Expat Tax Planning Before Retirement: A Checklist

Retiring abroad opens up real tax planning opportunities, but the best outcomes go to people who plan before they retire rather than after. In the years leading up to retirement, consider doing Roth IRA conversions in years when your income is low, particularly if you're already abroad and the FEIE is bringing your US taxable income close to zero. Review whether any foreign pension or retirement accounts you've accumulated abroad will be taxable to you in retirement and whether any tax treaty provisions reduce that tax. If you own appreciated foreign property, think about whether to sell before retirement (and trigger capital gains while potentially still eligible for the FEIE) or hold it into retirement when your marginal rate may be lower. Finally, assess your Social Security benefits and whether the country you're retiring to will tax those benefits or whether a totalization agreement or treaty provides protection, since that affects your after-tax retirement income significantly.