Colombia Forum

chrisbosmedellin
Joined 2019
Posts: 4

5 years ago

Taxes and Healthcare

5 years ago

Hi All,

I will be moving to Medellin sometime at the end of this year or early next year with my husband (he's from Medellin). One of the main reasons for moving there is to save some money as we have quite a lot of debts in the US (not to mention the beautiful views, people, and food!). I will work remotely for a US company as an independent contractor and researcher, keeping most of my money in the US just transferring money to Colombia to pay for day-to-day expenses there. I have three questions. The first is about taxation. My husband asked a local accountant (actually 3) in Medellin if I would have to declare taxes. They said I am not considered a tax resident as long as I don't have more than 50% of my income from a Colombian source and 50% or more of my assets are in the US (regardless of whether I am in Colombia for more than 183 days) and as long as I don't bring more than 46 million pesos into the country (or charge more than that on credit cards) I don't have to declare. Does that sound right? I'm concerned because I want to obey the law, but it doesn't reflect what I've read online (but again this is 3 separate accountants saying this). My income is quite high, so I would end up paying a huge amount in tax if I have to, so I have to know ahead of time if I have to save that money or can use it to pay off some other debts. I will be staying in the country for a few years.

The second question is about health insurance. Is everyone required to sign up with an EPS (even if I am not paid within the country)? Would I have to pay 12.5% of my salary to the EPS (this is very high relative to my premium (including employer's contribution in the US)? Is there some other alternative to this? I know there is the prepagada option, but I thought I had read that I would have to sign up for an EPS (and then still have to pay the 12.5%)?

Lastly, is it easy to find other expats in Medellin? I love Colombians, but it would be nice to find some fellow Americans once in a while :)

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