I am an Australian expat living in Singapore and am wondering if there are any other expats on this forum who are applying Steve’s advice to property investment in Australia whilst they are residing overseas. As an expat there are some differences in Australian tax laws that apply to me both now and when I return to live in Australia, and it would be helpful to talk to people who have worked with these tax differences with regards to property investing.
Sharon
Hi Sharon
I know i have acted for many expats on the forum so they are out there.
Hopefully we can get a few of them to show themselves.
Cheers
Richard Taylor
Residential & Commercial Finance Broker.
Licensed Financial Planner. Ph: 07 3720 1888
[email protected]
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Thanks Richard…I’m still waiting for an expat to ‘show themselves’!!
Sharon
Hello Sharon
I’m an Aussie living in Belgium. I have several investment properties in Australia and would be happy to answer any questions you have, if I am able.
Obviously I am a non resident for tax purposes as well though I have a TFN and my accountant lodges a return for me. There are no differences between being a resident or not as far as CGT on property is concerned and all deductions are the same. The big difference is that you start to pay tax from the first dollar at a rate of 29%. Not nice. After $25K it’s just the same as everyone else.
The big win re CG for a non resident would be in shares as the ATO does not charge CGT on this. The rest depends on your country of residency.
You might like to read this thread too as there might be one or two bits of useful information for you there. The person who started it was going to S’pore to work.
I’m not sure what else to tell you so just feel free to ask.
Hope this helps [smiling]
ElkaHi, I was resident in Australia for 2 years before I upped & left for Singapore. Before I left, I bought 2 houses & left them with a manager. Then I bought a couple more.
What you can do is buy something on an SGD loan & pay it off your SGD income. That will make your investment cashflow +ve. FYI, I was offered 1.8% interest on my own home which was rented at about 4.5% yield.
Would you be interested in a new house [house& land package can be cheaper as there’s less stamp duty etc] on the premises above?
If you are interested, send me an e-mail : [email protected]
Alternatively, I can put you in touch with some Aussie tax experts working out of Singapore & the bankers who work the SGD/AUD home loans.
I do not work as a broker nor take commisions & any comments I make are meant to be helpful but not as professional advice.
Hope this post helps you.
Kum YinHi Elka and Kum Yin,
Thanks for all your helpful comments! Elka, I read back through the thread you suggested and found that I knew most of the information being talked about so that was very affirming – I’m on the right track! Kum Yin, I have already seen an accountant here in Singapore (the same one that you you recommended through the other thread!) but I would be interested in more details about Singapore loans as opposed to an Aussie loan. I had just assumed we would need to use an Aussie loan for an Aussie IP purchase but maybe I’m wrong?? Would appreciate you sending me some information…
Thanks again to both of you [biggrin]
Sharon
Hi Sharon, hope you’re still reading this thread.
I’ve done some numbers on SGD loans. Works well particularly if you already own a house that has excess equity . I did that when I started out in 1998-99. Alternatively, if you have income/cash, an offset account is the latest smart move.
The reason is that you can also borrow off your Australian income. The -ve gearing + depreciation on the new house will offset the lower cost of SGD loan to give you +ve cashflow & yet keep whatever capital gains accrue on the property.
I’ll be going back to Malaysia in April. I’m not sure whether I can get to Singapore [passport delays]. If you’re interested in meeting me, send me an email. [email protected]
You make the decisions yourself. What I can do is tell you about my experiences & what I’ve learnt along the way plus I can probably let you know the mistakes I made!
Cheers,
Kum YinHi again Sharon, I’ve reread your last post & here’s some specific info if you wish to act on it.
Westpac was quite aggressive about SGD loans in 2004. Citibank also offered SGD loans. You can go directly to Westpac in Suntec city. Do you know that they have {they had when I was there} rooms specifically labelled “Sydney”, “Melbourne”, “Adelaide”? I’m sure they have “Perth” as well!
Unfortunately, I’ve thrown out telephone numbers. The person I dealt with is called Danielle Lan. She OKed my loan in 3 days.
Have fun,
Kum YinPS I’m sure you know that the Aussie property market peaked in 03/04? Many feel that it’s past the peak & may correct but then again, they also said that of the stock market. Take care & good luck.
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