Things to take care of before the move

[HollyandSim 7]

Hi everybody.

At this point, Simon's about 10 days away from making the move to ths US.

I'll be headed there on Thursday and he'll be coming back with me on the 11th.

I'm curious what things he will need to take care of that he may not think of. Was there anything you didn't think of (or did)?

He's selling a lot of his stuff. I have a house here, so he won't need to bring anything he doesn't want.

He's already gotten rid of or is planning to cancel most things. He's been living with his parents since he came back from staying here this summer, so that simplifies a lot.

He's turned his notice into work, cancelled cable, will be cancelling his car insurance and cell phone.

Is there anything else? I thought I saw somebody mention something about taxes on here the other day??

We'd appreciate any help!!

[lost_at_sea 995]

Is there anything else? I thought I saw somebody mention something about taxes on here the other day??

We'd appreciate any help!!

Yes - he should file his P85.

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/cnr/p85_p85s.htm

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/cnr/p85.pdf

[Ellesse 11]

Hi everybody.

At this point, Simon's about 10 days away from making the move to ths US.

I'll be headed there on Thursday and he'll be coming back with me on the 11th.

I'm curious what things he will need to take care of that he may not think of. Was there anything you didn't think of (or did)?

He's selling a lot of his stuff. I have a house here, so he won't need to bring anything he doesn't want.

He's already gotten rid of or is planning to cancel most things. He's been living with his parents since he came back from staying here this summer, so that simplifies a lot.

He's turned his notice into work, cancelled cable, will be cancelling his car insurance and cell phone.

Is there anything else? I thought I saw somebody mention something about taxes on here the other day??

We'd appreciate any help!!

Hi there

Agree with the above advice about completing a P85. Also, what about voting abroad and maintaining other links to the UK (if that's what he wants to do)? NI contributions in case you both are thinking of returning to the UK at some point and he is then (potentially, depending on what it looks like then) entitled to a state pension? Know I used this site in another thread on this forum, but this gives some great advice about who to inform about what:

https://www.gov.uk/moving-or-retiring-abroad

I also popped into my local GP surgery to tell them I was moving as they tend to send medical records to a central office if you're no longer living in the UK. Again, if you decide to go back at any stage, he can then have those records transferred to his new surgery.

Good luck on his move!

L

[HollyandSim 7]

Hi there

Agree with the above advice about completing a P85. Also, what about voting abroad and maintaining other links to the UK (if that's what he wants to do)? NI contributions in case you both are thinking of returning to the UK at some point and he is then (potentially, depending on what it looks like then) entitled to a state pension? Know I used this site in another thread on this forum, but this gives some great advice about who to inform about what:

https://www.gov.uk/moving-or-retiring-abroad

I also popped into my local GP surgery to tell them I was moving as they tend to send medical records to a central office if you're no longer living in the UK. Again, if you decide to go back at any stage, he can then have those records transferred to his new surgery.

Good luck on his move!

L

This is great. What did you guys do about your bank accounts? I thought it would be best for him to add his sister to the account in case anything needs to be paid or deposited after he leaves.

[lost_at_sea 995]

This is great. What did you guys do about your bank accounts? I thought it would be best for him to add his sister to the account in case anything needs to be paid or deposited after he leaves.

No online banking? I'm intending to keep one account open that I can access online, with the postal address set to my parents'.

[HollyandSim 7]

No online banking? I'm intending to keep one account open that I can access online, with the postal address set to my parents'.

Won't it charge you each time you use your card in the US?

[lost_at_sea 995]

Won't it charge you each time you use your card in the US?

Oh. I don't intend to use it in the US (my cards). It'll be useful if I want to do any banking in the UK, though, in the future. Opening UK bank accounts when no longer a resident is a pain in the ####.

I guess I misunderstood. You seemed to be asking what he should do about his UK accounts for UK related transactions (which is why I said keep it open, do it all online). He should have a US bank account for everything else.

Edited April 2, 2013 by lost_at_sea

[KLB 3]

This is great. What did you guys do about your bank accounts? I thought it would be best for him to add his sister to the account in case anything needs to be paid or deposited after he leaves.

You should really get him keep his UK bank account open this will help to maintain his UK credit rating. If for any reason heaven forbid you had to come over and relocate in the UK it will help you if you have a credit rating here. It would be useful if you did occasionally use the account. My bank advised you need to have a UK address to lodge against the account but you can have also have a correspondence address which will of course be your US address. You don't necessarily have to add his sister to the account he can use it from the US with online banking.

[Ellesse 11]

This is great. What did you guys do about your bank accounts? I thought it would be best for him to add his sister to the account in case anything needs to be paid or deposited after he leaves.

Hey there

Agree with KLB - I kept a current account and a credit card open, and use online banking. When I got here, I didn't have any credit history, and I'm guessing your fiance won't either? Because of this, I kept my UK credit card so I could use it for higher value things that I might need to buy in the interim whilst I build credit here, and a current account so that we can move money over and use it when we travel over there. I also did use my current account once I was over here - I used some of my savings to pay for stuff whilst I wasn't working, and never had a problem using my current account card for transactions here. I continue to use my UK credit card to pay a monthly bill here to keep it active. I've still got the address as being with my parents, and advised HSBC (my credit card provider) that I was going to be in the US for a while. I didn't feel comfortable cutting all ties with the UK, and think it's good to keep our options open.

Hope that makes sense! I seem to have rambled a bit!

L

[Ellesse 11]

Oh, and I forgot to add: I opened a post office international payments account in the UK to allow me to transfer money over to the US too, in case I needed it. You have to have recent evident of UK residency though, so it might be easier for him to do it whilst he's in the UK. Think I had to provide a copy of my driving license and a recent bank statement or bill with the address on it. Here's the link:

http://www.postoffice.co.uk/international-payments

I also have an account with xe.com; this allows me to move money the other way to pay UK bills and stuff. That could help him with depositing money into his UK account without his sister having to do it for him.

It may sound a bit convoluted, but being able to move money between different countries that I needed as and when was really helpful when I first moved over (and still is!)

L

[KLB 3]

I also have an account with xe.com; this allows me to move money the other way to pay UK bills and stuff. That could help him with depositing money into his UK account without his sister having to do it for him.

L

What are xe.com like to use ... I planned to use Moneycorp to transfer to the US specifically for transferring the funds from my house sale here.

Some one else mentioned using xe.com ... have you got any experience of moving money with them to the US?

[Ellesse 11]

What are xe.com like to use ... I planned to use Moneycorp to transfer to the US specifically for transferring the funds from my house sale here.

Some one else mentioned using xe.com ... have you got any experience of moving money with them to the US?

Unfortunately not - only moving money the other way. But, the experience I have had with them has been really good. I had problems with my US bank account at one point and they wouldn't let me use one method of paying, so xe switched it to something else without charging me an extra penny for changing arrangements once the deal was set up. It does take time for the money to be moved - it's sometimes taken about a week once I've been advised the money is going and it's gone from my US account, but it's always arrived within the timespans they quote and with no hassle whatsoever. I do also get charged a fee (because I'm wiring the money over), but it's about $30, so I don't think that's bad. I know it's not exactly what you're asking, but I would hope their service would be the same whichever way the money is going.

Wonder if others have anything else to add about xe.com? Or other transfers? The other company I was looking at was Ukforex:

http://www.ukforex.co.uk/

I didn't use them in the end as I had to have over a certain amount, which may work better for you if you're transferring house sales proceeds?

L

[KLB 3]

The other company I was looking at was Ukforex:

http://www.ukforex.co.uk/

L

Thanks ... I looked at UKForex but wasn't too keen, I think I'll probably stick with Moneycorp ... but will certainly look at XE to transfer back to the UK if needed ... $30.00 is a good rate I believe!

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

Having been around since 2008, threads like this come up over and over. Just wanted to comment on transferring money. It seems like the most popular one used by UK VJ Members is xe.com. We haven't used it, but all seem to be very pleased with it. The comments tend to say it is a bit of a pain to set up, but really great once you do. Speedy transfers and low fees.

Bank account: My husband still has his UK bank account. He uses his Mum's address. His UK credit card and his Vonage phone line are set to automatically take payment from it. It is useful for buying gifts for your UK people online from UK websites, transferring money to his kids, using PayPal, etc as if he is still in the UK.

Because it exceeds $10,000, there is an IRS form commonly called the FBAR that must be submitted each year reporting the highest balance during the past year. It is not filed with IRS, but rather mailed to the US Treasury by June 30. It is a report only..no taxes, etc. Thought I should mention it to you as a heads up for anybody leaving more than the equivalent of 10,000 USD abroad.

This is the form http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f90221.pdf

[Owen_London 65]

Hi everybody.

At this point, Simon's about 10 days away from making the move to ths US.

I'll be headed there on Thursday and he'll be coming back with me on the 11th.

I'm curious what things he will need to take care of that he may not think of. Was there anything you didn't think of (or did)?

He's selling a lot of his stuff. I have a house here, so he won't need to bring anything he doesn't want.

He's already gotten rid of or is planning to cancel most things. He's been living with his parents since he came back from staying here this summer, so that simplifies a lot.

He's turned his notice into work, cancelled cable, will be cancelling his car insurance and cell phone.

Is there anything else? I thought I saw somebody mention something about taxes on here the other day??

We'd appreciate any help!!

Let me see...

His mobile phone contract may require 30 days notice, so he shouldn't leave that to the last day.

I agree with recommendations to keep the UK bank account if he can. Barclays allowed me to change my address to the US, though other banks might not. They changed my number to my US cell number, but told me that they're not allowed to phone internationally. Get him to set up online banking if he hasn't already, including a card entry device if his bank offer it (Barclays one is called PIN Sentry).

Agreed on the P85.

He might want to get a copy of his medical records from his GP. It took a few days and a nominal cost for them to provide them.

For currency exchange companies, I used hifx.com, and they were easy to use and gave slightly better rates than xe.com. I seem to remember Moneycorp being more hassle with the ID required than the other two.