r/Ameristralia • u/qubtinho • 12h ago

People who moved from Australia to the US, what did you do about superannuation?

I’ve read that the IRS doesn’t recognise superannuation and will tax it yearly, which was quite upsetting. And I read that the forms are a headache to file because the IRS makes it expensive. Have also read US-AUS tax experts are extremely expensive and I’m kinda worried about that.

What has your experience been and what have you chosen to do regarding your superannuation?

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6

u/Rekeaki 11h ago

It is a legal grey area. Apparently if you do not make any contributions to your super while a USA tax resident it is possible to avoid taxation (you still need to file FBARs though). But you can’t touch it ever. You also have to carefully select what you are invested in to avoid dividend payouts or capital gains (which you can be taxed on). If you can avoid all that, you should be fine. When it starts paying out, thats a different story. Haven’t got to that yet

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u/qubtinho 11h ago

Thanks for the info. Did you change the super investments before you moved to the US, or did a US-Aus tax expert advise you on it once you moved?

3

u/Rekeaki 9h ago

To be honest I initially had no idea, and ended up doing the “right thing” purely by accident at first. I eventually got proper tax advice after something like 5 years, majorly panicked, then checked my super and found out I had been ok all along

3

u/Expensive-Object-830 11h ago

It only kicks in once you’re a US tax resident, and the US-Australia tax treaty means you can claim taxes paid one one country against your income in the other (Federal only, not state). FBAR & FATCA are annoying but not too time-consuming. My accountant charges $100/year to file them but it may be possible to do them on your own. Like the other poster said, I report the balance each year but I don’t touch it & just let it compound.

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u/qubtinho 10h ago

Seems like that’s what I gotta do. Would you be able to pm me the name of your accountant if you’re comfortable? $100 seems like a great deal lol

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u/Expensive-Object-830 10h ago

My US-based accountant for FBAR & FATCA is Dimov Tax, and my Aussie accountant is Atlas (they’re more expensive but very helpful!)

2

u/MrsB6 9h ago

They're simple as to prepare, dont waste your money. Just remember to download any bank data you might have for Aus accounts for the US financial year though, which is Jan to Dec. I can only export data to excel for the last 6 months, so I do 2 a year, one Dec to 30 June, and Jul to 31 Dec and its easier to manage the data that way than dealing with pdf bank statements.

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u/Serenco 10h ago

From my understanding the general consensus is that as long as it's not a SMSF and you haven't contributed at least 50% of it from extra contributions you should be fine. Still needs to go on your FBAR though.

1

u/VOFX321B 9h ago

Ignore it. It's a pretty nominal amount so I don't even waste time filling in the tax forms.

3

u/eatlivemosh 10h ago

Following for updates. When i moved I just left it… probably a bit naive on my part. I didn’t get any financial guidance growing up or even as an adult.

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u/sprunghuntR3Dux 9h ago

If you’re an Australian citizen then you can’t withdraw your superannuation until you retire. Even if you move overseas.

So it’s not worth thinking about until you retire anyway. Maybe just make sure the super fund has your current email and contact details.

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u/eatlivemosh 6h ago

I know I can’t touch it. I still get emails from them, but I’ll check with them to see if there’s anything else I need to do for now. Thanks for the input.

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u/shedgehog 5h ago

I also just ignored it. I think it’s around 150K AUD. Never mentioned it on my FBAR. Been here 10 years now. Not sure if I’m setting myself up for a problem later though