83. Moving to America: Avoid These Costly US Tax Mistakes with Pre-Immigration Planning

83. Moving to America: Avoid These Costly US Tax Mistakes with Pre-Immigration Planning

From Expat Wealth - Cross-Border Financial Advice for Expats in America and Americans Abroad by Richard Taylor

April 23, 2026 · 1h 1m · Episode 83

About this episode

This episode discusses the importance of pre-immigration planning to avoid costly US tax mistakes for expats moving to America.

For those moving to America, knowing what needs to happen before becoming a US tax resident can save you a lot of money. The opportunity can be enormous, but so can the tax mistakes. From foreign mutual funds that trigger punitive PFIC taxation, to offshore companies that become highly inefficient in the US, to pensions, trusts, and inheritances that create unexpected reporting obligations, many expats arrive without realising how quickly their existing financial setup can become problematic once they enter the US tax system. Richard Taylor – dual UK/US citizen and Chartered Financial Planner – is joined by David Gershel – international tax attorney and Partner at Berkowitz, Trager & Trager LLC – to discuss why pre-immigration planning is one of the most overlooked but valuable parts of the moving process. Drawing on real client examples, they explain how structures that work perfectly well abroad can become expensive liabilities in America, why California and other states can create tax problems beyond the federal system, and how failing to plan early can leave expats dealing with costly cleanup work years later. In this episode of Expat Wealth, Richard and David discuss why…

People in this episode

Host: Richard Taylor

Guest: David Gershel

Topics covered

  • US tax residency
  • pre-immigration planning
  • foreign investments
  • tax mistakes
  • offshore trusts
  • inheritance traps

Keywords

  • US tax resident
  • pre-immigration
  • PFIC taxation
  • offshore companies
  • reporting obligations
  • expat financial setup
  • California tax problems

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Berkowitz, Trager & Trager LLC

Places: California, America, US, UK

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