Almost every client arriving with a move under way asks the same question: what date should I use as the start of my residency? It is the wrong question, or at least the second one. U.S. tax residency is not decided by one day on a calendar but by a pattern: days of presence, ties to the other country, visa type, and what happens to assets before and after arrival.
The twelve months around
The window that matters opens a few months before arrival and closes at the end of the first full year. That is when it is decided whether a sale is taxed in one country or two, whether an investment account gets reported or reorganized, and whether retained earnings in a foreign company become an annual problem.
What we do first
We map every asset and income source to its country and flag the three or four decisions that cannot be undone. Those get made before the trip. The rest can wait until dates and visa are certain.
If a move is in your plans for the next twelve months, that is the moment to talk.