Living Abroad Part-Time? Your U.S. Home County Still Sets Your Costs

Every article about retiring abroad is about the destination: the cost of a meal in Lisbon, the price of a two-bedroom in Mérida, the healthcare in Panama. The part that gets left out is the U.S. address most part-time expats keep, and the bills that keep arriving there.

If you're planning to spend part of the year abroad and part in the U.S., you're a snowbird with a longer flight. The two-county budget still applies, and the U.S. county you choose to keep matters as much as the country you choose to visit.

What stays attached to your U.S. base

Domicile. Unless you emigrate outright and cut ties, you remain domiciled in a U.S. state. That state taxes your worldwide income if it has an income tax. This is a major reason part-time expats choose their U.S. base deliberately (see our article on choosing a U.S. base before you go).

Federal taxes. U.S. citizens file federal returns wherever they live. The foreign earned income exclusion applies to earned income, not Social Security, pensions, or retirement withdrawals, so retirement income remains taxable at the federal level. Foreign bank accounts above a $10,000 aggregate trigger FBAR reporting. [1][2]

Property tax. On the U.S. home, at the county's rate, with homestead relief only if it remains your primary residence and you meet the state's rules.

Homeowners insurance. Priced by the U.S. address, with the same vacancy and unoccupancy issues any snowbird faces, over a longer absence.

Medicare. Your plan options are tied to the U.S. county, and Medicare pays almost nothing abroad. Most part-time expats keep Part B and Part D to avoid penalties and to have coverage when home (see our article on Medicare when living abroad).

Social Security. Benefits are paid to U.S. citizens in most countries, by direct deposit to a U.S. or eligible foreign bank. A few countries are restricted. [3]

Vehicles, licenses, voting, mail. All run through the U.S. base.

Building the budget

Treat it as two locations:

Structure only; fill with your counties' and country's numbers.

The U.S. column is set by the county. A low-tax, low-insurance U.S. base with a small home can make the abroad months affordable; an expensive U.S. house left empty half the year can eat the savings.

Reducing the U.S. column

• Downsize the U.S. home to something cheap to carry and easy to leave.
• Choose the base county for low fixed costs: property tax, insurance, and no vehicle property tax.
• Rent the U.S. home mid-term while away, if local rules allow (see our article on renting out your U.S. home while overseas).
• Consider a no-income-tax domicile state, if your ties there are real.

The bottom line

The destination is only half the cost of living abroad part-time. The U.S. county you keep charges property tax, insurance, and state income tax the whole time you're away, and your Medicare and Social Security run through it. Choose it as carefully as the country.

Look up the median property tax bill for any county →

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Educational information, not tax, legal, or financial advice. Cross-border rules are complex; consult a professional.