First Savings Transfer

[Return Carefully 2]

Hello,

I am immigrating to US and planning to land after a month. I received my immigration visa. I have some money saved in my current savings account in my home country.

 

I (the applicant) do not have a US bank account since I did not land. My spouse (the petitioner) has a US bank account and I don’t mind transferring to her account.

 

How do I transfer my savings to US? Do I need to pay taxes on this transfer?

[seekingthetruth 1,246]

5 hours ago, Return Carefully said:

How do I transfer my savings to US? Do I need to pay taxes on this transfer?

No taxes involved.

 

There are several ways to transfer and which one you choose might depend on the amount involved.  Some methods are expensive and are to be avoided.  You need to shop around for the most cost effective way for your amount and situation.

 

--  For larger amounts, bank to bank wire transfer might be good.  Check the fees at both banks.

--  For a few thousand dollars, one of the money transfer services might work.  Like Western Union, Wise, Remitly.

--  You can take up to 10,000 usd with you when you arrive.  More than 10,000, you must declare it but it is still ok.

 

[Wuozopo 4,293]

6 hours ago, Return Carefully said:

Hello,

I am immigrating to US and planning to land after a month. I received my immigration visa. I have some money saved in my current savings account in my home country.

 

I (the applicant) do not have a US bank account since I did not land. My spouse (the petitioner) has a US bank account and I don’t mind transferring to her account.

 

How do I transfer my savings to US? Do I need to pay taxes on this transfer?

I’ve used Wise (formerly called Transferwise) https://wise.com/us/

XE is also popular https://www.xe.com/mt/us-money-transfer/

 

There is no US tax on the money you transfer.

[Crazy Cat 41,845]

6 hours ago, Return Carefully said:

Hello,

I am immigrating to US and planning to land after a month. I received my immigration visa. I have some money saved in my current savings account in my home country.

 

I (the applicant) do not have a US bank account since I did not land. My spouse (the petitioner) has a US bank account and I don’t mind transferring to her account.

 

How do I transfer my savings to US? Do I need to pay taxes on this transfer?

1.  Bank wire.

2.  No

[P055UM 281]

I can't recommend Wise highly enough. It is cheap, quick and convenient.

 

You may want to look into their borderless account - it allows you to maintain accounts in multiple currencies at the same time. It doesn't cover every world currency, but if it is available in your home currency, I would recommend it - I find it to be very useful in managing funds in multiple countries.

[SteveInBostonI130 3,434]

I would recommend Wise or bringing the money with you, if you feel comfortable with the latter.

 

A few weeks ago my wife and I returned from a short trip to Ukraine.  She had sold some things and put the money in a US Dollar account at her bank. She was planning to bring it back as cash.  But she forgot that her bank requires a 24 hr notice to withdraw the money (in USD).  The morning of our flight she went to the bank to try to wire the money to our shared bank account in the US.

 

She provided all the details for the transfer and we hurried to the airport.  While waiting to board she got an update on her banking app and it said the transfer failed.

 

After we got home we tried the transfer again through her app.  The issue was my bank just have the US wire transfer method:  Bank routing number and personal account number.  Her bank in Ukraine uses the common EU method:  SWIFT and IBAN.  We made multiple attempts, contacting each bank to figure out how to do it.  Each bank stated their way will work - my bank told us to give the UKR bank the ABA and Account number, the UKR bank insisted on us providing a SWIFT and IBAN number.  It drove us nuts.

 

I then remembered I still had an old bank account at a different bank.  That bank had a SWIFT number, but it used the SWIFT number of a parent holding bank.  Long story short, after another week and sending tons of documents to her bank my wife was able to wire the money.  

 

If we are to do it again, we would definitely withdraw as cash and carry it home.  By the way, it was only a few thousand dollars (from selling her old car).

[Merica-n 65]

9 hours ago, Return Carefully said:

Do I need to pay taxes on this transfer?

Be aware that while there is no tax on transfer, you might be subject to us reporting requirements on foreign financial assets.

 

If you are a US person and have more than 10,000 in foreign financial accounts at any time during the calendar year, then you must file FinCEN Form 114.

 

If your assets (specified foreign assets not limited to bank accounts) exceed 75,000 for single, married filing separately, or 150,000 for married filing jointly at any time during the year, or 50,000/100,000 at the end of the year then you must attach form 8938 to your tax return.

 

The penalties are huge.  Don't ignore it.

 

https://www.irs.gov/businesses/comparison-of-form-8938-and-fbar-requirements

Edited November 27, 2021 by Merica-n

[Coco8 1,042]

If it's a large amount (over 10,000) and you want to deposit in your partner's account, ask them to call their bank first. I know that sums over 10,000 get reported to flag potential money laundering. Of course, this is not the case, but I'd just call to let the bank know she'll be receiving over 10,000 from abroad and ask them if there is anything they have to do. 

Edited November 27, 2021 by Coco8

[Return Carefully 2]

Thank you all for your great advice and sharing your stories.

 

The amount is around $60,000-70,000 after selling our home/car & collecting the end-of-service.

 

To summarize everyone's point:

- No taxation involved. Thanks for clarifying that

- Bank wire is the best option, however we must ask for my wife's US bank

- Transfer service like Wise is a good option for smaller transfer

- We can carry up to $10k with us, and we can carry more but we need to declare

 

I am reading more about FinCEN Form 114, and thank you @Merica-n  for pointing it out.

[Merica-n 65]

51 minutes ago, Return Carefully said:

- We can carry up to $10k with us, and we can carry more but we need to declare

I would be very cautious about carrying large amounts of cash for two reasons:

 

1.  Civil Asset Forfeiture.  The TSA has been known to tip off the DEA and seize large amounts of cash in airports.  You can get it back, but it may result in legal fees that make it very difficult.  Look up some videos on youtube.  Technically it's legal to travel with large amounts of cash, but I wouldn't want to try it after watching these news reports.  Although, I've never experienced this myself.

2.  Structuring laws.  There are anti-money laundering laws in the United States that make it a crime to be slightly under disclosure amounts.  This crime is called structuring.  So if you go into a bank and deposit just under $10k, they can claim you committed the crime of structuring, because you are just below the amount of money required to trigger disclosure, so this is very suspicious.  In my opinion, since you have done nothing wrong, it is better to be slightly over the disclosure requirements as there is nothing wrong with transferring in money when you immigrate.  The government really won't do anything with the disclosure anyways.  Don't be afraid of declaring it.  Wealthy people generate disclosures all the time and nothing ever comes of it.  Just don't let anyone talk you into transferring it in a suspicious way.

 

At that amount, make sure you file the FinCen form.  The penalties are astronomical.  The government just wants the interest income on the $'s included on your tax return, but if you don't disclose the penalties can be up to 50% of the balance each year.

 

Also, I've moved a lot of money internationally before, and at 60-70k USD, the wise transfer fees might be very steep.  If the money is dollar denominated, you might find you will get a better deal with a swift based international wire transfer.  You will just pay a small wire fee at both ends.  I've found that generally wise transfers are price competitive below $2,500 when you are getting a competitive currency translation.  It really depends on the country, but I'm not sure it would be a good deal at that $ amount.

 

Anyways, welcome to the USA. Everything else should be way easier than this

[Return Carefully 2]

What you've said is so helpful, so thanks a lot. I never heard of the structuring law, and it is important to hear about it. I am now studying the FinCen form and I will file it.

 

I agree with you that using Wise for this amount is not the best option due to the steep fees. I prefer a bank transfer using IBAN/swift.

 

Do you think it ok to transfer the whole amount to my wife's bank account?

[Wuozopo 4,293]

3 hours ago, Return Carefully said:

What you've said is so helpful, so thanks a lot. I never heard of the structuring law, and it is important to hear about it. I am now studying the FinCen form and I will file it.

 

I agree with you that using Wise for this amount is not the best option due to the steep fees. I prefer a bank transfer using IBAN/swift.

 

Do you think it ok to transfer the whole amount to my wife's bank account?

FinCen 114, also known as FATCA is a once yearly report to the US Treasury Dept of your foreign held assets during each calendar year. It’s not tied to the act of transferring money. If you arrive in 2021 and become a permanent resident then you will report your highest balance(s) abroad during 2021. The online report is due by April 15 of 2022. It is not part of your tax return. They just have the same due date. If you don’t transfer your money before the end of 2021, then you’ll also have foreign assets in the calendar year 2022 to report by April 2023. I kept my UK bank account and have filled out many a FATCA and it’s no big deal and nothing to fear.  The point of it is to nail extremely wealthy individuals who hide their millions in offshore accounts to avoid paying taxes on the interest, dividends, capital gains, etc that those investments yield annually. The penalty puts some legal teeth into when they catch those hiding  millions away to avoid the IRS. They won’t even look at your $70k, but it fits the requirements to state where your money is held. 
 

The reporting of transferred money exceeding $10k actually falls on the bank receiving it. It comes under the banking laws section of the Patriot Act passed after 911. The bank is required to report transfers received exceeding $10k. It is meant to create a paper trail to catch money launderers and the funding of terrorist activities. When I transferred $20k or so using Wise, I did no reporting to anybody. The bank would be the one to report it to the government. Now if somebody brought cash in on their person, there are no financial institutions involved to report it. That’s why it gets declared to the CBP on a form. Just another type of paper trail when large sums of cash come into the US. I can’t even imagine why somebody would carry that much cash. You could get mugged in the airport toilet and it’s bye-bye money.

 

Basically these reports sound scary, but they aren’t a big deal. Just get quotes and decide who gives you the best deal and transfer when you’re ready.

[Redro 4,611]

8 hours ago, Return Carefully said:

Thank you all for your great advice and sharing your stories.

 

The amount is around $60,000-70,000 after selling our home/car & collecting the end-of-service.

 

To summarize everyone's point:

- No taxation involved. Thanks for clarifying that

- Bank wire is the best option, however we must ask for my wife's US bank

- Transfer service like Wise is a good option for smaller transfer

- We can carry up to $10k with us, and we can carry more but we need to declare

 

I am reading more about FinCEN Form 114, and thank you @Merica-n  for pointing it out.

If you're transferring a large amount you can also try to haggle a better exchange rate at the bank while chatting to the teller...  

I have a few friends who've done that when they transfer money from Korea to USA. 

[Merica-n 65]

2 hours ago, Wuozopo said:

FinCen 114, also known as FATCA is a once yearly report to the US Treasury Dept of your foreign held assets during each calendar year.

Actually, FinCen Form 114 is the FBAR requirement, and IRS Form 8938 is the FATCA requirement for individuals.  I totally agree with everything Wuozopo said.

 

7 hours ago, Return Carefully said:

Do you think it ok to transfer the whole amount to my wife's bank account?

I think that is the ideal strategy.  So long as you trust your wife.  😆  Make sure you get the correct swift code and account numbers and triple check them when you make the transfer.  Confirm the money is received in the account quickly, and don't hesitate to complain if it doesn't show up within a day or two.  Otherwise, I've used international wire transfers all the time, they are safe and reliable.

[Redro 4,611]

9 minutes ago, Merica-n said:

Actually, FinCen Form 114 is the FBAR requirement, and IRS Form 8938 is the FATCA requirement for individuals.  I totally agree with everything Wuozopo said.

 

I think that is the ideal strategy.  So long as you trust your wife.  😆  Make sure you get the correct swift code and account numbers and triple check them when you make the transfer.  Confirm the money is received in the account quickly, and don't hesitate to complain if it doesn't show up within a day or two.  Otherwise, I've used international wire transfers all the time, they are safe and reliable.

To follow on from @Merica-n when I first sent money over to my US account I transferred a small amount ($200) as I was nervous about sending money to the wrong account. I then transferred larger amounts once I knew everything was good to go... The bank has a record of all international transfers so I'm just able to choose the account I want to send money to. (It might be different in your country but I assume it will be similar if not the same).- I do all my transfers at a bank so the teller checks and double checks the information before allowing the transfer to go through. 

Edited November 30, 2021 by Kor2USA