EliDaBulldog

Question on money movement, USA to UK. I was reading that sending money with WISE.com takes a lot longer than say a wire transfer from my US bank to UK bank? Can anyone confirm, how long the wise transfer takes and/or if the normal bank to bank wire transfer is indeed faster?

durham_lad

I use Wise often and provided I start the transaction in the morning then it is in my UK a few hours later. I initiate the transfer through Wise then wire the money from my US bank to Wise (who use Wells Fargo).

The first time took a little effort because I set up Wise as a payee in my US bank using the Wise details provided (routing and account number) plus put my Wise account number in the wire memo field, but transfers after that are extremely quick and easy to do.

morpeth

I usually send by ACH or debit card- by debit card just a few minutes but a small fee, WISE gives a US bank account number, so even with wire transfer will always be faster than a wire transfer from a US bank to UK bank. All I do is convert to pounds then click and in my UK account in a minute. I have noticed if one draw via WISE direct from US bank account it might take a day depending on which US bank used.

EliDaBulldog

morpeth Are you sending through Wise or just using your US bank debit card directly to UK bank account?

countrygirl33

Hi EliDaBulldog, I'm in a similar situation and thinking of renting my USA property. The way I understand it is that whatever income we get from renting to declare in the UK , the tax we pay is deducted from our USA tax ??

Pulaski

No, its the other way around. If the property is in the US, and you're in the UK, then the first tax computation is in the US, then any tax you have paid in the US can be credited against your taxes due on rental income in the UK.

countrygirl33

Ah , thanks .. I'm a little confused with all this . I will be doing my first UK tax return this year . So, because I do our US taxes and pay around Feb and UK taxes start in April , whatever tax I pay in the UK for any income will be a credit on the UK tax?? This means I will never get a credit on USA tax for UK tax paid as USA is always done first?

Pulaski

Yes
There is no need for a credit the other way, otherwise you would have paid less than the amount of tax due. Think of tax as a cake - the whole cake is the total tax due, your US tax return then cuts out a piece of the cake to give to the IRS. The UK then calculates the total amount due, to be "the whole cake", but you get credit for the piece that is missing and has been given to the IRS. At this point both countries have received their share of the cake, and there is nothing in the US to apply a credit to for taxes paid in the UK.

The net effect of this type of double tax computation is almost always that the tax payer pays the amount of tax which is the greater of the amount due in country A or in country B. Depending on the order in which taxation is calculated, the amounts paid may either be split between the countries, or may go entirely to the country that assesses the higher amount of tax. .... If your situation was reversed, with a rental property in the UK and you living in the US, then all the tax would be paid in the UK, because the UK would get the first bite of the cherry, and is less generous in the taxation of rental property income than the US is, and the UK tax credit, when applied in the US, would be greater than the tax calculated in the US, and so no further tax would be payable.

countrygirl33

Thanks for the clarification , good analogy .. Thanks

EliDaBulldog

countrygirl33 What Pulaski told you is accurate. I got the same confirmation from a UK CPA. You basically pay taxes in the USA for the US rental property. Then you pay the delta between the US tax rate and the UK tax rate for that income to the UK tax authority.

Pulaski

What's a "UK CPA"?

EliDaBulldog

Certified public accountant, or the proper term in the UK is Chartered Accountant.

morpeth

Just through WISE. Easy process using debit card on WIE, then convert to pounds and immediately in UK account. I think if WISE debits the US account not as fast. The other method since WISE gives a US" account with routing number one could via ACH transfer for US bank account to the WISE US$ account .

For very large amounts one could check TORFX about exchange rates, but both I have found usually have better rates than banks.

The WISE debit card can pay i US$, Pounds or Euros which I find useful feature.

countrygirl33

Great ,thank you. Did you use a specialist USA/UK CPA or just a regular UK CPA? It sounds much cheaper to go with a UK CPA provided they understand the tax differences between the two countries ..

EliDaBulldog

Fortunately my brother-in-law has a very large business and he uses a very reputable chartered accountant (He only operates in the UK but has knowlesge of USA laws) and he has been helping for free, at least for now. I plan on using him next year to do my UK taxes. I have already spoken to a US CPA to do my taxes next year too.Cost wise, I'm not sure which one would be cheaper?