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I am a Canadian citizen, living and working in the US since 2006. I just sold my house that I have lived in for 3 years and I am moving back to Canada on Wednesday, Sept. 11th. Closing on my house is scheduled for Monday, Sept. 16th. I am expecting to receive proceeds from the sale, but will I be ...

Hey guys,

I have a 401K and I'm moving back to Montreal in about a month. I have a big amount sitting in there. I also have a Roth IRA.

Should I leave it in there and take it out when I retire or should I withdraw it now.

Thanks!

That's correct. We'll do the Roth 401k and transfer it to a Roth Ira before we move back.

Fidelity will be able to keep our accounts open but we wont be able to make any changes to the account when we move. After. 5 years, we'll take the money out.

Thanks a lot for your help. I learnt a great deal.

Looks like we will be moving back in less than 2 years. Still worth it to contribute?

Looks like we are in the 28% tax bracket whether we contribute or not to the Roth 401k.

Can you elaborate on the tax bracket? I'm not sure I am following you.

I created a Roth 401K and will be contributing the maximum of $17,000. That limit only includes what I put in correct?

My wife will also be creating a Roth 401K and will contribute the maximum and will stop contributing to her 401K.

That's true. I will go ahead and create a Roth 401K.

Should my wife create a Roth 401K plan as well? She's currently contributing to a 401K.

Thanks for that information. I'm actually thinking of not contributing because I need the money right away when I move back which looks like will be in less than 5 years (closer to 3-4).

I have a Roth IRA with Fidelity already and I had it for over 5 years so I should be able to cash it out tax ...

So let's say I contribute to a Roth 401k for 2 years and transfer it into a Roth IRA before leaving. I will have to keep in there for an additional 3 years or does it restart at 5 years because I transferred the money to the Roth IRA?

What are my options when I'm ready to transfer the money to ...

If I understand this correctly, if I conttribute to a Roth 401K, I would need to transfer it to a Roth IRA before leaving the US and leave it there for 5 years and take it out tax free.

Do you know any US brokerage firm that would be handle the account when I move back to Canada?

Since my wife is ...

I had a conversation with Fidelity and they will keep the account open but no changes can be made after moving to Canada.

The thing that I am hesitant about is that even if I was to contribute to a 401K and I move in 3 years. I won't be vested to at 100%.

Basically, I would need to transfer the ...

I would need to be here in the US to do the transfer afterwards to a Roth IRA which I have currently with Fidelity before moving back, right? I would roll it over from the Roth 401K to a Roth IRA.

I'm not sure if I will be even staying here for 5 years and I won't be vested at 100%.

Understood. If I stay less than 5 years the vested percentage is at 80%. My company won't start matching before 6 months anyways.

Eventually, would I transfer the Roth to a TFSA account tax free? Do I need to keep the money in the US for a certain time period before doing so to avoid tax penalties?

Is it worth it for me to contribute to an after-tax 401K if I'm planning on moving back to Canada within 5 years?

My wife's been contributing to a pre-tax 401K for about 6 years and will be moving back as well to Canada. She's still contributing and we are now wondering how to prepare before we ...