Bringing financial assets to the US

[suenpaul 4]

Hi folks,

Just wondering what is the best way to transfer UK bank accounts over to the US. I would think a wire transfer of funds but are there penalties or taxes when doing so? Is it best to move smaller amounts at a time? I just want to be prepared for that wonderful day!

Thanks for your input!

[Mark and Anna 10]

If you dont want to carry the cash simply ask your bank for a cashiers check in the amount you want to bring with you, when you get here open an account and deposit it you might have to have them hold it for a few days but I do it all the time when I go from the USA to the Ukraine I deposit it in my fiancees account and when I leave to come back I have her bank make one out for me and I deposit it when I get back.

[suenpaul 4]

Thank you....when you go through customs, do they ever question you about money being carried in? We've been foolish enough to use the postal service, and that didnt work out too well! Thankfully, if was a small amount but it did get me thinking about the safest way to transfer our money.

[BaBamSam 239]

Thank you....when you go through customs, do they ever question you about money being carried in? We've been foolish enough to use the postal service, and that didnt work out too well! Thankfully, if was a small amount but it did get me thinking about the safest way to transfer our money.

Yes, they ask on the customs/landing card. I believe the limit is $10,000 in cash before you have to do more than the usual declaration (i.e. pay taxes and such). Someone please correct me if I have misunderstood that or if that is outdated!

[Penguin_ie 5,993]

Bank transfer is safest, especially for large sums, and you can time it for the best exchange rate.

There are no taxes on the US end; depending on your UK and US bank, they may charge a fee for the transfer on either/ both ends. My Irish bank has a flat fee of 5 euro per international transfer, and my US bank doesn't charge at all.

[suenpaul 4]

Thank you for your responses. Sounds like the wire transfer is going to be the safest way to go.

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

Yes, they ask on the customs/landing card. I believe the limit is $10,000 in cash before you have to do more than the usual declaration (i.e. pay taxes and such). Someone please correct me if I have misunderstood that or if that is outdated!

Here's an explanation--

There is never tax or custom charges on money brought to the US. After 911, the Patriot Act was enacted including a banking section covering money. The US monitors any transfers of funds exceeding $10,000. That can be between two US banks, or foreign wire transfer in/out, or cash in your luggage you bring in. The banks or financial institutions are charged with doing most of the reporting and you would not be aware of it. However cash (including cashiers checks) brought in person is reported on the customs form. There is no charge or tax or suspicion. It is merely a paper trail of large sums of cash moving in, out, or around the US in an effort to connect the dots if there are money laundering or terrorist funding crimes uncovered or investigated.

Thank you for your responses. Sounds like the wire transfer is going to be the safest way to go.

To the OP-- a lot of British expats like using xe.com for transferring money. Edited May 24, 2013 by Nich-Nick

[rjm_cmyk 75]

Hi - I'm going to be transferring a reasonable amount (equity from house sale). I'll be maintaining an account in the UK and transferring it in chunks as and when the exchange rate makes it worth the risk (that I'm not buying at the bottom ) or I need it . That said as I don't want it to look like UK income and as such taxable I suspect I may not take too long to transfer it.

I'll be using a currency specialist like xe.com to do it. Not going to rely on the bank's largesse and customer service ethics to make sure I get the best rate / costs. I work on the basis that banks will always try to screw you. Bitter me ?

[Zoe&Chris 5]

Hi!

I just transferred half my money and half of my mom's money for the wedding this week - going to do the other half just before I move. I used HiFX online (http://hifx.co.uk/) - it was super easy, you pay no fees for transactions over 3000GBP and the money was in his account the next day! I paid it on a debit card so I paid no UK bank fees. Some US banks charge fees, his (Wells Fargo) charged us $20 but this would have been the same if I had done a bank transfer. The rate they gave me was very competitive and they give you live quotes so you can decide when best to do it. They are really reliable, I had used them before when I lived in Switzerland.

You need to get the BIC/SWIFT code (US doesn't have IBAN for some reason) for the bank account you want to transfer to, as well as the account number and routing code. It was hard to get the full BIC/SWIFT from my fiance's bank but in the end they gave it to us!

Hope that helps! I'm hoping the exchange rate improves before I move...

Zoe

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

Hi - I'm going to be transferring a reasonable amount (equity from house sale). I'll be maintaining an account in the UK and transferring it in chunks as and when the exchange rate makes it worth the risk (that I'm not buying at the bottom ) or I need it . That said as I don't want it to look like UK income and as such taxable I suspect I may not take too long to transfer it.

I'll be using a currency specialist like xe.com to do it. Not going to rely on the bank's largesse and customer service ethics to make sure I get the best rate / costs. I work on the basis that banks will always try to screw you. Bitter me ?

I don't think the IRS would be privy to the actual transfer to the US. If it was money you earned as Income during a tax year, you are asked to report it on your tax return as income. For example if you had a pension paid to you in the US, or you got paid for work in the UK you did via the Internet, then you are supposed to report it yourself in the year it is earned.

Two IRS forms you should be aware of require reporting foreign bank accounts. They are commonly referred to by initials:

FBAR http://www.irs.gov/Businesses/Small-Businesses-&-Self-Employed/FAQs-Regarding-Report-of-Foreign-Bank-and-Financial-Accounts-(FBAR) is not part of the tax return. It is due June 30 every year to report the balance(s) of your foreign bank accounts if you exceed $10,000 held abroad. We file one every year to the US Treasury.

FATCA http://www.irs.gov/Businesses/Corporations/InformationforUSTaxpayers is a form filed with the tax return. It is two years old now and is pretty confusing to many. It has a $100,000 threshold if married filing joint. But things you are supposed to report include values in foreign pension funds among a long list of other financial holdings. It's not money you are receiving in pension, but money held in a fund for your future. It is for informational purposes. No tax is levied. The purpose is to bust all those rich people hiding money in offshore accounts to avoid taxes. But it makes it very difficult on the average Joe too. I have studied it two years. I've talked to the IRS and read forums. I was hoping 2012 would be clearer than the first year but it wasn't. Tax software was thrown for a loop in 2011 and better in 2012. Tax accountants are split on their advice of what counts and what doesn't. I still hate it and don't quite get it, mainly because my husband's pension funds would exceed that maybe, but there is no value set and reported to him. It's not like he has a little pot of money that is his and the total value of his pot is reported to him. You can report an amount as zero if the balance isn't readily available. So how confusing is that? "Yes, I have more than $100k in my private pension fund with XYZ at [address]. The amount is zero."

[rjm_cmyk 75]

So how confusing is that? "Yes, I have more than $100k in my private pension fund with XYZ at [address]. The amount is zero."

So good to know that I'll be giving up (at least in the main) one government bureacracy and replacing it with another. I have pension funds which will take me over that limit so I guess I can use my 90 days to get up to speed with tax forms. Not quite what I'd planned....

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

So good to know that I'll be giving up (at least in the main) one government bureacracy and replacing it with another. I have pension funds which will take me over that limit so I guess I can use my 90 days to get up to speed with tax forms. Not quite what I'd planned....

Nothing has to be done until 2014 (when 2013 balances will be reported.) But while you're stuck doing nothing waiting on EAD, you can indeed study the IRS bureaucracy. The fun thing about it is it changes every year.

When FATCA was new, I called the IRS and got bumped all the way up to an experienced person in the Tax Law department. He gave me a canned response, "the IRS is not equipped to answer your question on that and says you should contact a tax professional." My response to him was "That's bullsh1t. You are the IRS. You wrote the law. You have to understand it and answer my question." He laughed and said, "that's exactly what I told my supervisor when he told me how I was to answer." We had a long chat and both agreed off the record to just skip the form for 2011, which I did, and hope for more clarity for 2012. I did it for 2012.. Maybe not correctly, but they are now aware there is a private pension and have a specific name and address. No money values. We tried to find out a value the first year. It wasn't going to happen. It's not something his pension scheme has separated to individuals. I read elaborate posts on a UK Forum how one guy calculated a bunch of values, years to retirement, life expectancy, etc and created an estimate of the total value. Too much bother and not necessary in my opinion. They say if you don't know, enter zero. It is not like a US 401k retirement fund where you contribute and know the total value at any given time. The original debate was over do all types of pension schemes (in the whole world) count as reportable. Some accountants still say no.

Edited May 24, 2013 by Nich-Nick

[rjm_cmyk 75]

Yersss - sounds like fun. Guess it'll be compounded(sic) by the fact that I have a final salary pension scheme (pot unidentifiable) , AVC fund - (value known and thanks to the man from the fsking Pru , falling in value) and even a full state pension (pot value as unknown as unknown can be). My USC thinks her tax advisor will be able to sort it all out. Me - I'm not so confident that someone doing personal tax in a US 'burb is going to be that up on expat pension schemes.

Edited May 24, 2013 by rjm_cmyk

[david'sgirl 134]

We used xe.com after using a wire transfer and being charged for him to send it and again for me to recive it.

You can carry a max of 10,000 but who wants to chance losing that much cash/checks? It's safer to do it online.

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

We used xe.com after using a wire transfer and being charged for him to send it and again for me to recive it.

You can carry a max of 10,000 but who wants to chance losing that much cash/checks? It's safer to do it online.

There is no maximum you can carry in hand on the plane. If you were crazy enough to carry a million in your pocket, it is allowed. You report anything over $10k to CBP when you enter.