Retiring overseas in no way affects your US citizenship, US voting rights, or requirement to pay US taxes. As others have noted, there are many online resources for retiring overseas, whether temporarily or permanently. International Living (see link below) is a good place to start and has lots of useful information. Big things to get smart on are: - Visa Requirements. This is the most important and the one you have to be sure to have sorted out. It was easy for me moving to France because I’m also a Hungarian citizen and therefore have EU citizenship. We had to get a residency permit for my wife but that was automatic (as automatic as French bureaucracy can be) because of my EU citizenship. Many countries have special visa programs for US retirees. You typically have to demonstrate some level of income/wealth. Again, you want to be certain what the requirements are and do what you have to do before you arrive. - Healthcare. Uruguay is supposed to have excellent healthcare for South America but you definitely want to do your research. We had to carry private health insurance to get my wife’s residency permit until we got covered under the French system, which is AWESOME. Reduced healthcare cost is one of the primary benefits of living overseas. Again, since health care is sometimes tied to the visa, do your homework. - Taxes. It is a really good idea to find an Uruguayan tax accountant or similar who is familiar with tax requirements for US expats. You have to pay US taxes wherever you live in the world (unless you renounce your citizenship). Some countries like France have a tax treaty with the US so we essentially pay no French income tax. Some countries or regions within countries like Spain have a wealth tax where you have to pay an annual tax on your worldwide assets, not just capital gains. This is why my wife and I love Spain but will only love it for about 181 days each year. - Housing. Very important to figure out where you want to live and what it’s going to cost. It is a really, really good idea to take a couple trips and figure out what city and neighborhood within a city you want to live in before you sign a lease. Transportation is super important and if you need a car, investigate what’s required to get a license. I, a filthy California socialist, actually moved to Texas before we left the US because you can exchange a Texas drivers license for a French one, thereby avoiding the painful and expensive French driving exams. Depending on where you are in country, there are sometimes firms that specialize in taking care of all of these expat relocation details for you (for a fee of course). Aside from that, good for you and good luck. We absolutely love the adventure of living overseas. There are headaches and frustrations to be sure but we love it.

You will probably have to have an account with a local bank for rent, utilities, healthcare reimbursement, etc. Changes to US banking laws requiring overseas banks to report accounts of US citizens has meant a lot of banks don’t want US citizens as customers because of the extra admin hassle. Just be aware opening an account in country with a local bank may require more effort and legwork than what you’d expect. You’ll also want to maintain some sort of US address, even if it’s a friend or family members’ house because opening any sort of account or credit card with a US bank is basically impossible for US citizens overseas without a US address. You’ll also want someone who can forward important mail to you as this is really expensive to pay USPS to do.

taxes as an expat (and will still have to pay the US) type of visa and length of stay allowed (how often you will need to go back to US) banking in uruguay any accounts or investments you will want to keep open in the US (maybe with notification of being abroad) health care getting a driver's license there (and keeping the one here) renting/buying a place there (and what to do with your place here, including utilities) make will/insurance arrangements in case something bad happens while abroad phone service mail voting It shouldn't be stressful getting prepared for these things. It's just a matter of being thorough to protect yourself ahead of time so that you can relax when you get there. Also check reddit for interesting discussions similar to your questions. https://www.reddit.com/r/expats/comments/1783cxw/thoughts... ** Edited by HokieAl at 10/24/2024, 11:31:14 PM

Taxes were straight forward in the UK and had a tax consultant help with anything related to US taxes filing. I think I had a special stamp or page in my US Passport for getting in/out of UK. Of course being a secret agent/spy I was trained to move through countries like a ghost.

tax benefits. ** Edited by UTPr0sim at 10/24/2024, 6:09:09 PM

All of those were on a big gray boat, so no idea about moving to Uruguay...lol

speak to a tax person who knows about expats and the timelines they can be out of country before some wierd tax situations affect you. Might be a consideration in your retirement planning.

He's been living in Mexico for several years and he makes sure to not eclipse the threshold for number of days spent in the U.S. during the calendar year that would require him to pay federal income tax in the U.S. I told him maybe if he would vote differently he wouldn't have to try so hard to avoid paying high taxes. Honestly, it kind of burns me up that Americans can avoid paying taxes and still vote.

Expat tax rules state that if you’re a U.S. citizen or Green Card holder, you have to file a U.S. tax return each year, even if you live and work in Mexico. The United States tax system is based on citizenship, not place of residency. That means it doesn’t matter if you live in Connecticut or Cancún — if you’re legally considered an American, you file U.S. taxes. Taxable foreign income for Americans living in Mexico includes: Wages Interest Dividends Rental Income Qualified retirement account distributions

...Uncle Sam comes looking for some back taxes.

Look at all the grey-market weed shops in DC and Virginia. Not talking about the shops with a proper permit, paperwork, etc. But the shops that operate as a "private" membership club, or the shops that sell a sticker, and then you get free weed with the sticker. The owners tell people it's a magic loophole...............sure, until it registers on the police/government give-a-damn radar, and 15 shops are raided in one week.

From the article you linked: "You can lower your U.S. tax bill and avoid dual taxation with certain tax strategies. If you were worried about U.S.-Mexico double taxation, you can relax. U.S. citizens working in Mexico may use one of the following three options to avoid overpaying on taxes: The Foreign Earned Income Exclusion and Housing Exclusion – The FEIE and housing exclusion allow U.S. citizens in Mexico to exclude up to a certain amount of foreign earned income if they meet certain requirements." I think the FEIE stipulates the threshold at which your income is considered taxable in the U.S.

He definitely claims to have read somewhere that there is a threshold (6 weeks maybe?) at which at least a portion of his income is considered U.S.-based. That certainly goes against the HR Block guide you linked, so I don't know where he got that from. I guess I should warn him to look into it.

No idea what it's like there now, but when I was working counter-narc back in the mid 00s, I worked with some wonderful people from there. That said, there were areas they called "the lawless regions" we had to avoid. I think most of what you have to deal with abroad is more of what Uruguay cares about you being there. You should reach out to the State Department for assistance.

I'm sure they can give you more information than what you'll get here. Recommend brushing up on your Rioplatense...it might serve you well. Would guess you've already checked out the CIA's world Factbook on the country. If not, click below:

...not sure if it's similar to Ecuador, but this is what I saw there: their "landline" phone system (around the turn of the century) was pretty antiquated and limited, but their cell service was excellent (as good as you found in the US). Wouldn't be surprised if they have a similar "wireless" 5G internet service. I would go for that if it's available.