ibbye13

Hi

I intend to wire some money from my UK account to my Canadian bank to pay off some of my debt here. How much money can i transfer? Will the CRA be informed of my transfer as it will be more than $10000.

Any advice will be greatly appreciated

I

iaink

No special tax implications, there is no limit AFAIK. If its money from a property sale or something then capital gains might apply based on exchange rates etc.

CRA will be informed by the bank automatically for a wire transfer.

ibbye13

Do I need to explain where I got this money? Even its my own money...

JonboyE

You can transfer as much as you like. The CRA will not be informed but your Canadian bank will inform FINTRAC who are responsible for monitoring and detecting money laundering activities.

Assuming you have paid the appropriate taxes on the money when it was earned there is no additional tax due purely because you wire it from a UK bank to a Canadian bank. You may have a capital gain when you convert £ to $ - that depends on the exchange rate when you became tax-resident in Canada.

iaink

No.

Sorry, got confused between CRA and the money laundering folks... they are the one you would need to report large cash sums to at the airport etc, not CRA...

JonboyE

Unlikely, but it is possible.

iaink

Not to do the transfer though, right? But maybe in some future tax audit <shudders>

ibbye13

Thanks for your reply....what is this capital gain when I will convert the £ to $ ..I became tax resident in Canada 2009.....I will just leave the money in the UK then...

JonboyE

I suppose there is a very remote possibility that the transfer might get flagged by FINTRAC but it is a very remote possibility.

You are right that in an audit the CRA will review your bank statements and want an explanation for each receipt.

JonboyE

Then you are unlikely to have a capital gain. Much more likely a loss.

Using the average rate for 2009 £10,000 was worth $17,800. Now it is worth $15,600.

You have nothing to worry about.

freebornman

How about transferring money from the EU?

My parents want to give me about 140k euros. I'm a US citizen and they are EU citizens (not Greece or Romania ). I understand you have to fill out the 3520 form and ideally no-one pays tax in this scenario but is it really that simple? Has anyone done this without ending up in Guantanamo Bay and/or losing their house? Is it just a simple money transfer and the 3520 form?

I'm sure us ordinary poor people will get hit first and be held as terrorist suspects by the useless government employees as we are the easiest targets! Just looking for advice.

Thanks in advance,
Billy-Bob

JonboyE

Sorry, but I don't know anything about US taxes. If you are tax-resident in Canada there are no problems in receiving a gift from your parents in the EU.

Steve_

Depends on the nature of the transfer, transfers of capital into the US are rarely taxed but as you point out over $100,000 it has to be reported to the IRS on 3520. I'd give the IRS a call and see what they think, not sure if it falls within the definition used on 3520.

Steve_

If you've had it there in the UK for awhile since you became resident here there may be a capital gain or loss, so that will need to be reported on schedule 3 to your T1 if in fact there is one. Note that you also have to report foreign holdings over $100,000 to the CRA every year on T1135 - they're pretty hot on enforcing that requirement.

cheeky_monkey

i transfered $15000 last year no issues or tax implications...if that helps