Wiring Money from Canada to US

[cyyz2000 24]

Hi everyone, I was wondering if someone had any recommendations on a bank or financial institution to use when wiring large amounts of money from a Canadian bank to a US bank? We plan on selling our house before moving and would like to wire the entire proceeds received from the sale, as well as our existing CAD balances to a US bank. Thanks. 

[JeanneAdil 6,489]

Have u thought about Citbank as they have branches in both the US and Canada?

 

u have to be physically present in the US to open an account unless u have ITIN # (or SS #) and person with bank account in USA can add u with your POA to do so

[mam521 2,058]

Look into Wise.  They seem to give some of the best rates.  

[cyyz2000 24]

1 hour ago, JeanneAdil said:

Have u thought about Citbank as they have branches in both the US and Canada?

 

u have to be physically present in the US to open an account unless u have ITIN # (or SS #) and person with bank account in USA can add u with your POA to do so

I will look into Citibank, thanks. 

 

We're planning to do the transfer after activating the green cards. I'm assuming the SSN will come in the mail after we enter the US, so we'll have to wait a bit before we can open a US bank account. 

Edited June 9, 2022 by cyyz2000

[mam521 2,058]

7 minutes ago, cyyz2000 said:

I will look into Citibank, thanks. 

 

We're planning to do the transfer after activating the green cards. I'm assuming the SSN will come in the mail after we enter the US, so we'll have to wait a bit before we can open a US bank account. 

You can open US bank accounts from Canada, depending on the bank.  I don't know about CIBC (RBC and TD do and you can get a US credit card based off of Canadian credit and add your Social later).  

[cyyz2000 24]

1 minute ago, mam521 said:

You can open US bank accounts from Canada, depending on the bank.  I don't know about CIBC (RBC and TD do and you can get a US credit card based off of Canadian credit and add your Social later).  

Nice, yes I've heard about those cross-border plans...I actually have an RBC US credit card, so I'm thinking maybe I can add my parents to it as well (who will be immigrating with me). I'll look into that, thanks. 

[Lemonslice 4,831]

For large amount transfers, you want to look at Norbert's Gambit. Here is an overview: https://www.pwlcapital.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/PWL_Bender-Bortolotti_Norbert-s-Gambit_BMO-InvestorLINE-RRSP_v06_hyperlinked.pdf

[Adventine 3,196]

2 hours ago, mam521 said:

Look into Wise.  They seem to give some of the best rates.  

Seconding Wise. I'm part of a few expat groups on social media and they frequently recommend this service. I've used it myself for a few years and never had issues.

[cdndesro 44]

XE is another option for large dollar transfers for very small margin.  Don’t use a Canadian charter bank, you will pay a fortune. For example RBC charges around 2% over actual exchange rate for large amounts, XE is about .06%. If you’re talking in the hundreds of thousands, that difference is thousands of dollars of savings. It’s worth it for anything over $250k for sure. 

[Dawgydawgworld 20]

My home in Canada sold and closes June 30th. I am going to wire all proceeds using WISE to my U.S. bank account I opened last year. You don’t need a SSN to open a bank account in USA (at most banks), just a passport. I’m transferring my funds while I’m still a Canadian Resident (visa interview not til July or Aug).

[Lemonslice 4,831]

53 minutes ago, Dawgydawgworld said:

My home in Canada sold and closes June 30th. I am going to wire all proceeds using WISE to my U.S. bank account I opened last year. You don’t need a SSN to open a bank account in USA (at most banks), just a passport. I’m transferring my funds while I’m still a Canadian Resident (visa interview not til July or Aug).

You might be losing thousands doing it this way though...

 

 

..

 

For large amount transfers, you want to look at Norbert's Gambit. Here is an overview: https://www.pwlcapital.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/PWL_Bender-Bortolotti_Norbert-s-Gambit_BMO-InvestorLINE-RRSP_v06_hyperlinked.pdf

[Dawgydawgworld 20]

20 minutes ago, Lemonslice said:

You might be losing thousands doing it this way though...

 

 

..

 

For large amount transfers, you want to look at Norbert's Gambit. Here is an overview: https://www.pwlcapital.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/PWL_Bender-Bortolotti_Norbert-s-Gambit_BMO-InvestorLINE-RRSP_v06_hyperlinked.pdf

I’ve looked into them before. I’ll look into again when the time comes and compare apples to apples, however buying and selling stocks via the NG method would trigger a T5008 = taxable. Something to take a deep dive into to see whether it will be worth the hassel or not. 

[waterlooengineer 30]

1 minute ago, Dawgydawgworld said:

I’ve looked into them before. I’ll look into again when the time comes and compare apples to apples, however buying and selling stocks via the NG method would trigger a T5008 = taxable. Something to take a deep dive into to see whether it will be worth the hassel or not. 

 

Please let me know what you find out regarding NG taxes. Interested to know that too. 

[Dawgydawgworld 20]

33 minutes ago, waterlooengineer said:

 

Please let me know what you find out regarding NG taxes. Interested to know that too. 

Well I do know that it triggers a T5008 due to the buying and selling of stocks, so depending on the amount you could get hit with a sizeable capital gains (taxable income). I think I’m going to steer clear of NG and go with WISE instead. 

[cyyz2000 24]

10 hours ago, Dawgydawgworld said:

My home in Canada sold and closes June 30th. I am going to wire all proceeds using WISE to my U.S. bank account I opened last year. You don’t need a SSN to open a bank account in USA (at most banks), just a passport. I’m transferring my funds while I’m still a Canadian Resident (visa interview not til July or Aug).

Interesting, we plan to do the same (transfer the funds while we're still Canadian residents). Will transferring them after moving to the U.S. trigger tax when it comes to the IRS?