Tax question

It is my understanding from what I have read, and talking with a lawyer in Belize that income I earn working on line in other countries (i.e. as a consultant in the USA), is not taxable by Belize. You don't need a work visa to do this.

I am not a tax expert in Belize though, so you should get an opinion from such a person. It is you afterall that they will go after if I am wrong.

I also had a tax question.  My wife and I are considering purchasing property in Belize to build on and retire there in about 5 years.  We will qualify for the QRP but my understanding is that the QRP is just a tax savings on any Belizian taxes we might owe, not our US income.  We will not be working in Belize, living off a US pension, social security, and IRAs.  All the US income, even if deposited in a Belize bank, will still be taxed by the US IRS, correct?  So I am not understanding what Belize tax (besided saving on shipping personal property in) we would be saving with the QRP.  We are having a hard time finding a US CPA who understands the Belize tax benefits.

Mwarren, you have understood things correctly.  The whole idea for Belize is to attract people with money to spend in country so that it generate revenues for the country. The 12.5% GST adds up. You will not be taxed in Belize on any income you make from other countries. Therefore Belize will not take any of your USA Pension.

The QRP permits you to bring in a new vehicle every three years  without tax. I  don't know who can afford that but if you want you can.  If you buy a new SUV that say costs $60K USA, the tax on that would be $35K USD. As well, all the items that you bring in would be taxed and that taxes all adds up.

If you have a consulting business that you can work at remotely while being in Belize, Belize will not tax you on that money earned.

There is no savings on the USA tax on the pension income you earn.

Thank you 2flyaway for the response.  I think I understand it better now.

2flyaway, I forgot to ask one other question about the GST.  Can you give me examples of everyday items that the GST would normally be paid if not on the QRP?  I understand huge savings on major items imported in such as a car or household goods, but I am trying to get a sense for what other savings there would be with the QRP.  Is there GST on groceries, fuel, utilities, etc.?  Thanks much!

mwarren:
Being on the QRP program does not free you from paying for everyday GST costs. QRP gets you in the country at a lower cost because you can bring in what you have built up all your life. In our case we sold our vehicles in Canada (they were too old to bring in under QRP), and purchased a vehicle here GST and Duty free.

What QRP does as well is get you in the country with a card that lets you stay in country. Technically for 12 months then you need to renew it. I have not heard of anyone not being able to renew their QRP status.

When going for a residency there are no guarantees either. Each way has their pluses. That is why my wife is coming in and going for residency, and I came in under the QRP. I have better opportunities to work back in North America remotely.

2flyaway:  Awesome, thanks!

Great Info FLYAWAY! What are the prices like for a new vehicle there and what did you buy?

It has been over a year since we looked at prices. I remember thinking that they were about the same as in Canada (which is higher than the USA), for a new vehicle.  This is if you are purchasing through the QRP program. There are dealers for Land Rover, Toyota, Nissan, Jeep, Dodge, Great Wall (Chinese) and some Indian makes as well. We ended up purchasing a ROW Land Rover Defender. This is the iconic Land Rover made for the Rest Of the World. This means that it has only 1 computer rather than the 6. This is really good to not have computers in cars in Belize. The computers are expensive to replace / fix.  Land Rover Defenders typically last 30 years. So this one should outlast me.

If you plan on doing driving around Belize I highly recommend a 4x4 as it has tougher suspension. The roads are tough on vehicles.  Even the highways are tough on them, but get onto side roads and they are very tough on the tires and suspension.