Moving finances from UK to USA

[snthn 2]

I have an approved K1 visa and have made plans to move to the US - more or less everything is worked out, aside from one thing: finances, my Achilles' heel.

 

My questions, if anyone is able to help me answer them:

 

1. What is the best method to transfer my finances while making this process as simple as possible? I have seen people mention leaving their UK accounts open, but I can't see what benefit that gives you - if anything, it seems like there is just additional work being created (reporting interest as income on taxes; reporting foreign finances on an FBAR form)

 

2. When should I arrange to transfer the money? Before I move to the US? After I move to the US and set up an account of my own?

 

3. What the hell do I do with my UK pension? From what I have been able to find out, the US does not have anything similar to UK pension schemes. If I choose to leave this in the UK, do I need to fill out additional forms such as the FBAR, or report this on any future tax reports?

 

4. Is there anything I need to keep in mind in terms of taxes when I enter the US? In the UK, my taxes were calculated automatically with no necessary input or self-reporting of my income on my end. I don't know where to even begin when it comes to the US tax system and feel woefully unprepared for this.

 

From what I can tell, Wise seems to be the best option for transferring my money across from my UK accounts. So, if my fiancée sets up a shared account for us to use, should I transfer my savings into this using Wise? I have over 100K GBP to transfer. 

[OldUser 6,613]

22 minutes ago, snthn said:

1. What is the best method to transfer my finances while making this process as simple as possible? I have seen people mention leaving their UK accounts open, but I can't see what benefit that gives you - if anything, it seems like there is just additional work being created (reporting interest as income on taxes; reporting foreign finances on an FBAR form)

Wire transfer is the easiest. Not the cheapest but the easiest.

 

If you have under 10K in account collectively throughout a year - you technically don't need to do much when filing taxes. There's first question whether you have foreign accounts. And second question whether you had 10k in those accounts. If not, nothing to be filed

[OldUser 6,613]

2. Not sure you can easily transfer money to the US without setting up bank account in the US in person.

[OldUser 6,613]

3. Don't have personal experience with UK pension, but I think it's taxable in the US. You cannot easily move everything either.

[OldUser 6,613]

4. Software such as TurboTax allows you to file taxes with minimal effort every year for about $100. It takes 2-3 hours before deadline, typically it's April 15. If you cannot file yourself, you can hire tax specialists who'd do it for you.

Edited May 29 by OldUser

[OldUser 6,613]

I used Wise for small amounts. It was great. Explore the commision for larger sums, compare to wire transfer. And always try smaller amounts first before transfering large lumpsum!

[EmilyW 1,434]

3. Get advice from an accountant on how to report this.  I'm Australian and I have superannuation funds there that don't meet the US standards of a pension fund, hence they are classified as an investment account (opinions differ on this, I err on the side of caution).  I just get my accountant to file the FBAR each year.  It's reasonably straightforward and gets done with my tax return.

Edited May 29 by EmilyW

[Cathi 5,746]

Honestly, these are not immigration questions. I would contact an accountant who knows the specific tax laws. Best of luck on your immigration journey!!

[Boiler 45,451]

Your Bank can transfer, loads of specialist like XE etc, see where you get the best rate/lowest fee.

 

You need a US account to transfer it to.

 

When to do it well a personal choice.

 

If you do not have a UK account where are you going to get your Pension paid into.

 

UK Pension will be taxed at source so most unlikely you will also owe US taxes.

Edited May 30 by Boiler

[Scandi 4,166]

Wise usually has the best rates, is cheapest and easiest. I use it myself several times a month to transfer between countries (I send money to my Swedish bank account for when I go visit there). 

[OldUser 6,613]

1 hour ago, Scandi said:

Wise usually has the best rates, is cheapest and easiest. I use it myself several times a month to transfer between countries (I send money to my Swedish bank account for when I go visit there). 

For relatively small transfers. I investigated that, for large sums there may be better options than Wise.

[Hohverdgguu 6]

I found the website britishexpats.com to be helpful for these kind of non-immigration questions. There’s a USA section where people regularly ask about finances and pensions. Pensions are covered by the UK-US tax treaty, so are treated differently to those of other countries, as I understand it

[Hohverdgguu 6]

For bank accounts, HSBC have an option to open a US account while you are still in the UK, so you have a destination for your money whenever you are ready to transfer it

[yuna628 9,671]

Transferring money isn't particularly difficult, and there's a variety of ways to do it by using different services. Back in the day we used paypal or direct bank transfers, though at the time I was questioned rather aggressively by the bank about it. That was a modest amount of money, and because you're looking to transfer something large you'll likely need better advice. For taxes, t's going to be advisable to speak to a CPA, especially one that is familiar with UK/US regulations. Your fiance pays taxes, right? They should have some understanding of how the process works. Since you will be marrying and a resident for tax purposes, you can file married filing jointly if that is best for your situation.

 

There is no harm in keeping a UK account open, though ensure that UK bank won't give you a hassle about it. My husband had two, and eventually closed (and that was a real pain) one because they kicked off about him living in the US. The other bank is perfectly fine with it. It's helpful if you still have student loans in the UK, or any other financial responsibilities abroad, or even for visits back home.

 

When you leave the UK, please remember to notify the HMRC via a P85. Chances are, you'll get some money back.

[mam521 2,058]

1 hour ago, Conchas Chinas said:

I kept both a UK bank account and a UK based credit card account open during all my overseas assignments (almost 25 years). The reason being that no-one knows what the future holds and it's easier to keep an account open than to open one from scratch especially if you have been away from the UK for a considerable time.

^^^This.  I was in the US for over 5 years, never had an intention to return to Canada and ended up having to return to Canada.  Having my Canadian credit record in check made things monumentally easier.  

 

You have the option of a backup plan.  If things go wobbly in the US, you and your partner have the back up of going to the UK.  Always keep your options open.  It's a relatively minor inconvenience to file the FBAR and it's only if you have more than $10K USD in that foreign account.