Meghan caught the heart of many in her wonderful role in Suits as a Para-legal, Rachel Zane. Her fans were shocked when her engagement to Prince Harry was announced on November 27, 2017 and their wedding to hold in May 2018.
Meghan Markle is set to become an official member of the royal family, which means that the Suits alum’s entire life is about to change in a major way. In addition to being thrust into the spotlight in a way that she never has before, Markle will also have to deal with the headache of being a U.S. citizen and all of the tax issues that come with marrying a U.K. citizen.
Though the philanthropist and actress is fabulously wealthy on her own, her marriage to Prince Harry will thrust her into an even higher tax bracket. With a potential royal allowance at her disposal, Markle and any future children that she might have will never have to worry about money again. You’ll be stunned by the amount of money Markle might get as a royal.
Though Prince Harry and the rest of the Windsors are worth an astounding $500 million, Markle is no pauper herself. Though she will not be returning to her role as Rachel Zane on USA’s Suits, she made an astounding $50,000 per episode, with her annual salary somewhere around $450,000.
It’s also been reported that Markle’s total net worth sits somewhere around $5 million, so she clearly doesn’t need any Windsor money.
Though Markle is set to become a British citizen eventually, for the first five years of her marriage to Prince Harry, she will remain a U.S. citizen. This means the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will still be holding out their hands and expecting her to pay taxes on any income that she earns until 2023.
Markle also has the option of becoming a dual citizen. If she chooses to go that route, then she will have to continue filing taxes with the IRS. In November 2017, The Washington Post reported that the forthcoming royal marriage could, “cause tax headaches” and “mundane hurdles” for the royal family.
Prince Harry seems like a relatively laid-back dude, but that doesn’t mean his finances aren’t in order. The former army pilot is worth upwards of $40 million, which obviously bodes well for Markle.
When the prince turned 30, he inherited $13.3 million from his late mother, Princess Diana’s estate. During his days as a pilot, he also earned an annual salary of $50,000. Prince Harry’s father Prince Charles’ estate also takes care of his children and grandchildren’s expenses when it comes to their royal duties.
The Daily Mail reported that between 2016 and 2017, the Duchy of Cornwall paid nearly $9 million to support Prince Harry, Prince William, and Kate Middleton’s activities and other expenses. With an all-expenses-paid lifestyle, we doubt Markle is even considering an allowance.
Though she doesn’t need the money, Markle could still be privy to a potential allowance when she becomes Her Royal Highness, the Duchess of Sussex. In addition to his inheritance and expenses that are covered by his father, Prince Harry also receives an annual allowance of $450,000 from his late mother’s estate.
Though a portion of those funds may not be formally allocated to Markle because of tax reasons, we’re sure some of them will go to her lifestyle.
With so much money on both sides, it seems like a prenuptial agreement would be the smart thing to do for the royal couple. However, Prince Harry and Markle are doing things their own way.
Apparently, prenups aren’t common in England, so the royal couple probably won’t be signing one. U.K.-based family law attorney Julian Hawkhead told Us Weekly:
If there was any drive to do so it would have come from the senior members of the royal family. There has been absolutely no such direction to do this and in fact, I’m reminded of when Prince William and Kate Middleton were engaged to be married, the Palace made it quite clear that they had no expectation that there should be any such prenuptial arrangement made. The precedent has therefore been set by Harry’s father and brother, neither having entered in prenuptial agreements before they married.
Whatever Markle and Prince Harry decide when it comes to managing their money, they’re going to have to be careful if they don’t want their business to go public.
If at any point in the next five years Markle has more than $300,000 in assets, she’s going to be forced to file Form 8938, a specific form that details foreign assets, which could include foreign trusts.
This means she would be putting the royal family’s finances in the media, and we doubt very much that Prince Harry’s grandparents, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, will be pleased with that.
Though the Windsors don’t necessarily need to watch all of their expenses, they don’t top the list of the wealthiest folks in the U.K. In fact, the queen is the joint 319th richest person in the U.K. She shares her position with The X Factor judge Simon Cowell.
No matter what she decides to do, we’re pretty sure Markle is set for life.
Source: Cheat Sheet
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