darrylnospam

Hi,

I realize this isn't a tax group, but I thought you might know the answer since it
does directly involve an immigration situation.

My wife who now has her green card went back to visit her family in her
native country.

She brought back several thousand dollars (less than $10k) for us to use to pay
off debts.

No one knows we have this money. But I guess if I deposit it the bank will know. Do
they report cash deposits to the government? If so, would I then be obligated to pay
taxes on it? Is there a way around this, a loophole, if that is the case?

Please advise. Seems a shame to pay taxes on money no one knows we even have and that
is already her's - (has already been taxed in her home country).

L D Jones

[email protected] wrote:
    > Hi,
    > I realize this isn't a tax group, but I thought you might know the answer since it
    > does directly involve an immigration situation.
    > My wife who now has her green card went back to visit her family in her native
    > country.
    > She brought back several thousand dollars (less than $10k) for us to use to pay
    > off debts.
    > No one knows we have this money. But I guess if I deposit it the bank will know. Do
    > they report cash deposits to the government? If so, would I then be obligated to
    > pay taxes on it? Is there a way around this, a loophole, if that is the case?

I think only single transactions over USD 10,000 or multiple smaller transactions
over 10K in (and out?) of the same account in a short time are required to be
reported. I assume that cash transactions are reported the same way a "wire" of the
same amount would be.

mailmena

Not sure what government agency you are referring to but I was reported on the interest accrued from the deposit and yes paid taxes on that. You won't be taxed on the money just the interest.

rogerpenycate

I looked into this quite a lot.
If it's under $K10 you are OK.
If you are using it to pay debts then it doesn't sound like
it will be around (or "resting" in a bank account) long enough
to accrue any interest.
In the future it is best to transfer money directly from a bank account to a US bank account.
If it's over $K10 there is a customs tax form to fill in but the bank arrange that.
The main issue here (and what "they" are looking for) is
money laundering.

The way my wife spends money, if I have any left after a few
months, I'll be lucky (God she'll kill me)
Oh well if she does I won't have to worry about money ;O)

Jjoe

Hi,

IMHO:

You need to know the origin of this money.

If this money was earned honestly, chances are the taxes had been already paid if US
and home country have a tax treaty (most probably they do). If there is a tax treaty
between country X and the US, and you have savings in country X, where you pay taxes,
you can bring your savings to the US and not be taxed (since you've already paid
taxes in country X). If you bring more that 10K in cash (in your bag) you have to
declare it. I do not think you have to declare any bank transactions, if the amount
is too large bank will declare the amount for you. AFAIK: large amount of money can
be a suspect of some illegal activity.

And if the money was not earned honestly... hmm, I do not wanna think about
this option.

QUESTION: has your wife paid taxes on this money in her native country?

joe


<[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
    > Hi,
    > I realize this isn't a tax group, but I thought you might know the answer since it
    > does directly involve an immigration situation.
    > My wife who now has her green card went back to visit her family in her native
    > country.
    > She brought back several thousand dollars (less than $10k) for us to use to pay
    > off debts.
    > No one knows we have this money. But I guess if I deposit it the bank will know. Do
    > they report cash deposits to the government? If so, would I then be obligated to
    > pay taxes on it? Is there a way around this, a loophole, if that is the case?
    > Please advise. Seems a shame to pay taxes on money no one knows we even have and
    > that is already her's - (has already been taxed in her home country).

darrylnospam

On Mon, 19 Aug 2002 20:57:27 GMT, "jjoe" <[email protected]> wrote:

AFAIK: large amount of money can be a suspect of
    >some illegal activity.
Yes, my wife got the money from her (legitimate) job there, so I am sure she paid
taxes on it.

So it sounds like the only hassle might be that the bank might suspect money
laundering? So how does one avoid that suspicion? Do I put it all in one bank in one
lump sum? Or do I put it in several of my accounts, divided by 3? Does that make it
less or more suspicious? Maybe I am paranoid for no reason; maybe I should just haul
the cash down to the bank and put it in there and not worry... But it's just that
I've never been in this situation before and don't want to even arouse suspicion that
we're "money laundering" or such...

Mrtravel

Not even reported if under a $10K deposit. If 10K or more, it is reported. I also
believe you have to claim 10K + at customs.

Even so, this has nothing to do with owing tax on it.

It wasn't earned in the US, the US can't tax it. I assume she would have a record of
withdrawal to show she brought it into the country.

Mrtravel

If you move here from another country and take a few thousand dollars to a bank, why
would they suspect anything like money laudering? If you did it everyday, then they
might be suspicious. No US bank is going to get suspicious over a new immigrant
depositing a few thousand dollars.

That reminds me of my fear of depositing the $11K I departed my Alaskan cruise with a
couple of years ago. I actually bought money orders and paid some bills, until I had
a small enough amount to deposit. I had won $8K playing blackjack a couple of days.

donahso

Read the reg for yourself.

http://www.customs.ustreas.gov/travel/currency.htm

-Don H

Paul

don't know if it still the same but they used to track deposits over 10K and make
your fill out special forms. So, just like many foreign businesses do make many
smaller debits for large bills.......make many deposits under 10K.

Just Jenney

This feedback might be a bit off, but hopefully will be of some help:

A few years ago, my cousins and I began receiving a monetary "gift" from my grandparents' estate -- one for 1996, one for 1998, and again for 2000. The executor always made the gift for $10K -- the maximum non-taxable amount permitted by law. This amount was either deposited directly into my checking account, or given to me as a check (which I then deposited myself into my account). Since my particular checking account is not an interest-bearing account, and the gifts never exceeded $10K, I have never paid taxes on this money.

I realize this differs a bit from your situation, but I think as long as it's under $10K, you're ok -- even if you deposit it all in one lump sum. Just to be sure, keep all documentation of the transaction and (if you have it) where your wife obtained this money.

~ Jenney

darrylnospam

On Wed, 21 Aug 2002 03:32:30 +0000, Jenney &amp; Mark
<[email protected]> wrote:


    >I realize this differs a bit from your situation, but I think as long as it's under
    >$10K, you're ok -- even if you deposit it all in one lump sum. Just to be sure, keep
    >all documentation of the transaction and (if you have it) where your wife obtained
    >this money.
    >~ Jenney
That's the problem - she has no record of it. She did pull it out of the bank, but
she threw away the receipt. I suppose the bank would have some record of it, but how
that would be to get, I don't know... But it appears that as long as it is under $10k
it really shouldn't be a problem... After all the bank or government could NOT prove
thte money is ill-gotten because it isn't.

Thanks for the info. I thought that any "gifts" of cash had to be reported as
income... However, this isn't a gift, it is money she earned AND paid taxes on in
her country.

rogerpenycate

The withdrawal would surely show up on her bank statement.
As someone said earlier, the IRS are used to immigrants transferring money and if there is "lots more to come" it would
be worth keeping statements/receipts.

Should you get into a situation where you may feel she is
sending you too much, please email me direct I will give you my bank details, my wife and I will help you spend it ;o)