I’m permanently leaving USA and going back to home country (India). I came here to work on l1. I have some stock on robinhood and some money in the bank. How to handle these now? Can i just keep the stock and sell them at a later point? Or do I need to clear off everything and transfer money back to home country?
You can sell them later. You should ask a CPA about the unrealized capital gains. After you leave the country you don’t have to pay any capital gain taxes.
^ This. Op, Your situation is actually very good from a tax point of view. Hire a good CPA.
He may have to pay exit tax to the US as if he sold them. And then when he sells them for real in India, maybe he'll get double taxed again, so why risk it, just sell already if you're liable for exit tax
If those are in taxable accounts, consider the reporting overhead each year to file taxes in both countries. As @plowing suggested, talk to a CPA here (or CA in India)
Also.. move money to ROTH IRA this year. Your income in USA for this tax yr will be negligible... You will pay almost zero taxes. Let that ROTH grow in ETFs and use it at retirement.
Stocks are safe. Keep them and make sure to find out about tax implications. You may need to fill out extra forms to avoid being double taxed if you sell it later
You should consider using a service like travelling mailbox to get a virtual US address. Keep the bank accounts open. They can be very useful.
The tax reporting overhead is India is significant now. Your tax return will end up in audit every year. Think like 5k-10k INR expense to a CA. Your cost basis in India will be of the day you land in India, so that's a good thing. But you get no discounted capital gains tax when you sell later, that's only for equities held in India. Decide whether your holdings are significant enough for the India audit headache.
So $50? Who cares Also you don’t need to report it to India. It’s ridiculous that countries think they can tax offshore capital gains.
India does not tax you on earnings outside India. That is something only USA does and another tiny little country called Eritrea. They tax their resident on their world-wide income. So what's the worry about double taxation or being taxed in India on your US earnings?
and don't forget to revert back
Have you checked if Robinhood will allow you to keep your account open? Many brokers don’t if you have a foreign address. Fidelity does.
Let them stay in USA. You can move them to other investments but don’t take them to India. This way your money is diversified into 2 different currencies. Later when you are close to retirement you can decide to withdraw them slowly or in one shot.