Exit Tax

An exit tax is a levy that some countries impose when you stop being tax resident there. Your unrealised capital gains are treated as if you had sold the assets on the day you left.

No sale takes place. No cash comes in. You still pay tax on the increase in value since you acquired the assets.

The rules take different forms. The United States apply an expatriation tax under IRC Section 877A to certain covered expatriates. Germany taxes shareholdings of 1 % or more under § 6 AStG. Canada, Australia and France use deemed disposition rules tied to a change of tax residency. Thresholds, scope and exemptions differ and change over time.

Exit tax exposure is tied to Tax Residency / Tax Domicile, because ending residency is the trigger, and to Tax Exit / Deregistration, the administrative process of leaving the tax net.

Within GoodbyeMatrix, exit tax planning is a core task of the Exit-Architect role: timing, asset repositioning and legal structuring before the relocation takes effect. Valued too late, an exit tax bill can eat the benefit of the whole move.

Whether an exit tax applies to you, and how it can be reduced or deferred, is what we assess before you set a departure date.