Job Discussion Forums

[legionlabs]

Hey,

I did this half by accident, but I thought I'd share:

If you're going quit your job and to move to Vietnam for whatever reason, do it towards the middle of the Canadian tax year. You're probably going to have fun for a couple of months before starting much serious work, and your gross salary is probably less than what you'd make back home (net salary being quite different of course).

Set everything up to file online before arriving. If things have worked out for you in Vietnam, you'll get your return about 2 months after you've finished paying off your furniture/appliances/plane ticket. Totally awesome

If things do not work out, it will may cover the majority of the cost of your failed venture. Think of it as insurance.

I got 100% of my tax back, even having declared my income here.

Oh, also... having passive income here is great, so put your emergency savings in something stable+liquid that gets you a % or so... and if you're a Quebec resident, make sure to get the 'please stop complaining' (er, I mean 'solidarity') tax credit automatically deposited if you're eligible. These 2 combined can net you like 100$ a month, until you lose eligibility for the solidarity tax credit anyway.

Finally, be sure to note when the expat medical insurance you're going to buy kicks in. No sense risking paying for the provincial plan when you're covered by a (somewhat) cheaper private plan. To be clear, you can actually save money buying private insurance, just pick some big international provider and browse around for a reasonable rate.

Please note that I'm not a tax expert. These are just things I would have liked to know 10 months ago to help budget (even though everything worked out quite well). I was way too conservative, I could have blown much more money. I think I'll buy a bottle of the cheapest finest rice wine to celebrate (sarcasm).

-S