How did you move money to the USA?

[homesick_american 1]

We're starting the conveyancing process on our house here in the UK and the difference between the mortgage and the selling price is +80,000 GBP. After everyone grabs their fees it'll be more like 75k, but I have no clue how to move this money to the United States. I don't have a bank account there.

Also...will this money be liable for tax in the US? It's not taxable in the UK.

[Dean/Gra 0]

We're starting the conveyancing process on our house here in the UK and the difference between the mortgage and the selling price is +80,000 GBP. After everyone grabs their fees it'll be more like 75k, but I have no clue how to move this money to the United States. I don't have a bank account there.

Also...will this money be liable for tax in the US? It's not taxable in the UK.

You can open an account with a bank that has a branch in US and UK to have access to the funds once you are here. The banks report all money transfers of $10,000 or more to the IRS.

If you own a house and live in it for 2 of the last 5 years, then you can make a profit of $250,000 for a single person without paying taxes on that amount. I don't know if this would apply if the residence was outside the US.

Good luck and let me know about the taxes as I'm considering purchasing some property outside the US in the near future.

[homesick_american 1]

We're starting the conveyancing process on our house here in the UK and the difference between the mortgage and the selling price is +80,000 GBP. After everyone grabs their fees it'll be more like 75k, but I have no clue how to move this money to the United States. I don't have a bank account there.

Also...will this money be liable for tax in the US? It's not taxable in the UK.

You can open an account with a bank that has a branch in US and UK to have access to the funds once you are here. The banks report all money transfers of $10,000 or more to the IRS.

If you own a house and live in it for 2 of the last 5 years, then you can make a profit of $250,000 for a single person without paying taxes on that amount. I don't know if this would apply if the residence was outside the US.

Good luck and let me know about the taxes as I'm considering purchasing some property outside the US in the near future.

Good tips...I can't think of a bank in the UK that has branches in the US, at least not in the DFW area.

[RosemarieL 0]

I was looking at Citibank and it seems to offer accounts both in Sterling and US Dollars. It may be an option for you.

[Toledospod 0]

As my wife already had a bank account in the US with Citibank, I found out that I could open a UK account in UK sterling and also a US Dollar account(both in the UK). Then, I just used their online banking to make a global transfer of some of the money, but the majority was transferred by calling Citibank, as they said that if I was transferring over 10K in UK Sterling, they could exchange it into US dollars at the Bank of of England rate, instead of the usual tourist rate, which is normally not as good. Once the money was in US dollars, I moved it from the UK to the US by using Citibank online and there was no further fees, as it was done through Citibank(a nice advantage).

However, be warned, Citibank don't have a lot of branches outside of the East Coast from what I could tell and getting the money from there to another local bank(mine is in Toledo, OH)was very hard. I had to write a check for the amount and I got socked with a transfer fee, so in the end it didn't work out so well.

I've read on here that going through a money broker is a much easier way, though I don't know how to do this. I would suggest searching on the VJ forums.

I can't advise you about taxes on the amount of money you transfer as I don't understand it myself! All I know is that with the $25K I transferred I didn't pay anything and didn't have to report it on this years tax return. I sold my property in the UK but didn't get much profit for it(I had a mortgage).

Hope that this helps some what!

Londonspod

[homesick_american 1]

As my wife already had a bank account in the US with Citibank, I found out that I could open a UK account in UK sterling and also a US Dollar account(both in the UK). Then, I just used their online banking to make a global transfer of some of the money, but the majority was transferred by calling Citibank, as they said that if I was transferring over 10K in UK Sterling, they could exchange it into US dollars at the Bank of of England rate, instead of the usual tourist rate, which is normally not as good. Once the money was in US dollars, I moved it from the UK to the US by using Citibank online and there was no further fees, as it was done through Citibank(a nice advantage).

However, be warned, Citibank don't have a lot of branches outside of the East Coast from what I could tell and getting the money from there to another local bank(mine is in Toledo, OH)was very hard. I had to write a check for the amount and I got socked with a transfer fee, so in the end it didn't work out so well.

I've read on here that going through a money broker is a much easier way, though I don't know how to do this. I would suggest searching on the VJ forums.

I can't advise you about taxes on the amount of money you transfer as I don't understand it myself! All I know is that with the $25K I transferred I didn't pay anything and didn't have to report it on this years tax return. I sold my property in the UK but didn't get much profit for it(I had a mortgage).

Hope that this helps some what!

Londonspod

We have a mortgage too, but the sale price is 180k and the mortgage has 100k on it, so we're looking at a fairly fat profit. Not as big as what we'd have if we'd bought that smaller detached house we looked at...which recently sold for 275,000. Oh well...c'est la vie. It was a SHOEBOX!

[akdiver 3]

A couple of points:

1). If you're a UK citizen and have this money prior to coming to the U.S., then bringing it to the U.S. is not a taxable event. If you complete the transfer AFTER you have arrived in the U.S. and AFTER gaining PR status, then it is LIKELY a taxable event.

2). Bringing the money into the U.S. is easy. Just have your U.K. bank make a certified check of some kind (certified check, cashier's check, etc.), DENOMINATED IN U.S. DOLLARS. If the check is denominated in pounds or euros, it is possible some banks will not like it, and even if you do, you'll have to pay a conversion fee (which you may have to pay anyway when the check is cut). You can just bring that check into the U.S. and deposit it into any bank where you make an account. You will very likely have to wait some period of time for the check to "clear".

3). An alternative is to bring it all in traveler's checks, denominated in U.S. dollars. You can deposit them in your bank and use them right away, and use them as cash as well.

4). If you bring a check (including traveler's checks) into the U.S., it is a negotiable item, and as such, if it is for more than $10,000 US, you will need to report it to customs at entry, on Form FinCen 105. There is no tax, penalty, or otherwise, as long as you disclose voluntarily. If you do NOT disclose voluntarily, then they may seize the check and fine or imprison you as well.

5). You can also wire the money to a USC's account - but the fee tends to be rather high.

Were it me, I would get a cashier's check cut in the U.K. and just bring that.

Cheers!

AKDiver

[Lansbury 19]

We're starting the conveyancing process on our house here in the UK and the difference between the mortgage and the selling price is +80,000 GBP. After everyone grabs their fees it'll be more like 75k, but I have no clue how to move this money to the United States. I don't have a bank account there.

Also...will this money be liable for tax in the US? It's not taxable in the UK.

Contact a commercial money broker they will give you a better rate than any bank. The one I used was 5 cents in the pound better than the best rate a bank offered. They are several if you Google for them. The one I used is as www.moneycorp.com.

Get quotes from several as some charge fees and some don't. However I found the ones not charging fees offered a lower exchange rate and for large sums of money this worked out to not be the best deal.

Also with MoneyCorp I found the charges levied at the US end are lower than going through a UK bank, and the money arrives the day it is sent not some days later.

[Flames9_RN 358]

One could use Customhouse.com I'm sure they are international!! I use it to send $$ from my Canadian acct to my USA acct. No fees at all (if you do electronic file transfer--EFT)and a very good exchange rate!!!! When transferring large amounts of $$$, i just kept it under 10,000!! Excellent customer service.

[homesick_american 1]

A couple of points:

1). If you're a UK citizen and have this money prior to coming to the U.S., then bringing it to the U.S. is not a taxable event. If you complete the transfer AFTER you have arrived in the U.S. and AFTER gaining PR status, then it is LIKELY a taxable event.

I'm a US citizen. I did check with my dad's accountant who doesn't have a whole lot of experience in this area, but he can't think of a way the IRS could tax it. I suppose I could just call the IRS and ask them. If the house and I were in the US, the IRS wouldn't get one thin dime, so I don't think they should be able to grab at it just because it's coming from the UK.

2). Bringing the money into the U.S. is easy. Just have your U.K. bank make a certified check of some kind (certified check, cashier's check, etc.), DENOMINATED IN U.S. DOLLARS. If the check is denominated in pounds or euros, it is possible some banks will not like it, and even if you do, you'll have to pay a conversion fee (which you may have to pay anyway when the check is cut). You can just bring that check into the U.S. and deposit it into any bank where you make an account. You will very likely have to wait some period of time for the check to "clear".

3). An alternative is to bring it all in traveler's checks, denominated in U.S. dollars. You can deposit them in your bank and use them right away, and use them as cash as well.

Yeah, but American Express has such crappy exchange rates.

4). If you bring a check (including traveler's checks) into the U.S., it is a negotiable item, and as such, if it is for more than $10,000 US, you will need to report it to customs at entry, on Form FinCen 105. There is no tax, penalty, or otherwise, as long as you disclose voluntarily. If you do NOT disclose voluntarily, then they may seize the check and fine or imprison you as well.

Yeah, I know about that.

5). You can also wire the money to a USC's account - but the fee tends to be rather high.

Were it me, I would get a cashier's check cut in the U.K. and just bring that.

Cheers!

AKDiver

I'll have to do some more research into this.

[homesick_american 1]

A couple of points:

1). If you're a UK citizen and have this money prior to coming to the U.S., then bringing it to the U.S. is not a taxable event. If you complete the transfer AFTER you have arrived in the U.S. and AFTER gaining PR status, then it is LIKELY a taxable event.

Cheers!

AKDiver

OK...I phoned the IRS last night and they said that the sale of a home abroad by US citizens/PRs is treated under US tax law. US tax law states that:

To claim the exclusion, you must meet the ownership and use tests. This means that during the 5-year period ending on the date of the sale, you must have:

• Owned the home for at least two years (the ownership test)
  
• Lived in the home as your main home for at least two years (the use test)
  

Gain

If you have a gain from the sale of your main home, you may be able to exclude up to $250,000 of the gain from your income ($500,000 on a joint return in most cases).

• If you can exclude all of the gain, you do not need to report the sale on your tax return
  
• If you have gain that cannot be excluded, it is taxable. Report it on Schedule D (Form 1040)
  

We bought the house in December 2001 and the gain will be in the $140-150k range, so we are Kool & The Gang. We don't even have to report it!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/indust...d=98921,00.html

On a weirder note, my husband has to file a tax return this year; he entered the US and activated his green card on March 29th. Now he has to file a return for the calendar year 2006. Bizarre..............but best not to piss off the IRS.

Edited April 11, 2007 by homesick_american

[Toledospod 0]

We bought the house in December 2001 and the gain will be in the $140-150k range, so we are Kool & The Gang. We don't even have to report it!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/indust...d=98921,00.html

That's good news! I had read this somewhere before on VJ, but couldn't remember what the figure was, so didn't wanna say anythig in case I gave you wrong info.

On a weirder note, my husband has to file a tax return this year; he entered the US and activated his green card on March 29th. Now he has to file a return for the calendar year 2006. Bizarre..............but best not to piss off the IRS.

How come? I thought the US tax year ran from January to December? If he entered this year, wouldn't he have to file for tax year 2007? Or am I mis-understanding US Tax law? I really don't know anything about it TBH. I had an accountant do our joint tax return for last year, it was so complicated!

[homesick_american 1]

We bought the house in December 2001 and the gain will be in the $140-150k range, so we are Kool & The Gang. We don't even have to report it!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/indust...d=98921,00.html

That's good news! I had read this somewhere before on VJ, but couldn't remember what the figure was, so didn't wanna say anythig in case I gave you wrong info.

On a weirder note, my husband has to file a tax return this year; he entered the US and activated his green card on March 29th. Now he has to file a return for the calendar year 2006. Bizarre..............but best not to piss off the IRS.

How come? I thought the US tax year ran from January to December? If he entered this year, wouldn't he have to file for tax year 2007? Or am I mis-understanding US Tax law? I really don't know anything about it TBH. I had an accountant do our joint tax return for last year, it was so complicated!

Yeah, it sounded weird to me; the woman put me on hold for quite a while as she double-checked it; apparently it's true. Bizarre eh? Oh well; it's an easy return to do and it's best not to piss off the IRS.

[Jasman0717 9]

Claudeth transferred all her pesos to clothes and jewelry before she came here

[HuffyTheSlayer 22]

We're starting the conveyancing process on our house here in the UK and the difference between the mortgage and the selling price is +80,000 GBP. After everyone grabs their fees it'll be more like 75k, but I have no clue how to move this money to the United States. I don't have a bank account there.

Also...will this money be liable for tax in the US? It's not taxable in the UK.

Contact a commercial money broker they will give you a better rate than any bank. The one I used was 5 cents in the pound better than the best rate a bank offered. They are several if you Google for them. The one I used is as www.moneycorp.com.

Get quotes from several as some charge fees and some don't. However I found the ones not charging fees offered a lower exchange rate and for large sums of money this worked out to not be the best deal.

Also with MoneyCorp I found the charges levied at the US end are lower than going through a UK bank, and the money arrives the day it is sent not some days later.

I used MoneyCorp, too. I also used to work for them when I was back in the UK. They were great. Very nice and kept me updated on the progress of the transaction all the way through.