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What Follows You to Colombia: A Veteran's Compliance Guide

David Gómez5 min readImmigration & Legal

This post was reviewed and updated on .

Living in Colombia does not automatically end your US benefits or federal obligations. Eligibility, citizenship, income, and account balances still matter, so use this guide as a checklist rather than personal tax or legal advice.

Rules and dollar thresholds can change. Verify them with the linked agencies and get cross-border advice for your circumstances.

Five-card checklist of what follows you abroad: VA disability, Social Security, federal taxes, FBAR over $10,000, and absentee voting

Your Benefits Can Continue Overseas

The VA says Veterans overseas remain entitled to benefits and services they earned, and most VA benefits are payable regardless of residence or nationality. VA disability compensation is a monthly tax-free payment under US law. Keep your address and payment details current, and respond to any VA request or examination notice.

Eligible US citizens can generally receive Social Security payments outside the United States. Colombia is also on the SSA’s international direct deposit list. Rules differ for some noncitizens and benefit types. SSA may send beneficiaries abroad a questionnaire; return it by the deadline in the notice to avoid payment suspension. The SSA publication Your Payments While You Are Outside the United States explains the country and reporting rules.

The VA Foreign Medical Program may cover medically necessary care abroad for a VA-rated service-connected disability, a condition that aggravates one, or qualifying care connected with Veteran Readiness and Employment. Check your FMP benefits letter before treatment. Your provider can file a claim, or you can file if the provider does not.

Tax Obligations Can Cross Borders

The IRS generally applies the same federal filing rules to US citizens and resident aliens abroad as it does to people in the United States, including reporting worldwide income. VA disability compensation is not included in federal taxable income. The Foreign Earned Income Exclusion concerns qualifying foreign earned income; it is not needed to exclude tax-free VA disability compensation.

The IRS treaty list does not include Colombia. Colombia may treat you as a tax resident after you spend more than 183 days, continuous or not, in any consecutive 365-day period. If that period crosses tax years, Colombia’s rule generally treats residence as beginning in the second tax year. A foreign tax credit may reduce double taxation on some income, but it does not solve every mismatch. Ask a Colombian tax professional how Colombia treats each benefit and income source.

FBAR and FATCA Are Separate

You generally must file an FBAR when the combined value of your foreign financial accounts exceeds $10,000 at any time during the calendar year. The legal due date is April 15, with an automatic extension to October 15. File electronically through the system linked from FinCEN’s FBAR page.

Form 8938 under FATCA is separate. For a qualifying taxpayer living abroad who is not filing a joint return, the threshold is more than $200,000 on the last day of the year or $300,000 at any time. Different thresholds apply to joint returns, and the form is required only when its filing conditions are met.

If filings are late, do not assume penalties will be waived. The correct procedure depends on whether income and tax returns were reported, whether the IRS has contacted you, and whether the omission was willful. Start with the IRS FBAR guidance and get qualified advice before choosing a correction process.

Voting from Abroad

UOCAVA requires states and territories to let covered US citizens abroad register and vote absentee in elections for federal offices. The Federal Post Card Application can register you and request an absentee ballot at the same time. State rules control deadlines and whether state or local races are included.

If you requested a ballot on time but did not receive it, the Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot can serve as a backup for federal offices, subject to its conditions. Use the US Department of Justice UOCAVA guide and your state’s current instructions.

Decisions That Need Individual Advice

Medicare: Medicare usually does not cover care outside the United States, although narrow exceptions exist. In 2026 the standard Part B premium is $202.90 per month. If you later enroll without qualifying for a Special Enrollment Period, the penalty is generally 10% for each full 12-month period you could have enrolled and usually lasts as long as you have Part B. Review Medicare’s overseas coverage and late-enrollment rules before changing coverage.

Powers of attorney and estates: A power of attorney can help someone act for you, but no single document is universally required or accepted. Authentication, translation, and wording depend on where and how it will be used. Likewise, two wills are not automatically required. When Colombian forced-heirship rules apply and there are protected heirs, current law reserves half of the relevant estate and leaves the other half freely disposable. Coordinate US and Colombian counsel so documents do not conflict.

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