Transferring money from Philippines to US

[seekingthetruth 1,246]

12 hours ago, Jordan & Jenet said:

Keep in mind once you transfer it to the US they are going to want the taxes!

Jordan

Not exactly.  If you pay your taxes honestly then there is no problem.  E.g., if you sold a property in the Philippines and have a gain, you do need to declare it on your taxes.

[Lil dash of Faith 7]

10 hours ago, flicks1998 said:

This is true with many countries, especially in the APAC region.  If you think the Philippines is bad, have a look at China.  

Hmmm... china... I agree with you

12 hours ago, Adventine said:

We've discussed it in passing, but we are not considering it as an option to transfer my assets.

 

Certain banks in the US, such as Bank of America, allow one to open an account without SSN. Perhaps that can be an option for you, and would make transfers easier, as you are transferring between two accounts in your name.

 

 

Noted.. will check on other bank..

[Lil dash of Faith 7]

7 hours ago, MarryMe987654 said:

I did a bank wire transfer from BPI to a credit union in GA few years ago. I have an aunt that that sold her house in the Philippines and deposited the money the money to my BPI account temporarily. I think the amount is just over $16k.

It was a bit challenging initiating the transfer because of the questions on the source of the fund because of the anti-money laundering law.

It took 3-5 days to receive the money. The fee was $15 on my side and $14 on the receiver's side.

 

Hope this helps!

Thank you, I will ask my brother to check BPI..

GOD BLESS..

[Lil dash of Faith 7]

49 minutes ago, JerseyNaz said:

 

I'm not sure. I think you'd have to have a trusted person withdraw the money, buy bitcoin or other cryptocurrency on an exchange and send it to you. I doubt a foreign bank would go through these steps.

 

Also you have to trust the person not to mess up and send it to wrong address because money is then irretrievable. 

Thanks for letting me know, will sure be careful.

[Lil dash of Faith 7]

24 minutes ago, Milmauka said:

I like @flicks1998 suggestion to the issue.  Just bring it with you in your carry-on luggage.  Bring your documents for the sale of the property and declare it.  

The thing is we are already here and it will take few more years for us to go back to Ph 😢

[seekingthetruth 1,246]

1 hour ago, Lil dash of Faith said:

The thing is we are already here and it will take few more years for us to go back to Ph 😢

 

1 hour ago, Lil dash of Faith said:

Thank you, I will ask my brother to check BPI..

GOD BLESS..

Where is the money now?  I bank at BPI and I was expecting to use BPI to wire transfer USD to my US account.  I don't see anything about it on their website but I will talk to the manager.  It is good to see that @MarryMe987654 was able to do it.

 

I think you will need to have an account with the bank that does the wire transfer for you.  When you open a USD account, you will need to answer a lot of the US FATCA questions.

 

U.S. will only try to tax you on money they think a U.S. taxpayer earned overseas.  You are not taxed on money just because of the fact that you moved it to the U.S.  You should just be prepared to prove where it came from, if the question arises.

 

I am interested as I will be in your shoes sometime in the next year when I sell my house here in the Philippines.  I have already talked to my U.S. CPA and I will need to pay tax on the gain.  Totally unrelated to moving the cash to the U.S.  If you are dealing with property, make sure you have all your buying, selling  and improvement records.  (Actually I will not pay cap gains tax because I will also qualify for the personal residence exemption.)

 

See next post for another option.

[Jordan & Jenet 48]

If the property was owned by a US Citizen or permanent resident, yes you will have to pay taxes on the profits from the sale. If you don't think so, You are wrong. I can guarantee that wire or incoming 150k is going to be reported to the IRS. Will you be caught every time? Heck no, but is it worth the risk not declaiming the income and paying the taxes if they happen to audit you anytime in the next 7 years?

I've been down this road selling property with ex-spouse in PH and moving money to US before, You can choose to do it the legal way or the wrong way up to you.
Jordan

[seekingthetruth 1,246]

I have friends who are very happy with their HSBC accounts, especially when it comes to transferring money.  They are very friendly to international banking.

 

Based on what my friends have told me, I am going to open a Philippines HSBC $ account and a U.S. HSBC account.  You can then transfer USD seamlessly between accounts.  And I think it is free if you are a Premier member.

[seekingthetruth 1,246]

5 minutes ago, Jordan & Jenet said:

If the property was owned by a US Citizen or permanent resident, yes you will have to pay taxes on the profits from the sale. If you don't think so, You are wrong. I can guarantee that wire or incoming 150k is going to be reported to the IRS. Will you be caught every time? Heck no, but is it worth the risk not declaiming the income and paying the taxes if they happen to audit you anytime in the next 7 years?

I've been down this road selling property with ex-spouse in PH and moving money to US before, You can choose to do it the legal way or the wrong way up to you.
Jordan

I don't think anyone was suggesting to try and sneak it.  That is especially true when flying.  If you try to sneak cash over 10k and they catch you, good luck!

 

Each individual situation is different.  For instance, if the OP had this money saved from prior years, either from wages or sale of property, before they were a U.S. resident / taxpayer, they would not owe taxes on it.  They just need to have good documentation on what the money is from and when they received it.

 

Another thing that needs to be reported on your U.S. taxes is interest on foreign bank accounts.  I report my BPI interest but receive a credit for the Philippines tax paid.  It is a piddling amount but I still report it.

[MarryMe987654 244]

4 hours ago, Adventine said:

 

Was the wire transfer from a USD denominated account in BPI? 

No. It was from my Php account. 

We were hoping to transfer it from my USD account instead to avoid the terrible exchange rate but the money was in pesos and was already deposited to my Php account.

[Rupertino 0]

Open dollar account in the local bank and open the Transferwise account. Than use Wire transfer to deposit the amount from local usd account to your usd Transferwise account 

[Lil dash of Faith 7]

12 hours ago, seekingthetruth said:

 

Where is the money now?  I bank at BPI and I was expecting to use BPI to wire transfer USD to my US account.  I don't see anything about it on their website but I will talk to the manager.  It is good to see that @MarryMe987654 was able to do it.

 

I think you will need to have an account with the bank that does the wire transfer for you.  When you open a USD account, you will need to answer a lot of the US FATCA questions.

 

U.S. will only try to tax you on money they think a U.S. taxpayer earned overseas.  You are not taxed on money just because of the fact that you moved it to the U.S.  You should just be prepared to prove where it came from, if the question arises.

 

I am interested as I will be in your shoes sometime in the next year when I sell my house here in the Philippines.  I have already talked to my U.S. CPA and I will need to pay tax on the gain.  Totally unrelated to moving the cash to the U.S.  If you are dealing with property, make sure you have all your buying, selling  and improvement records.  (Actually I will not pay cap gains tax because I will also qualify for the personal residence exemption.)

 

See next post for another option.

@seekingthetruth, in my ph bank account. I am not a US citizen, we just arrived last September.

I owned the house and lot before I met my husband. So I know I don't have to pay tax.

Though I comply with the bank with all the requirements that needed it is still troublesome.

So I was seeking for more convenient way.

As rather than money will sit at the bank maybe I can invest it here and can make a profit.

 

 

Actually I will not pay cap gains tax because I will also qualify for the personal residence exemption.)

 

I totally agree with you

[Lil dash of Faith 7]

12 hours ago, Jordan & Jenet said:

If the property was owned by a US Citizen or permanent resident, yes you will have to pay taxes on the profits from the sale. If you don't think so, You are wrong. I can guarantee that wire or incoming 150k is going to be reported to the IRS. Will you be caught every time? Heck no, but is it worth the risk not declaiming the income and paying the taxes if they happen to audit you anytime in the next 7 years?

I've been down this road selling property with ex-spouse in PH and moving money to US before, You can choose to do it the legal way or the wrong way up to you.
Jordan

No sir I am not a US citizen yet, before I met my husband I already own the plot. So I know I don't have to pay tax about it.

[Lil dash of Faith 7]

11 hours ago, seekingthetruth said:

I don't think anyone was suggesting to try and sneak it.  That is especially true when flying.  If you try to sneak cash over 10k and they catch you, good luck!

 

Each individual situation is different.  For instance, if the OP had this money saved from prior years, either from wages or sale of property, before they were a U.S. resident / taxpayer, they would not owe taxes on it.  They just need to have good documentation on what the money is from and when they received it.

 

Another thing that needs to be reported on your U.S. taxes is interest on foreign bank accounts.  I report my BPI interest but receive a credit for the Philippines tax paid.  It is a piddling amount but I still report it.

Totally agree with you ma'am, thank you..

[Lil dash of Faith 7]

1 hour ago, Rupertino said:

Open dollar account in the local bank and open the Transferwise account. Than use Wire transfer to deposit the amount from local usd account to your usd Transferwise account 

The only thing now is I couldn't open my own personal dollar account as we are already here