Travel or Colombia Tax Resident - 3 option as I see them
Posted by legacyrick@reddit | expats | View on Reddit | 4 comments
I'm close to hitting the 183-day mark in Colombia, which would make me a tax resident here.
Right now I have a solid US-optimized setup using the FEIE, but becoming a Colombian tax resident would complicate things.
Quick note: I actually like paying taxes and genuinely want to contribute. I believe in them. The problem is purely structural, I'm self-employed, there's no US–Colombia tax treaty, and the combination of Colombia's progressive rates with US self-employment tax on top creates a double-taxation situation with no easy offset mechanism.
Here are my options as I see them:
A / Return to the US
Drop the FEIE. US taxes kick back in, but even with SE tax the total burden is lower than what Colombian residency would add on top, and at least it's one system.
B / Stay in Colombia
Accept tax residency and try to optimize within the Colombian system. Pay US SE Tax.
C / Travel and reset
Leave before hitting 183 days, spend the rest of 2026 moving around (thinking Argentina, Jamaica, El Salvador, Nigeria, South Africa), and return to Colombia fresh in 2027. Moving around is appealing as much as it’s not (lonely, no community, sciatica with bad mattresses)
Has anyone navigated this?
Cold_Veterinarian670@reddit
No expert , but leave before hitting 183 mark. hire a knowledgeable tax professional.
My understanding is FEIE only applies if setup residence in a foreign country.
Depending on how earning income and visa in CO might still be hit on exiting. (but likely not)
I can not stay there for the same reason.
Sufficient-Job7098@reddit
What was your original plan since you moved to Colombia knowing about tax implications?
Why your original plans aren’t applicable anymore?
You don’t need to reply to my questions.
I recommend to seek answers to those questions as a way to figure out what you should do next.
legacyrick@reddit (OP)
Was not aware of tax residency at 183 days when moved here or when getting visa, my fault.
Original plans did not factor in colombias progressive tax rate and how US self Employment taxes are not off set ( double tax ).
Sufficient-Job7098@reddit
So original plan was to stay in Colombia for 2 more years? 10 more years? Indefinitely?
If you planned to move to Colombia for 10 + years it means that you probably wrapped most of your affairs in states and optimized everything to accommodate your long term ( permanent) relocation.
But it appears that you didn’t plan long term relocation, because this would require more prep work and you would probably discover the “tax issue”
So you planned for a short term stay abroad. If you planned short term stay aboard then you weren’t super into building close community ties. Since you will be leaving shortly.
It appears that after some time you learned that are more carefully researched and chosen accommodation have enough appeal to you. You aren’t sure if being spontaneous and go with a flow from country to country is something that is super fun.
Go home for now.
If you want to stay in Colombia ( or similar country) long term then you should thoughtfully whup up your affairs in US and take time picking proper location abroad.
Do I sound like Chat GPT? lol
Good luck