Money transfer

[trinket 30]

banks will report 10,001 to irs for money movement. that is per day on a account. if you do 800 a day over the course of a month, you should be good. you pay taxes on income not on moeny you already have. so taxes you will report to gov't is on returns on investments on this money.

no i am not cpa but i am in business and have many tranactions a year that i deposit 10,000 into business account.

so good luck and i would suggest do it over course of 6 months or something like that

Be careful with this kind of advice. Yes, the IRS automatically flags transfers of 10,000 or more, but that doesn't mean they don't flag lesser amounts or any other kind of pattern either randomly or routinely. If you're doing this to evade declaring this money as income, you could be setting yourself up for a nasty fall. Honestly, I have a pretty hard time believing a transfer of $800 per day over the course of a month would not be flagged.

I do plan to declare it when we file tax return February 2010. I will have to because we are planning to use this money and plus the money my husband has saved so far to buy one of the cheap foreclosed homes.

What I want to know is-- Do I have to declare it right away or I can do it when me and husband go for filling the tax return once he gets his w-2?

[FortLaudy 10]

Wow, I better start looking into this thing too as my husband and I too want to buy a house together early next year and some of the downpayment will come from money I have abroad... if anyone knows the right answer to these questions and how to declare it for tax purposes please write back... I don't get how we can get taxed for money we have back home... strange huh... they should give me a gold star for bringing money to this country instead, not tax me, sheeezzz

[mox 298]

I don't get how we can get taxed for money we have back home... strange huh... they should give me a gold star for bringing money to this country instead, not tax me, sheeezzz

Declaring the money is not the same as being taxed. There are ways to avoid being taxed on this money (if it was a gift, for example), but even if you owe $0 in taxes, it still has to be declared.

[FortLaudy 10]

I don't get how we can get taxed for money we have back home... strange huh... they should give me a gold star for bringing money to this country instead, not tax me, sheeezzz

Declaring the money is not the same as being taxed. There are ways to avoid being taxed on this money (if it was a gift, for example), but even if you owe $0 in taxes, it still has to be declared.

What if it was money from real estate investment sold YEARS ago?

[Starlight95 1]

Be careful with this kind of advice. Yes, the IRS automatically flags transfers of 10,000 or more, but that doesn't mean they don't flag lesser amounts or any other kind of pattern either randomly or routinely. If you're doing this to evade declaring this money as income, you could be setting yourself up for a nasty fall. Honestly, I have a pretty hard time believing a transfer of $800 per day over the course of a month would not be flagged.

I do plan to declare it when we file tax return February 2010. I will have to because we are planning to use this money and plus the money my husband has saved so far to buy one of the cheap foreclosed homes.

What I want to know is-- Do I have to declare it right away or I can do it when me and husband go for filling the tax return once he gets his w-2?

You can declare it when you do your taxes once he gets his W2. Usually, the interest amount earned if it is a CD account is what you need to declare. But, yes you do have to declare it.

Star

[trinket 30]

You can declare it when you do your taxes once he gets his W2. Usually, the interest amount earned if it is a CD account is what you need to declare. But, yes you do have to declare it.

Star

Thanks a bunch Starlight

[Darnell 8,479]

Transferring large sums of money internationally (i.e. more than $10,000) should usually be reported as income. (and the IRS may or may not flag your ATM transfers) Depending on the source of the income, you may or may not be liable for taxes. For example, I believe if it's a "gift" (and you can prove as much) then the first $10,000 is tax free. But don't take my word on that. Your best bet is to get with a tax accountant to determine the best way to declare it.

I disagree. If it's monies earned overseas, it's not INCOME for US tax purposes, regardless how it comes in (wire transfer, hand carry, atm withdrawal) . It would be declared (maybe ) at tax time, but not taxed.

[Darnell 8,479]

Trinket - have you looked into xoom.com ? Not sure of the fees from India to USA, but if the deposit is in US Currency already, you won't lose anything in conversion rates. There are other services, as well, that are Indian PRI specific, with less fees than xoom.

[trinket 30]

I looked at xoom just now. I am the ignorant one, so let me ask this. I clicked on choosing which country to send money to, the thing is my money is in Indian account and I need to transfer it to US account. I have taken out $6k so far, would be nice if I don't have to pay any more ATM fee on that. Anyways on xoom.com I don't see sending money to US, I do see options of sending money from US.

[Darnell 8,479]

Trinket, I wasn't sure if xoom.com had it or no, from India to USA - but hey - now you know

[jjbandero 39]

I'm not a tax accountant, but here's what I've been told:

* Income earned overseas is not taxable in the US; only USCs have to declare worldwide income on their tax return

* If you are bringing cash equivalent to USD10K or more on you as you enter the US, you have to declare it

*$10K is the for cash deposits. The bank is required to report any cash transactions in that amount or higher to the FBI (repeated transactions just under the limit also draw scrutiny), but it does not mean you will be taxed by the IRS.

* ATM withdrawals are convenient, but in addition to the fees you're charged per withdrawal, you need to also consider the exchange rate, typically what happens is that the withdrawal is made possible by partnering banks, and each bank will take a small %, this is reflected in the less favourable exchange rate for you the account holder. You can compare the rates you're getting through the ATM against a US bank's exchange rate to see if you are losing out too much.

* To send money from US to foreign country through wires is fairly simple, large banks already have their networks in place to be able to do this, and smaller banks will just route you through a larger bank to provide the service.

* To send money from foreign country to US can still be fairly easy depending on where you are, e.g. I have a HSBC account in Australia that allows me to perform online wire transfers to other countries. It's worth checking with your bank to see how much it's going to cost you, my experience is about AUD30.

Here's a little math:

You're transferring about USD12K = 15 x $800 withdrawals; @$4 per withdrawal, total fee = $60 (this is not counting the potentially less favourable exchange rate through the ATM network)

Just something to think about

Cheers

Edited January 8, 2010 by jjbandero

[Krikit 1,165]

You don't have to declare the $$$ and you don't have to pay taxes on it. I'll see if I can locate the documentation to back that statement up.

Most of the Canadians use Custom House. The UK'ers use XE. There is no charge for electronic transfers and the exchange rates are far better than you will receive through a regular financial institution.

Here is some further information and the link to how it works: Link

[Mikkel 0]

Most of the Canadians use Custom House. The UK'ers use XE. There is no charge for electronic transfers and the exchange rates are far better than you will receive through a regular financial institution.

I see this a lot, but I can't find any information at all about their rates. I have a hard time believing that they can offer a better rate than my bank.

[Krikit 1,165]

I see this a lot, but I can't find any information at all about their rates. I have a hard time believing that they can offer a better rate than my bank.

Here's how it works: Explanation of trades

The banks not only have a poor exchange rate, some also charge hefty service fees. I would never go to an American bank to buy or sell foreign money.