Will the US or Canada make me pay income tax on money I earn in Belize?
Boris Mannsfeld - Boris Mannsfeld & Associates
The IRS considers income whosesoever derived to be taxable, including worldwide. So yes, you are still liable for US Income tax, even for money earned in Belize.
You may be eligible for the Foreign Income Exclusion, however. (For a fuller treatment of how to exclude some of the income you earn in Belize from US taxes, see my answer under “How does the foreign earned income work when I live in Belize?”)
You may be eligible for the Foreign Income Exclusion, however. (For a fuller treatment of how to exclude some of the income you earn in Belize from US taxes, see my answer under “How does the foreign earned income work when I live in Belize?”)
The IRS considers income whosesoever derived to be taxable, including worldwide. So yes, you are still liable for US Income tax, even for money earned in Belize.
You may be eligible for the Foreign Income Exclusion, however. (For a fuller treatment of how to exclude some of the income you earn in Belize from US taxes, see my answer under “How does the foreign earned income work when I live in Belize?”)
You may be eligible for the Foreign Income Exclusion, however. (For a fuller treatment of how to exclude some of the income you earn in Belize from US taxes, see my answer under “How does the foreign earned income work when I live in Belize?”)
Posted December 1, 2014
Christian Burn
Americans who have legal residency in Belize are still residents of the US, so you they pay taxes in two countries—the US and Belize. If you are an American citizen, you have to pay US income taxes, regardless of where you live. There are certain exemptions that you can get if you reside out of the US for a certain period of time, but you still must file your US income taxes forever.
The situation is different for Canadians than it is for US...
Americans who have legal residency in Belize are still residents of the US, so you they pay taxes in two countries—the US and Belize. If you are an American citizen, you have to pay US income taxes, regardless of where you live. There are certain exemptions that you can get if you reside out of the US for a certain period of time, but you still must file your US income taxes forever.
The situation is different for Canadians than it is for US citizens. For Canadians, residency and citizenship are separate. I am now a resident of Belize and I declared non-residency in Canada, so I do not pay taxes in Canada any more and the income I earn abroad is non-taxable. But if you have assets in Canada and you haven’t declared non-residency in Canada, even if you are already a resident of Belize, you still have to pay income taxes back in Canada. In order not to pay income taxes in Canada, you have to declare non-residency in Canada and you have to liquidate all your assets. You cannot even maintain a Visa or a MasterCard in Canada, let alone a residence of any kind or any assets.
As a Belizean resident, you have to pay Belizean taxes.
Posted December 18, 2014
Virginia Krohn - Villa Cayo Belize
Yes, you have to pay US income tax on money that you earn in Belize. However, there are exclusions that you can claim such as the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion, which will allow you to exclude a certain amount of money (around US $100,000 each) for you and about the same amount for your spouse to exclude that for tax in the United States. However, if your earned income is above that, then you have to pay income taxes in the United States. If you are...
Yes, you have to pay US income tax on money that you earn in Belize. However, there are exclusions that you can claim such as the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion, which will allow you to exclude a certain amount of money (around US $100,000 each) for you and about the same amount for your spouse to exclude that for tax in the United States. However, if your earned income is above that, then you have to pay income taxes in the United States. If you are paying BZ taxes on income in Belize, like I do in my rental income, I pay taxes here but when I do my income taxes for the States, I get to deduct the total amount of my income tax here off the total amount of income tax I owe in the States. You would always want to consult a US tax attorney before making any decisions about income taxes in the US and in Belize. The best attorney here in Belize is Wrobel & Co. (Ryan Wrobel is a contributor to Best Places and can be found on this site.)
(Wrobel & Co. Attorneys at Law, Belize, pictured.)
Posted August 19, 2016