UK Bank Accounts/TorFX Transfer

[Tesco 68]

9 minutes ago, Melancholic Mage said:

Thanks for that, all makes sense. Do pension amounts above £10k need filing as well? I plan to empty two of my accounts but given this I'm wondering if it's best to close them now to avoid the paperwork. I'll never keep £10k in them let alone more than that, however. It's all meant to be spare chump change incase I need it in future back in Blighty. 

 

I do have over £10k but that is all going to be transferred to my husband: probably once I land in the US. I imagine at that point it's fine since it's in a monitored US account. His family don't use accountants and manage to file their finances without issue so I'm sure I can too, immigrant or no. We got through the mess of immigration forms and filing alone so confident we'll be okay. 

 

Just when I think I have things prepared in my head though I hear things I didn't at all consider. Thank you for all the info. 

These forms can catch people out. The fines and penalties for failure to file can be life changing. The rule of thumb is if you have a total of under $10k in non US assts then you’re fine. Yes this does include pension funds owned by you. If you have any trusts then your file form 3520, (complicated and beyond the scope of this topic). Not sure of your age, but the pension funds grow tax deferred. Don’t take an HMRC hit for nothing.

Edited September 23 by Tesco
Addition

[SL2024 43]

2 hours ago, Melancholic Mage said:

 

Thank you! Admittedly I don't understand half of the abbreviations you just slung at me there. I know the IRS but have zero familiarity with all the other forms you mentioned. Could you explain a bit more?

 

Every little helps, Tesco! 

 

 

Agreed, I'll definitely always have one account but I was going to keep them pretty minimal in funds. I did consider leaving maybe £500/£1k in my NatWest savings account to just let it sit there and grow, but my biggest concern is possibly causing problems with IRS and also getting locked out of my banking. (2FA being on my UK number and I'm having a nightmare trying to figure out a better way of keeping it active other than paying 50p every three months to send just one text to keep it alive.)

Surely it isn’t going hurt to pay 50p every 3 months? That’s £2 a year!

[Melancholic Mage 51]

5 hours ago, Tesco said:

These forms can catch people out. The fines and penalties for failure to file can be life changing. The rule of thumb is if you have a total of under $10k in non US assts then you’re fine. Yes this does include pension funds owned by you. If you have any trusts then your file form 3520, (complicated and beyond the scope of this topic). Not sure of your age, but the pension funds grow tax deferred. Don’t take an HMRC hit for nothing.

 

Old enough to know better but young enough that I'm unfamiliar. I invested into pensions in whatever work I picked up from an early age and saved very hard too. I do believe with my last job and with transferring my pensions all into one place as much as I could over a few years, there may be 10k+ in there now. I was planning to move it to a ROPS in America I believe it's called, but I'll keep an eye on the tax forms once I'm in the States. Thanks. Looks like this is a topic for a new thread.

 

4 hours ago, SL2024 said:

Surely it isn’t going hurt to pay 50p every 3 months? That’s £2 a year!

 

It's not the cost (although admittedly I hate paying for anything I simply don't use, however minor) it's the faff on. Having to remember to switch sim cards and make a small transactional message or call every three months is annoying. Then I have to top it up every few years and convert USD to GBP - it's just another niggly irritating sprinkle on top of the immigration shiz sundae.

 

With my flight leaving so soon I don't want to risk switching mobile providers to one that gives me more time between sim card deactivation - however desired. I checked. You have to be in the UK to activate the sim, so if it doesn't port fast enough I lose my UK number. Not worth the risk.

 

I just have to grin and bear it until I can close my accounts and get my UK number transferred to my US one for certain on all my log ins. Just something that takes time while I acclimate to my new life. I'm doing my absolute best to play it safe within the boundaries of my circumstances. 

[SL2024 43]

Was there not a possibility of booking your date of travel to the USA slightly later than the date you have originally booked to make sure you have everything sorted before you went? As most people I have seen on here have travelled at least a month after their interview.

 

[Melancholic Mage 51]

53 minutes ago, SL2024 said:

Was there not a possibility of booking your date of travel to the USA slightly later than the date you have originally booked to make sure you have everything sorted before you went? As most people I have seen on here have travelled at least a month after their interview.

 

 

In honesty there's been a tad bit of pressure from my other half's side but it's warranted. My interview was on September 11th and I didn't start making any finalisations or moves until I had my visa in hand on the 16th. So it's short a month by a week or so if you count from my embassy date. 

 

Our circumstances are unique however. We don't have any real places of comfort in the UK and hotel costs stack up. We've been somewhat effectively homeless since we received a no-fault eviction notice from our UK flat over a year ago. (Landlord wanted to sell - we couldn't dispute it. The laws do little to protect honest tenants.)

 

My spouse's family have room to accommodate us in the US. Here? It's two adults sharing a single bed when we're not in a hotel. Hence more urgency to get things tied up. 

[appleblossom 1,985]

15 hours ago, Melancholic Mage said:

It's not the cost (although admittedly I hate paying for anything I simply don't use, however minor) it's the faff on. Having to remember to switch sim cards and make a small transactional message or call every three months is annoying. Then I have to top it up every few years and convert USD to GBP - it's just another niggly irritating sprinkle on top of the immigration shiz sundae.

 

No need to switch SIM cards if you have a phone that will take an eSIM, you just have both lines active on your phone and can use either. 

 

But you mention a Starling account that you plan to keep, so shouldn't need to text anyway. I kept my Starling accounts (x 3), and have never needed any texts. 

[Melancholic Mage 51]

43 minutes ago, appleblossom said:

 

No need to switch SIM cards if you have a phone that will take an eSIM, you just have both lines active on your phone and can use either. 

 

But you mention a Starling account that you plan to keep, so shouldn't need to text anyway. I kept my Starling accounts (x 3), and have never needed any texts. 

 

Thank you for that, you mentioned as such in a different thread I believe. I looked into it as a result and my phone doesn't support eSIMs being a Samsung Galaxy S10+. I'll have to look into getting a new phone in the States then porting my UK number to an eSIM to resolve my mobile woes. 

 

First thing's first though: getting a State license, a car, then a job to pay for such. Then a home. Then... I don't know. It never ends. 

 

Plus side is I have a Starling account and I admit I'm tempted to consolidate my accounts to keep it and only it. Starling are great and good reminder about the text codes not being there. I'm just waiting out my bonus interest with NatWest at the start of the month from my savings account before I consider closing it. That and any outstanding fees I owe from car loans, insurance, etc. 

[appleblossom 1,985]

38 minutes ago, Melancholic Mage said:

 

Thank you for that, you mentioned as such in a different thread I believe. I looked into it as a result and my phone doesn't support eSIMs being a Samsung Galaxy S10+. I'll have to look into getting a new phone in the States then porting my UK number to an eSIM to resolve my mobile woes. 

 

First thing's first though: getting a State license, a car, then a job to pay for such. Then a home. Then... I don't know. It never ends. 

 

Plus side is I have a Starling account and I admit I'm tempted to consolidate my accounts to keep it and only it. Starling are great and good reminder about the text codes not being there. I'm just waiting out my bonus interest with NatWest at the start of the month from my savings account before I consider closing it. That and any outstanding fees I owe from car loans, insurance, etc. 

 

Starling are brilliant, and had no issue with me moving to the US either. So easy to deal with. 

 

It might be worth you getting a new phone now so you can set your US number up before you go, I found that much easier and was one less thing to do after the move at least!

 

Best of luck. 

[SL2024 43]

3 hours ago, Melancholic Mage said:

 

Thank you for that, you mentioned as such in a different thread I believe. I looked into it as a result and my phone doesn't support eSIMs being a Samsung Galaxy S10+. I'll have to look into getting a new phone in the States then porting my UK number to an eSIM to resolve my mobile woes. 

 

First thing's first though: getting a State license, a car, then a job to pay for such. Then a home. Then... I don't know. It never ends. 

 

Plus side is I have a Starling account and I admit I'm tempted to consolidate my accounts to keep it and only it. Starling are great and good reminder about the text codes not being there. I'm just waiting out my bonus interest with NatWest at the start of the month from my savings account before I consider closing it. That and any outstanding fees I owe from car loans, insurance, etc. 

 

My fiancée said mobile phones are expensive in the USA from her experience so she only tries to change phone  every 4-6 years.

 

I definitely think you should consolidate your accounts. Makes things more manageable for yourself