Steve_

Well what was all that fuss about then with the driver compact?

Because yes it does say they have a reciprocal agreement.

I got a ticket in Montana and I asked about it at the registry office and they said no agreement, so no it won't show up. Is it just for offences?

Pulaski

Ontario had a licence "penalty points" sharing agreement with NY, and I think a few other NE states, more than ten years ago, so I would assume there is also a license exchange agreement too.

Steve_

Hmm, poking around the web they appear to be bilateral agreements between the province and the State, not through the compact.

Very few of them appear to recognize offences, it's just an information exchange on DL information and registration.

Steve_

Québec and Ontario seem to have a few agreements with a few States like Michigan, NY and Florida on offences but generally speaking there is no recognition.

glemo

I obtained an IL state DL , on the basis of a German DL, just picked up a short letter from the German consulate in Chicago. Then Mayor Daley (the IL DMV actually) gave me an IL car and bike DL and I kept my German DL and as that was as a Brit. No test, practical nor theory needed, just any piece of mail posted to my Chicago address as proof of IL residency.

Pulaski

I may be wrong, but US states seem more willing to exchange licences i.e. issue a local license without a road test, from countries that drive on the right (Germany, France, Italy, etc.), than from those that drive on the left (most former British Empire countries, plus Japan). This is just my observation, based mostly on reports on BE.

glemo

Canadian insurance companies seem to charge a lot more premium as well from people who come directly from such countries. I haven't heard of that in the US.

Steve_

I don't think that's true, they just charge a lot, period. Plus several provinces run their own insurance anyway rather than private companies. There are limits on the rates charged in Alberta for basic insurance, never heard that come up before.

durham_lad

I've thought a lot about tax resident status and it is possible to argue a domicile of choice in Texas even though I would have a permanent residence in the UK and live there more than 6 months a year, have been born there along with my parents, and be receiving 2 UK private pensions and an OAP. However, we both really identify with England and if our son didn't live here in Texas we would definitely go back permanently.

Health insurance in the US will not change for us as I have retiree insurance through my previous employer until I get to Medicare age (65).

I hate dealing with the health insurance folks, even though we have good insurance and are fairly fit. Out of pocket last year it cost us ~$9,600, and it is a LOT of paperwork. In fact I still have written appeals pending for my wife and I for $1,500 of charges from a colonoscopy we each had, which turned out to be from false positive results from a routine fecal occult blood test. Even though I checked that the doctor, facility and anesthetist were all "in-network", one of the 2 labs he used were not in-network so we are on the hook for the full charges for those tests of $1,500.

For our situation there won't be a lot of difference in the taxes we pay, judging from the scenarios I have run. This is because our income comes approximately 60/40 from my pensions and joint account investments, so this year I have removed my name from all our joint accounts so that when we file in the UK we will each receive the full tax free allowances and we will each not be outside of the 20% tax bracket, plus each person gets the first ~$17,000 of cap gains, free of tax whereas we pay 15% on all cap gains in the US (with our situation).

Also, by the time we start drawing on our retirement savings it will all be from ROTH accounts which are tax free in both countries.

holly_1948

First there is no UK DL, Northern Ireland has its own rules different from England.

As a US resident you can hold a British driving licence but you cannot obtain or renew a British driving licence. That is to say if you are a British (England&Wales) resident and obtain a British driving licence you don't lose it when you become a US resident. And they don't need renewing until you reach age 70, only the photo expires at ten years, not the licence. You can't renew the photo as a non-resident, but if you hold an unexpired licence (you are under 70 years of age) you can renew the expired photo when you so become a UK resident again - even if the photo has been expired for years and years, and even if you are only a temporary resident. You do not need to, should not, must not, notify DVLA of any new address unless the address is in the UK.

Unlike England, Florida is totally geared up for seasonal residents. Buying car insurance for the months (part months are same price as whole months) you actually use the car seasonally is very common. And as dual citizen you can change your "permanent" residence twice a year if you like. And hold both UK and Florida DLs perfectly legally.

As to UK car insurance though, because of the "no claims bonus" or whatever they call it then it is cheaper to pay all year round UK car insurance than on and off (which they don't really understand anyway).

If you are going to internationally snowbird your USA place will need to be in a gated community with a proper garage for the car for security reasons (unless you are planning on urban apartment). No problem finding a decent condo bungalow or apartment in Florida for USD100K, or a really nice one for USD200K

Until your wife becomes a UKC she will need to spend her time 51%US/49%UK never staying in UK more than six months continuously AND less than six months in any every tax year (5 April). Do not lose count of the days and screw up on this, the penalties are draconian!

There are couples where one spouse is 51%/49% US/UK and the other is 49%/51% meaning they spend 98% of each year together. So to speak.

So basically the nonsense that works best is that every half year you cross the pond with the declared intention of settling permanently, and after six months you change your mind and declare the other way. There is no law against changing your mind as often as you please (trust me as a woman from the hippie era I know this!). As long as you stick to your story you will be fine. Just don't talk to any British social workers or health visitors (was district nurse), they are nothing but trouble modernly - you may have read the news (warning, don't read this article on a full stomach)
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...ck-carers.html

Steve_

I think the key point is that you're a resident in one country and a visitor in another. You keep saying "resident" in two countries, you can't do that for a variety of legal and tax reasons.

The tax treaty talks about your "centre of vital interests" so if you wanted you could file an 8833 with your 1040 and state under article 4 of the tax treaty you are resident in Texas and list your reasons why - however that could be used against you if you aren't careful what you put on it. Or vice versa, you do the same thing with HMRC if you are resident in the UK.

But it gets even worse if you're on a travel insurance plan, trust me I have personal experience of it. Ended up in hospital, they tried to defraud the insurance company, got that sorted out eventually and then after the first use they yanked the plan. Which is why I suggest staying resident in Texas. The NHS may charge you but the amount of dicking around will be significantly less.

I put down I had insurance, so the ER dumped the entire day's charges on my insurance company for uninsured people, thinking I would never see the bill - I did because it was travel insurance and I had to make the claim personally, so their accounts dept. sent the bill to my US address. Ooops.

Are Roth IRAs recognized as tax shelters in the UK? Hmm... didn't know that.

Steve_

Yes I'm bemused by the fact that Canadians can get a one-year DL in Florida with no evidence other than to prove they're Canadian and have an address in Florida. It says in 8 CFR 214.2(b) that Canadians can stay for a year, which 99.99% of Canadians and CBP inspectors don't know, but apparently Florida knows this.

I think the more typical way is to buy a condo apt. I know people who have RVs and they just leave stuff in storage down there too or take the valuables out of their house and put them in storage.

scrubbedexpat091

While not in Florida, my mom is in Palm Springs which see's a lot of Canadian's as well, and that seems to be what most do. Her neighborhood goes from a bustling community full of people, to a virtual ghost town by end of June, but she lives there year round (american) and the others that do, keep a good eye out on the area and report anything odd or out of place.

Pulaski

A couple I know live in a condo in Fort Lauderdale and their building is very quiet from May to October because many, perhaps more than half, of the owners are Canadians.

durham_lad

I said I would choose to be domiciled in the UK, but whatever the terminology, I will be taxed as a UK resident for the "tie-breaker" reasons I gave above.

http://www.treasury.gov/resource-cen...ts/teus-uk.pdf


I don't understand why you keep going on about travel insurance. I won't need it. My Health Insurance through my former employer in Louisiana will still be in force, regardless of where I am resident as it is a PPO plan out of Louisiana that has world wide coverage with "in-network" doctors and hospitals in all the countries I'm likely to visit, including Texas.


Yes, they are, I'm certain of that.


http://www.treasury.gov/resource-cen...ts/teus-uk.pdf

page 63 states,