Estate tax treaty US-Switzerland [2024]

I’m interested in any kind of proof, if there is anything you can share. I would like to blast IBKR support with it, so they need to clarify under which circumstances they lock and don’t lock assets. Because as linked above, they told me they wouldn’t.

Vice versa, you could ask them why they told other people there would be no locking. Not that they would then unlock, but maybe explain themselves.

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I received that from a customer. I don’t think they have a standardized procedure across their entities, and certainly, the answer might vary depending on whom you talk to (especially if that’s a low-level customer service representative), so you’re probably wasting your time asking them. I understand US brokers would do that, but what surprises me here is that it came from IBKR UK.

Please be advised that Interactive Brokers does not provide tax advice. The responsible person or persons for the estate and heirs are ultimately responsible for determining tax obligations, if any, under U.S. Law. We urge you to seek professional tax advice.

Non-US resident, non-US citizens who owned more than $60,000 USD in US-located assets on their date of death may have estate-tax obligations to the US Internal Revenue Service. US-located assets may include, among other assets, stock in US companies, real estate or other tangible assets located in the United States. See this link for more information https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/transfer-certificate-filing-requirements-for-the-estates-of-nonresidents-not-citizens-of-the-united-states

Unless the court of a US state has designated an executor to administer the estate of the deceased, Interactive Brokers cannot disburse any funds or assets until we receive EITHER:

  1. A letter affirming that on date of death, the deceased owned less than $60,000 in US-located assets , the letter does not need to be notarized, OR
  2. Because US assets in the account exceed $60,000, we can disperse upon receipt of a Transfer Certificate issued by the U.S. IRS. See https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f706na.pdf
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One reason more to hold everything at a Swiss broker.

@xerox5003

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Email sent, let’s see.

I don’t know if that helps. If they can’t make money by hiding money, they are usually just as servile as any other institution. Fund transparent tax credits can not come soon enough.

Thanks for sharing… One really needs to write down the exact procedure to file the IRS forms because it will be needed in case of tragic event.

@oslasho question for you: Why you keep posting and then deleting your posts?

Would a joint account be enough to avoid estate tax if one of the 2 pass away?

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Edit: happy someone got the joke :smiley:

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