The Expat Sage Podcast
Moving, Working, and Investing for Americans Abroad.
Pre-relocation planning advice and investment strategies for American citizens moving abroad.
Discover expert insights and comprehensive strategies for expats on investing in a dual taxation world, managing finances, and planning for retirement.
The Expat Sage Podcast
How UK Reforms And U.S. OBBBA Reshape Every Financial Move For Americans In Britain
Finance rarely flips overnight, but 2026 comes close. Two permanent shifts collide: the UK ends the non‑dom era, and the U.S. OBBA cements the 2017 tax architecture, forcing Americans in Britain to rethink every choice around income, investments, pensions, and estate planning. We unpack why the UK’s new foreign income and gains relief can quietly increase your IRS bill, how the temporary repatriation facility at 12% becomes a tool for deliberate credit harvesting, and where timing mismatches turn smart moves into double tax.
We take you inside the clash over capital gains rebasing, showing how the UK’s 2017 step‑up collides with the IRS’s original‑cost basis and leaves you with partial credits and a residual check to write. Then we get tactical: why the foreign tax credit method typically beats the FEIE when UK rates exceed U.S. rates, how excess credits become a strategic asset, and where state domicile rules in places like California and New York can trigger uncredited tax on worldwide income long after you’ve moved to London.
Investors get a clear map of the twin minefields: U.S. PFIC penalties on non‑U.S. funds and the UK’s offshore income gains rules that tax non‑reporting funds at income rates. The solution is narrow but workable: U.S.‑domiciled ETFs with HMRC reporting fund status—the true “gold list.” We also decode the hardest retirement conflicts: the UK’s tax‑free pension lump sum that the U.S. taxes in full, ISAs that are tax‑free in the UK but taxable in the U.S., and the SIPP as one of the few bilateral safe harbors. Finally, we tackle the UK’s new 10‑year inheritance tax tail and the lifeline offered by the 1979 U.S.‑UK estate tax treaty, where proving U.S. treaty domicile can protect non‑UK assets.
By the end, you’ll have a practical checklist—portfolio audit, LLC elections or distribution timing, and a decision on TRF credit harvesting—plus a new mindset: document your center of vital interests and plan actively with the treaty in hand. If this helped, follow the show, share it with a fellow expat, and leave a quick review so more people can find it.
For an in-depth look, read Investing for US Citizens in the UK: Cross-Border Taxation 2026. If you have questions, contact us.