Assets That Have Grown in Value

What This Is

The U.S. generally taxes a gain when you sell, measured from what you originally paid — not from what the asset was worth when you moved. So an apartment bought in 2009 and sold in 2028 can be taxed on nineteen years of growth, most of which happened before you were a U.S. resident.

This applies to real estate, shares, a business, and most other assets that have gone up in value.

Why the Date Matters

There are ways to reset the starting point before you become a resident, so the U.S. only sees growth from your arrival onwards. They involve real decisions — sometimes selling and re-buying, sometimes restructuring — and they only work before the date. If you plan to sell anything in the next few years, this is worth understanding now.

What a Paid Assessment Does

A licensed accountant identifies which assets carry a built-in gain, roughly how the U.S. would treat each, and which reset options are practical given your timeline and your home-country tax position. In writing, signed.