning to get a job that includes benefits, but my question is to whether we would need to get something sorted for the interim if he doesn't already have a job "lined up" when we physically leave the UK and enter the US. When you say "can your family not help" do you mean with regard to health insurance? We will be staying with family when we first arrive in the US but I can't see how they could help with health insurance...? I will look into a State Exchange for Pennsylvania, thank you for the suggestion.

scrubbedexpat099

Your family would be familiar with how PA operates, I have a passable idea about Colorado but not PA.

I am pretty sure he would not be able to get Medicaid for example but assume you and the children would. Well you would in Colorado as they look at income and do not include assets.There may well be a gap as none of this stuff is immediate.

Medicaid is also effectively a loan so even assuming you get it not an NHS equivalent.

Depending on the job there may well be for example a 90 day period before he qualifies for Healthcare benefits, something to bear in mind for such an important issue, especially with 5 children.

Rete

How is medicaid a loan? Never heard of it having to be repaid once the recipient is earning money.

Check the State of Pennsylvania for state healthcare. Read it and go through it with a fine tooth comb. Your husband can purchase healthcare on his own more probably through the ACA.

scrubbedexpat099

https://www.verywellhealth.com/how-t...-works-1738836

Winston_the_Great_Dane

scb12345

Hi Chris, thank you for your reply, it was quite helpful. Thankfully none of us currently need any medication or have any health conditions. Perhaps a silly question so apologies, but now that you have a job with good healthcare benefits, has that removed the need for the catalog of policies you had initially? Presumably you and your family are now covered through your job? Thanks again for your help.

Winston_the_Great_Dane

Yes, the whole family is on a single policy through my work. There is also a tax free account you can put money into called an HSA. I use this to pay all out of pocket expenses i.e. co-pays for doctor visits etc. The account has a 'debit card' but I pay most of my bills through my insurance online portal - super easy

C

scb12345

That sounds ideal. Thanks again Chris!

jjmb

Next question. What type of work does your husband do?

scb12345

He currently runs his own business, they install security systems (Intruder alarms, CCTV, Fire Alarms etc). He would be looking for jobs in the area of security consulting/management.

Giantaxe

There is no "lifetime of allowance on personal residence". To avoid taxation on any capital gain, you'd have to have lived in the property two of the last five years, And, strictly speaking, the same would apply to any past property you owned and sold in the UK: as a US citizen you're required to file a tax return each year and be taxed on your worldwide income. you do get credits for UK tax paid, but as the UK doesn't tax capital gains on primary residences, you are at risk of being taxed by the US. However, if you pass the 2 year test, you get a capital gains tax free allowance of $250k.