regarding international banking; Ireland/USA

[emcia_81 43]

I agree with Penguin. I am with a local bank Burke and Herbert and they do not assess any fees.

[melanieuk 19]

ok, thank you. I appreciate everyone's input.

They do charge you by giving you a less favorable rate.... Best solution -> https://transferwise.com/u/ed50e

[Tina and Johan 206]

thanks, Melanie. I am definitely leaning toward this, at this point. The reviews are fabulous. Tomorrow we will be shopping our local banks too, though. edited to add: as soon as they add the South African rand, we'll be in Heaven! lol

Edited January 2, 2015 by Tina and Johan

[Dumbo123 0]

Yes I am aware of that however I don't know how this works if my country has a tax treaty agreement with US.

Learned the hard way that despite tax treaties one has to declare absolutely every source of income on IRS forms. It doesn't mean you'll be taxed on money from abroad since you'll file for credits, deductions, etc. Lots of paper work but better be safe than sorry later on. Happy New Year!

[icv21 110]

We use Transferwise. I moved my money from Europe here using it, and my husband uses it for business to send money to different countries. It works great

[Owen_London 65]

As long as you have a decent credit rating in the US, your simplest option is probably to take out a loan here (or use a US credit card), transfer the money to Ireland, and pay off the money in a single lump sum. Use transferwise.com or one of the more traditional online foreign exchange companies (usforex.com / xe.com or others), as they usually give a better exchange rate than retail banks.

[Owen_London 65]

Oh, and for FBAR and FATCA, there are (different) limits below which you don't have to report to the IRS. Dual taxation treaties have no impact on requirements for FATCA or FBAR reporting.

FATCA is reported on the IRS 8938 form. FBAR is reported on FinCEN Form 114. For some basic info, see here:

http://www.irs.gov/Businesses/Comparison-of-Form-8938-and-FBAR-Requirements

[Lauren and Kevin 55]

I second Melanie's suggestion - we've found Transferwise superb - it saves a huge amount of money on the transfers, uses a genuine middle market rate and is secure and easy to use....

[Hotter Otter 1,211]

I agree with the others, foreign exchange websites are the best option. Using hifx saved me over $200 compared to using my bank.

[Tina and Johan 206]

awesome advice! thanks everyone. it's genuinely appreciated.