How do you move abroad after selling your business? Ten things to keep in mind before you make your trip.
After selling your business, investing in cross-border investment strategies can be a prudent step to secure and grow your wealth internationally.
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Introduction
Moving abroad is a great way to start a new chapter in your life. This is especially true if you want to move abroad after selling your business, as it means the end of one chapter and a start of another.
It can be exciting and scary at the same time, but if you do it right, the rewards will be worth it.
After selling a business, you might have more money than you know what to do with. And you might be wondering if this one-time time payout will be enough to get you through a comfortable life in another country.
This is the time to consider hiring a financial planner or consultant so you can make the right use of the proceeds from the sale. A good financial planner can allocate and invest your money for you can reach your goals, especially if you plan to move abroad after selling your business.
In this article, we will discuss some things to keep in mind before you make your trip.
What should I keep in mind before I move abroad after selling my business?
Tie up any loose ends regarding the sale of your business.
You’ve made the decision to start over and sell your business. Now it’s time to figure out what that means for you, the company and its future.
Do you keep a partial stake in the company you’ve built? Do you get any share of the profits as the founder? Do you keep any rights to the company?
These questions will be very important ones to answer, as it might dictate the state of your finances now and in the future. The last thing you want is for you to be involved in a legal battle with your company because of a disagreement in the future.
If there is any uncertainty about any of this, talk them over with an accountant, financial consultant or financial planner, or attorney before doing anything else.
Hiring professionals to make sure you have a successful sale is absolutely essential. You want to be sure that your business is sold for the best deal possible, with as little risk to you as possible, so it’s critical that you hire an attorney and accountant.
Then, if you’re planning on selling your home, office, or other real estate holdings, hire a real estate agent who can guide you through the process of finding someone interested in buying them.
Be sure to also pay attention to taxes you need to pay when tying up the details of your sale.
Doing your due diligence will ensure your peace of mind when you move abroad after selling your business.
Decide how to invest your money before you move.
We’ve talked before about investments you can make after selling a business. It’s important to consider your risk tolerance and time horizon before moving abroad.
How much money would you be willing to lose if something went wrong? How long do you want to stay abroad? Will it only be a few years or do you plan to live abroad permanently?
Will this be your retirement? Do you have any major purchases or brand-new financial investments planned?
These are questions you should ask yourself and consider before you move abroad after selling your business. Make a financial plan for yourself.
With a thorough financial plan, you can assess if you can support your lifestyle on the profits of your sale and what variables you can tweak to improve your chances.
A sound investment management strategy should take into consideration your risk tolerance and appetite, as well as your needs for present income and future growth. It should also look for tax-saving options for your taxable accounts. Once again, a financial planner can come in handy here.
Decide whether to keep your local investments or sell them before you leave.
If you have investments in your home country, it’s important to remember that you can either keep them or sell them before leaving the country. Before you move abroad after selling your business, you should decide what to do with them.
If you want to keep your assets in your home country, then you need to take into account the tax implications this may have on your finances.
The value of these assets may be lower in another country because of currency conversions and there are also taxes that you need to pay abroad for any income you make. There is also the real possibility of the income on your investments being taxed twice, both in your home country and abroad.
Consult your accountant or tax expert about your investments before you move abroad after selling your business. If the costs are too great for your liking, then it might make better sense for you to sell your investments before you leave.
Be informed about what to do with the money you’ve made from selling your business when moving abroad.
If move abroad after selling your business, it can be tempting to just put your money in a bank account with the local currency. However, there are several reasons why this might not be the best choice for you.
First of all, some banks and financial institutions have low-interest rates on savings accounts and loans.
Furthermore, if you move abroad after selling your business and decide to stay there for a long period of time, then having money in a foreign country will become more expensive over time due to exchange rate differences between different currencies.
While these factors may seem like they would make it difficult or impossible for someone who wants access their savings quickly on their next trip abroad—and that’s certainly true—there are other ways around these problems.
You could open an account at the branch of your destination country if your bank has operations there. There are also international accounts that offer competitive rates for expats.
If you move abroad after selling your business, consider banking overseas as well. This is an option if you have a foreign currency account or investment account in your home country, as these can easily be transferred over to your new country of residence.
You may also want to consider using a foreign credit card and insurance policy for convenience’s sake. If not, this could be one of the first things you can do when setting up shop abroad.
It will pay to be informed of how you can transfer and access your money before you move abroad after selling your business.
Research the countries you like and cut down your list to a few.
Now that you have a solid foundation in your home country, it’s time to start researching the countries that interest you. This is where things get complicated. You will have to do some research on the cost of living in each country and the laws you need to abide by living there as a foreigner.
We have a wealth of relevant info on this website about living as an expat throughout the globe. You can also easily find information online about your questions about local taxes so that when you’re about to make the move, these details won’t be forgotten about later on in your decision-making process.
Taxes are usually one of the highest priorities you should keep in mind when you move abroad after selling a business. After all, you worked hard for that payout. It would be a shame if you end up spending a large part of it on taxes and exchange rates.
That said, consider establishing residency in a country with lower taxes. Moving to a country with lower taxes could be a great option for you to consider. You should also take note of countries that have tax treaties with your homeland, as this can protect you from double taxation.
When you’re moving abroad after selling a business, it’s important to understand the tax codes in the country you’re moving to. Taxes will vary from country to country, but there are some basic rules that apply across most countries.
Income taxes are based on any personal income you make from employment or a business. Meanwhile, capital gains taxes occur when an investment goes up in value over time and you receive profits from it.
Do you plan on working abroad? Then you need to consider the tax implications of this too.
For instance, British citizens are required by the UK government to pay income taxes on foreign income, such as those you make from wages working for companies abroad, from foreign investment income like dividends and savings interest earned from foreign assets, rental income on overseas properties you own, or any income you earn from pensions held overseas.
The British government generally refers to income earned outside of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland as “foreign income.” Any income you get from the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands is likewise considered foreign income under these circumstances.
You must pay the British government the required taxes if you work for a UK-based business.
Even in the best-case scenarios, tax residency is a complicated topic, so formal tax advice from a tax expert is advised. To put it simply, your tax obligations will fluctuate greatly depending on whether you are deemed a UK resident or a foreign tax resident.
This is also true if you come from countries like the United States, Australia, or Canada.
Remember that citizenship and tax residency are two very different things. Even while you maintain your home citizenship, you can still be regarded as a foreign tax resident, and vice versa. This distinction is vitally important to keep in mind while working abroad.
Practice your language skills, if you need to learn a new language.
If you will be living in a foreign country, it’s important to learn the local language. You may have heard that there are ways to practice your language skills without having to live in another country for long periods of time.
Use an app like Duolingo or Memrise. These apps allow users to learn basic phrases, words and sentences on their phone while they’re away from home.
Better yet, enroll in language classes as early as you can before you leave. There are sure to be classes at your local community college or university or consider taking online courses.
There are several different types of classes available depending on which level of proficiency you need for all major languages.
Be meticulous about the details of the country you’re moving to.
Before you move abroad after selling your business, do your research.
Research the country’s culture and laws. Find out what kind of health care is available, how much it costs per month and if there are any government programs that will help with medical bills.
Research education options in that city or country, including schools for adults who might want to learn new skills.
If you’re planning on working while living abroad, look into what kind of job opportunities exist in that area.
Then think about climate—will your new home be warm enough all year round? Is it safe during snowstorms or hurricanes? And finally, language—how hard will it be for someone who doesn’t speak, let’s say, Spanish well enough to communicate with locals?
Get a visa if necessary.
Before you move abroad, make sure that your visa is valid and ready. Depending on the strength of your passport, some countries require visas to enter the country while others don’t.
If you’re moving to a country where they do require visas, it’s best to get one before moving overseas so that no time is wasted traveling back and forth between countries just so that your paperwork can be processed.
You can make it work!
The process is not as difficult as you may think. It’s worth it in the end, and there are plenty of things that you can do to make the transition easier for yourself and your family.
Take some time to plan ahead and make sure you understand the tax laws where you are moving.
We hope you’ve found this guide helpful. We know it can be a daunting prospect to start over in a new country, but by taking the time to do your research and prepare properly, you’ll be able to do it with ease.
Remember that there are many ways for people who move abroad after selling their businesses to make their move easier, so don’t feel like you have no options.
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Adam is an internationally recognised author on financial matters, with over 760.2 million answer views on Quora.com, a widely sold book on Amazon, and a contributor on Forbes.
