# Thinking of leaving the country **URL:** \ **Category:** Macro Economic Trends and Risks\ **Created:** [September 2, 2024, 2:16pm UTC](https://discussion.fool.com/t/thinking-of-leaving-the-country/108490 "2024-09-02T14:16:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Phoolio18](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/motleyfoolfree/user_avatar/discussion.fool.com/phoolio18/32/766_2.png) [@Phoolio18](https://discussion.fool.com/u/Phoolio18)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2024, 4:57am UTC](https://discussion.fool.com/t/thinking-of-leaving-the-country/108490/21 "2024-09-07T04:57:45Z")
Have you looked at Puerto Rico? You can obtain bonafide residency by living there for 6 months every year. With that, there are tax breaks for US Citizens. For instance, no capital gains taxes. ---
**Author:** ![jdc115](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/motleyfoolfree/user_avatar/discussion.fool.com/jdc115/32/1338_2.png) [@jdc115](https://discussion.fool.com/u/jdc115)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2024, 9:44am UTC](https://discussion.fool.com/t/thinking-of-leaving-the-country/108490/22 "2024-09-07T09:44:39Z")
That can’t be correct. I have lived outside the US for 20 years and still pay capital gains tax. I sometimes go years without returning and if I do return, I never spend more than a couple weeks a year there. But capital gains never goes away. There is a large personal income tax deduction but not Cap gains. ---
**Author:** ![DrBob2](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/motleyfoolfree/user_avatar/discussion.fool.com/drbob2/32/3456_2.png) [@DrBob2](https://discussion.fool.com/u/DrBob2)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2024, 11:28am UTC](https://discussion.fool.com/t/thinking-of-leaving-the-country/108490/23 "2024-09-07T11:28:58Z")
> [@jdc115](#): > > That can’t be correct. I have lived outside the US for 20 years and still pay capital gains tax. There are some laws that incentivize US citizens who move to Puerto Rico. > **[Why The IRS is Coming for Puerto Rico Act 60](https://nomadcapitalist.com/finance/why-the-irs-coming-for-puerto-rico-act-60/)** > > This in-depth analysis looks at why the United States IRS is coming for Puerto Rico Act 60, the benefits of moving to Puerto Rico and what other options could help you lower your taxes. _Puerto Rico allows US citizens, or anybody else with the legal ability to live in the United States, to move to the island and enjoy dramatically lower taxes on income and capital gains._ _Act 60, enacted in July 2019, consolidated two previous acts: Act 22, for individual investors, and Act 20, for export services companies. It provides new residents of Puerto Rico with a 100% federal tax exemption from Puerto Rico-sourced income, capital gains, interest and dividend income._ _The main condition to qualify for the tax incentive is that US citizens become bona fide residents of Puerto Rico and are thus shielded from paying federal income taxes._ _To establish bona fide residence, the rules dictate that you must…_ DB2 ---
**Author:** ![jdc115](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/motleyfoolfree/user_avatar/discussion.fool.com/jdc115/32/1338_2.png) [@jdc115](https://discussion.fool.com/u/jdc115)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2024, 12:07pm UTC](https://discussion.fool.com/t/thinking-of-leaving-the-country/108490/24 "2024-09-07T12:07:21Z")
But that is from PR sourced income and cap gains. Even though I don’t live in the US, most of my cap gains are US sourced. My income is locally sourced ---
**Author:** ![DrBob2](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/motleyfoolfree/user_avatar/discussion.fool.com/drbob2/32/3456_2.png) [@DrBob2](https://discussion.fool.com/u/DrBob2)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2024, 12:34pm UTC](https://discussion.fool.com/t/thinking-of-leaving-the-country/108490/25 "2024-09-07T12:34:58Z")
> [@jdc115](#): > > But that is from PR sourced income and cap gains. Even though I don’t live in the US, most of my cap gains are US sourced IIRC, PR-sourced is tax free. Outside PR sourced is taxed at only 4%. DB2 ---
**Author:** ![qazulight](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/motleyfoolfree/user_avatar/discussion.fool.com/qazulight/32/6867_2.png) [@qazulight](https://discussion.fool.com/u/qazulight)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2024, 1:43pm UTC](https://discussion.fool.com/t/thinking-of-leaving-the-country/108490/26 "2024-09-07T13:43:46Z")
> [@Phoolio18](#): > > Have you looked at Puerto Rico? You can obtain bonafide residency by living there for 6 months every year. With that, there are tax breaks for US Citizens. For instance, no capital gains taxes. I would not care to live in Puerto Rico. It is very much Americanized. It is why Costa Rica and Panama even though they have excellent health care are not at the top of my list. Cheers Qazulight ---
**Author:** ![Neuromancer](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/motleyfoolfree/user_avatar/discussion.fool.com/neuromancer/32/4361_2.png) [@Neuromancer](https://discussion.fool.com/u/Neuromancer)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2024, 5:58pm UTC](https://discussion.fool.com/t/thinking-of-leaving-the-country/108490/27 "2024-09-07T17:58:35Z")
> [@DrBob2](#): > > The main condition to qualify for the tax incentive is that US citizens become bona fide residents of Puerto Rico and are thus shielded from paying federal income taxes How does that work for IRA distributions? IRA withdrawals are taxed at the Federal level and state level (unless you live in a state without income tax) even if the contributions were made in a state without an income tax. As a retiree who lived most of my working life in Texas, here in North Carolina I pay an extra 4.5% tax on distributions. One of the hidden costs of relocating for retirement. ---
**Author:** ![MarkR](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/motleyfoolfree/user_avatar/discussion.fool.com/markr/32/2011_2.png) [@MarkR](https://discussion.fool.com/u/MarkR)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2024, 1:39pm UTC](https://discussion.fool.com/t/thinking-of-leaving-the-country/108490/28 "2024-09-08T13:39:32Z")
> [@jdc115](#): > > I have lived outside the US for 20 years and still pay capital gains tax. Puerto Rico is not outside the US, it is part of the US. And it has special tax rules for residents. ---
**Author:** ![inparadise](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/motleyfoolfree/user_avatar/discussion.fool.com/inparadise/32/3249_2.png) [@inparadise](https://discussion.fool.com/u/inparadise)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2024, 5:38pm UTC](https://discussion.fool.com/t/thinking-of-leaving-the-country/108490/29 "2024-09-10T17:38:44Z")
> [@Phoolio18](#): > > Have you looked at Puerto Rico? We lived in the US Virgin Islands for 8 years, a US Territory. While we did not pay US Federal taxes, territorial taxes were still collected based on Federal rates, and we still paid SS taxes. It basically saved us “state” taxes, other than for the rental income we still had on the mainland, which required a tax return for that state. > [@qazulight](#): > > I would not care to live in Puerto Rico. It is very much Americanized. LOL. Not sure I would agree with that. Went to the PR locations our employer had, in order to train people and present research. It’s not the place for a type A personality, or even a B+. Lots of corruption, nothing seemed to be done efficiently, and medical was so bad that co-workers who had been transferred there all had medivac insurance to the mainland. USVI was even worse, but happily we were not dependent on local water or electric, which could go away for months after a storm. Our local friends would come to our house after storms to take showers, do laundry, fill water containers, and swap out ice packs from our freezer. Great places to visit, but I begged to return to the mainland. IP ---
**Author:** ![Hawkwin](https://g.foolcdn.com/misc-assets/discourse-member-avatar_120px_green600.png) [@Hawkwin](https://discussion.fool.com/u/Hawkwin)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2024, 6:55pm UTC](https://discussion.fool.com/t/thinking-of-leaving-the-country/108490/30 "2024-09-10T18:55:03Z")
> [@qazulight](#): > > I would not care to live in Puerto Rico. It is very much Americanized. It is why Costa Rica and Panama even though they have excellent health care are not at the top of my list. To piggyback on what Paradise already stated, it very much depends on where you live in the country. I’ve been to places in CR that you can only get to by boat much of the year and that didn’t have any electricity until 2004\* (with some parts not getting it until 2009) - I can promise you that there was very little American influence there since few are willing to live that rustically. 🙂 Not many “digital nomads” sipping their lattes there. \*Drakes Bay [Previous page](https://discussion.fool.com/t/thinking-of-leaving-the-country/108490.md?page=1)