Tax Preparation Service

Tietax

A note to teachers from stephen boush

Tax Services & 401k plan/investment info

August 11, 2020

Dear TCIS faculty and staff,

I wanted to take a moment to introduce myself. My name is Stephen Boush and I have been assisting International Teachers with investment planning and US Tax preparation in Asia for over a decade. Click here for more information.

More details on our US registered and licensed investment firm can be found at: www.investmentcenterworldwide.com and our tax filing services at www.tietax.com.

For non-US Staff we have the option to use a fund company in Luxembourg as well. If you have interest in such please do reach out to me and we can discuss the options.

This memo is with regard to the 401k plan for US nationals which is available via your school for your participation if interested.

This is a great opportunity as it pertains to the overseas options as it allows for both a long-term retirement plan in tax free or tax deferred investments as well as to preserve the overseas filing exclusion (form 2555).

Since a personal Roth IRA / Traditional IRA are not allowable when filing as overseas exempt this is the best way to save in a tax free / tax deferred manner.

This is a standard regulated 401 (k) plan.

1) It is not available for withdrawal by the teacher until reaching retirement age (59-1/2 by US law) without tax and penalties.

2) It is available to any US taxpayer (citizen or green card holder or other taxpayer).

3) It is transferable when a teacher leaves the school BUT only to another tax-deferred plan with identical tax treatment to the original. Or they can keep as long as they desire.

For any staff earning less than the maximum Form 2555 Foreign Earned Income Exclusion (expected to be US $107,600 for this year) can use the 401(k) Roth investment option and pay no tax on their savings going in, and no tax on your savings on withdrawal.

For staff earning above that maximum, using the conventional tax-deferred option will save immediate taxation on your current income.

You can contribute up to $19,500 per calendar year if under age 50 and $26,000 if over.

Attached are the fund options and the enrollment brochure. You would fill in the “Payroll Deferral Election Form” and send back via the school and follow the steps outlined for Online Enrollment.

You would then let the school know so they can with-hold and send over funds each month to the plan on your behalf.

If you have any questions please let me know at sboush@investmentctr.com and glad to address anytime.

Thank you and look forward to working with you.

Sincerely,

Stephen Boush, The Investment Center

2020 US Tax Brochure TieTax

The TieTax site has links to tax related information, many specific to US citizens. Dr. Boush provides tax filing services for many TCIS teachers from many different countries and specialized in the US tax code.

Use the site for information alone or reach out to Stephen for tax advice. He is also the contact person for the TCIS 401k retirement plan that was recently established (for US teachers).

The Investment Center Brochure

Information about the optional

"Thai Chinese international school 401 (k) plan"

401k Participant Enrollment Guide

401k Enhanced Advisor

Interesting and thought-provoking articles about investing and retirement planning:

The concept of Financial Independence/Retire Early is a bit cult-ish, but in a good way! This list has some of the major players I have read.

https://vitaldollar.com/fire-blogs/

The former SAS teacher/author I have mentioned is Andrew Hallam. Decent guy, but Canadian. ;-)

https://andrewhallam.com/category/andrews-articles/ Not the best writer, but excellent info and concepts!

This forum founded on the investment teachings the the late Jack Bogle is full of decent, if slightly over zealous, savers and investors!

https://www.bogleheads.org/index.php

Always remember to pay yourself first, and that doesn't mean into your weekend party money!

banking