Quote:
Originally Posted by cheapcharly
hi all.
ok I m a new immigrant in the USA from Switzerland and i would like to know the best way to reduce my taxes in the USA. i m actually resident in California.
actually I have around 300k swiss francs invested in stock and bonds (55%/45%).and i have 30k $ in USA in a long term saving account with no much interest.
i think for 2013 this will generate over 7 or 10 percent interest. 30000$if lucky. in 2011 I lost around 7%.
I have not said anything to my bank yet. they don't know I m a new resident in the USA. i m not working actually.
i don't know how the system really work in the USA with your 401 thing.
i heard if you invest in a 401 k you don't pay tax.
I think i should talk to my bank, no? maybe they can get some opportunities of placement for me.
I don't want be in trouble with your irs next year and I want stay smart and play with your tax system than being beaten up and sent to jail...
i think IRS will go easy on me as new resident as long I inform them...
i want keep my swiss money in Switzerland... my $ in USA.
should I take my residence to Texas? i m thinking to move there soon.
any advices?
regards.
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First, with regard to federal income taxes (I;m not going to address California income taxes as I'm not an expert on them and, as you will see, learning federal income taxes is complicated enough!).
Your dividend may not be taxable as individuals in the 15% bracket or lower (approximately 45,000 of income for a single individual and 90,000 for a married individual) do not have to pay taxes on dividends that are both "qualified" and "ordinary" are not taxable. While the 1099 form mailed to at the beginning of the next tax year will tell you if the dividend is a qualified ordinary dividend, I will explain the what qualified and ordinary mean below.
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1099div.pdf
Most dividends are ordinary and if they aren't, they serve to reduce your basis in the stock after the basis is zero, qualify as capital gains income. Though that seldom happens as corporations that pay out non-ordinary dividends are usually insolvent or close to insolvent.
In order for a dividend to be qualified, the stock must be of a corporation that is incorporated in the US.
Qualified dividend - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Long term capital gains from the sale of tax are generally taxed the same as dividends, with the distinction that capital gains can be offset by capital losses, while dividends generally can't. Though if all of your capital losses exceed capital gains for a taxable year, approximately 3,000 of capital losses can be used to offset ordinary income (a category which includes all taxable non capital gain income, including dividend income).
A gain from a tax held more than a year is considered long-term, while if it is held for less than a year, the gain is considered short term. Short term capital gains are taxed at the same rate as ordinary income.
Only realized capital gains are taxed. So if you don't sell the stock, you don't have to pay taxes on the stock's appreciation.
If your total income exceeds approximately 45,000 (90k for filing as a married couple), then your capital gains and dividend income is generally taxed at a 15% rate (though part of it may not be taxed at all). The rate rises to 18.8% once your total income exceeds 200,000 (250k if married), with the marginal rate only applying to income above that level. It increases to 23.8 once your total income exceeds 400k.
Interest is taxed as ordinary income.
401k rules only apply to contributions that are made from an employee's wages. This does not apply to you as you are not currently working.
Texas does not have an income tax, whereas California has one of the highest state income taxes in the country. Both states have relatively high sales taxes (in the high single digits, probably lower than the Swiss VAT). But I believe Texas has higher property taxes than California, though that may depend on you where in Texas you live as property taxes vary by municipality.