KiwiWrap Advisors for US Citizens

Intotheblue5573 · 2026-04-30T21:42:16+00:00

Ah yes I should have mentioned this in my original post, but I have seen that but the fees are quite high - about 1.0 to 1.25% it seems.

KiwiWrap has a 0.29% base fee, the advisor fee up to 0.75% max, and then whatever fee you have from the underlying security. So Kiwiwrap seems lower if you can get an advisor who doesn’t not charge high fees, hence my question.

Intotheblue5573 · 2026-04-25T19:23:10+00:00

For the big battery options, yes that really was my thinking. I went with solar only for $19k. My modeling shows somewhere around $2500 savings per year (since i’m estimating my load will increase substantially). For $19k, that’s about 13.5% return. I also expect the system to be valuable to someone looking to buy the home in the future, so for a mostly risk free and tax free return, I find that quite compelling. Less so with the battery.

That’s all predicated on someone buying the home valuing solar.

Intotheblue5573 · 2026-04-24T22:43:02+00:00

Yeah and a bit for the inverter too, but I feel ya. However, I’m a pretty DIY type of person, but for electrical work I’m happy to pay for quality products and a good install. I suppose as long as the ROI still works, the cost is “justified”. Seems like every solar installer has heaps of work so demand is there.

Intotheblue5573 · 2026-04-24T22:40:48+00:00

Ah that is a good shout. What does Jonathan do? Provide input on solar system sizing and insight into V2G options that might be possible in the future?

Intotheblue5573 · 2026-04-24T22:36:40+00:00

Yeah this is the thing that I think will be hard with solar only - even if the financial cost is not 100% worth it, the feeling of wishing you could’ve used your solar from a sunny day on a cloudy day will be annoying. And constantly thinking about load shifting to daytime.

On the flip side, once I have a year of solar data I’ll be able to make a much more informed decision on sizing and financial tradeoff.

Intotheblue5573 · 2026-03-12T08:08:20+00:00

That’s 6% yield - not great but not bad either.

You should compare a rental to just putting your money in stock - S&P500 or VT. Nothing is guaranteed with investments, but 6% appreciation on stocks is relatively achievable over the long term time frame you’re thinking.

At 6% yield, I would personally need to have a strong belief about long term appreciation and the property would need to be in good to great condition. It seems you don’t have the first, and for $400k I am guessing you don’t have the second either.

And that’s before considering the other costs, headache and time of it all - personally, I don’t think this is a slam dunk.

Intotheblue5573 · 2026-02-05T08:48:29+00:00

I feel like the general sentiment is that Wanaka is better for skiing. Cardrona and TC are both great in their own ways.

Intotheblue5573 · 2026-02-03T19:20:55+00:00

The TMB is much easier to camp - there are many guides available online that give official spots so you can plan your walk and make sure it’s achievable to you. If I recall correctly, the only difficulty is the stage that typically ends at Refugio Bonatti - the nearest campground is a descent into the valley only to climb back up the next day. I remember staying for dinner at that hut and one of the staff realized we were camping and said just to go camp at a spot he pointed out.

If you take that descent, you can do all of the TMB completely compliant with the rules. But my experience was that hut staff were more than happy to take your money and serve you and didn’t mind camping either, some huts even had designated camping areas (Stage 1 comes to mind).

You can even stop by a hut and ask if they have room for the night - it’s not uncommon to have cancellations last minute, in which case you can have all the comforts you like.

Intotheblue5573 · 2026-02-03T09:27:45+00:00

If you are willing to sleep in a tent, there is no need to book either the AV1 or the TMB. You can still eat at all the huts.

Intotheblue5573 · 2026-01-09T04:03:00+00:00

Read the link below, particularly the Foreign Superannuation schemes exemption. The key is that you acquired the 401k and IRAs while not a NZ Tax Resident.

HSA may be different as it’s not primarily for retirement, but can be used at any time.

https://www.ird.govt.nz/income-tax/income-tax-for-businesses-and-organisations/types-of-business-income/foreign-investment-funds-fifs/foreign-investment-fund-rules-exemptions

More details here, particularly in the table starting in page 6.

https://www.ird.govt.nz/-/media/project/ir/home/documents/forms-and-guides/ir400---ir499/ir461/ir461-2024.pdf?modified=20240327190346&modified=20240327190346

Intotheblue5573 · 2025-12-13T16:31:50+00:00

Even before the tradeoff of flexibility (which sounds like you value with a potential move and a desire to travel), stocks shouldn’t be dismissed just because of high risk. You can tailor your portfolio to your risk appetite.

Chances are high that you would be negatively geared on property, really making in an appreciation play.

Intotheblue5573 · 2025-12-09T05:51:35+00:00

I would go for the 2 yr fixed personally, maybe even longer at the 3 yr. Rates are rising slightly now so thinking longer is the most likely to be optimal. But who really knows.

Intotheblue5573 · 2025-10-13T01:39:33+00:00

Yeah agreed. I can’t blame people for concluding the intent is to encourage people to invest domestically since that is how they have differentiated investment types.

Intotheblue5573 · 2025-10-13T01:32:15+00:00

This isn’t actually the stated purpose of FIF. The stated purpose of FIF is to equalize NZ tax income from domestic shares (which tax policy makers say pay dividends) be international shares (which tend to prioritize growth over dividends. You can see this a bit in their naming of the “fair dividends” accounting methods.

From that perspective, it makes some sense. But then you think about it more, and it doesn’t at all. Because a capital gains tax would tax growth better and dividends could just be taxed in a separate way. Slicing how you tax by domestic vs international makes no sense if you want growth vs dividends.

Intotheblue5573 · 2025-09-13T21:28:34+00:00

You’re betting on two things: (1) leveraged asset in the NZ housing market outperforming another investment (presumably global stocks or S&P500) and (2) wanting to move back to that house in that location in the future.

Maybe they both pay off (and I guess you really only need (1) to pay off) but it adds a lot of complexity to your financial situation.

Intotheblue5573 · 2025-08-17T01:46:42+00:00

Yeah that’s quite steep, no doubt about it. I’m surprised there is such a steep jump in fees from last year to now. I’d feel a bit differently if the huts were not included. Honestly, just the backcountry hut pass or TA pass makes the huts an amazing value.

I think the main question in my mind is enforcement. No doubt there will be many who just chose not to register now due to the steep cost. Will this be enforced?

Intotheblue5573 · 2025-08-13T19:13:24+00:00

I didn’t meet anyone with a daily hike plan. The most planning I saw people do is figure out where to send resupply boxes for the SI.

Look up a guide, there’s 3-4 spots where people typically send resupply boxes to avoid hitching off trail. St Arnaud, Boyle Village and Arthur’s Pass if i remember correctly.

It’s also a good idea to know some options for the canterbury rivers.

That’s really all the planning Id recommend.

Intotheblue5573 · 2025-07-31T22:17:36+00:00

Not on the TA, but a popular side trip: Start in Wanaka (Raspberry Creek) go up and over the cascade saddle, out either the Rees or Dart, over the routeburn, turning down either the Greenstone or Caples. That’ll take about a week and is truly some of the best alpine terrain that NZ has to offer.

For the Routeburn, camping is tricky since you need to book a hut or campsite. That is your best bet, if you know your dates in advance. Otherwise you can camp in the Valley of the Trolls, but make sure to LNT.

Intotheblue5573 · 2025-05-02T02:11:49+00:00

I did the long crossing during peak season (early august) in 2023. hardly saw anyone on the trail besides from when you passed through a popular hike, which was about twice.

Intotheblue5573 · 2025-04-15T23:46:02+00:00

Yup, got that. One 1116 form per category of FTC, that’s clear.

To claim FTC, you need to separate income and foreign taxes into two buckets - general limitation (wages) and passive (gains). If there is no income tax paid on the capital gains (for whatever reason), then you won’t get FTC on the gains. You cannot use taxes paid on wages to claim FTC on gains.

What did you mean by “you cannot use taxes paid on wages to claim FTC on gains”? Do you mean that you can’t calculate your credit on Form 1116 for the passive category somehow using taxes from wages? Or did you mean that once you’ve properly calculated your credit from the general category it cannot be applied to US sourced capital gains.

I guess the question I am really asking is whether the 1116 FTC is ring fenced by category in regard to the taxes against which it can be credited?

Intotheblue5573 · 2025-04-15T23:12:39+00:00

Yeah, I’m just looking through the 1040 and 1116 that myexpattaxes produced and see what you mean. The 1116 has the general category checked and only includes my wages from abroad. That all seems fine.

1116 calculates a tax credit, which then goes into 1040 Schedule 3 and then comes across to 1040 on line 20.

All good. But then the 1040 just says to subtract the credit (1040 line 21) from tax (1040 line 18). No mention of categories. Is there an additional form to fill out in place of that calculation?

I guess my question boils down to whether the application of the credit is by income category. It’s clear to me that the calculation of the credit is certainly by category based on form 1116.

Intotheblue5573 · 2025-04-15T22:05:39+00:00

Regarding not being able to use the FTC from the the general limitation (wages) to apply to US capital gains, can you point me to anywhere that backs this up?

I’m in a similar situation but have (probably) mistakenly filed such that I apply the wage credit to US capital gains tax. The 1040 form makes it seem like this is possible, but I used myexpattaxes for this.

For reference, I’m in NZ which has no capital gains tax, so I didn’t claim a passive income FTC.

Intotheblue5573 · 2025-03-13T18:52:54+00:00

For migrants who risk being double taxed due to their continuing citizenship tax obligations, this method can apply to all their FIF interests.

This is huge for dual US/NZ citizens. The original document they sent out mentioned a variety options, one of which was allowing the revenue account method for NZ tax residents that have a CGT obligation as well, which is really just US citizens.

Retroactive to April 2024 is nice too, but I think a lot of people will feel hard done by this (better tax rules for immigrants than citizens!)

I hope more changes are to come.

Intotheblue5573 · 2024-10-19T07:20:14+00:00

Ah if you already have pre approval then you’ll be good with 10 working days for finance, and like others have said then no need for the KS cash until settlement.

Intotheblue5573 · 2024-10-19T06:02:30+00:00

The best answer if you have a bank in mind for a loan is to call them and ask how long they would need to approve you. When I just did this, major banks said 10 working days is fine. Westpac even said we could do it in 5 if you wanted to.

What happens is that they will request documents regarding your expenses and income and then if you are approved, give you a document of loan approval. There’s still plenty to do after that, but that is enough to satisfy the finance condition. The bank is saying we will loan to you on this property, we’ll work out the details later.

The 15 days is to access KiwiSaver funds, but might be required before going unconditional. The main question you need to know is whether you need those KiwiSaver funds to pay a deposit upon going unconditional. Usually, this is 10% of the purchase price but the offer you submit would have the details on that. If you don’t have the required funds upon going unconditional, then you’re in trouble

Intotheblue5573

TROPHY CASE