Transferring Money
 

Hi all,

I am in the K1 process pile and am starting to plan ahead.

I have a decent amount of money in my bank that I will want to take with me to America. My idea is that this will form part of a down payment on a house in a few years time in upstate New York.

Ideally I would want to wait until the exchange rates favour my lovely British pounds over the dollar.

Is there anything stopping me from leaving my money in a British bank (earning low interest)?

Thanks,
Paul

Re: Transferring Money
 

No nothing at all. Interest will have to be declared on your US 1040 tax return and you will probably have to complete an 8938 with your 1040 (depending on the sum involved and your tax filing status). You will also need to file on-line an FBAR. You can worry about this after you move. Welcome to the world of US tax!

This will give you an overview:

https://www.irs.gov/businesses/compa...r-requirements

Re: Transferring Money
 

And all of this is relatively trivial to DIY. I did it.

Re: Transferring Money
 

Thanks for the info.

It’s c£80k - does that make a difference ?

Re: Transferring Money
 

No, that only affects whether you need to complete Form 8938 when you do your taxes and that depends on your tax filing status and what other "foreign assets" (eg pensions) you may need to count.

Re: Transferring Money
 

Not sure if this post fits the bill for this thread but didn't want to create another one just for a single question:
Q: I came to US in Dec 2017 as a British Citizen on K1 visa, at that time i couldn't open a bank account as i didn't have a social security number but now I do. My question is how much cash can I deposit in the US bank account if i open a new one? and will I be asked any questions and will I be taxed on it. The source of the money £ pounds that I converted to dollars when coming here.
Thanks

Re: Transferring Money
 

If the money is coming from a US source, you say it is already converted to $, there shouldn't be any questions at all. You can deposit whatever amount you want. The only question I would expect might be asked would be a general question as to your source of the money.

Re: Transferring Money
 

Like you say I would leave your lovely £'s in the UK for now as the exchange rate is quite low. It could creep up again to £1.42ish....maybe. If brexit goes through next year though I suspect the £ will tank and not recover for some years. I think Brexit may turn out well for people sending $ back to the UK.

Re: Transferring Money
 

Clarification , I brought with me some dollars in cash but wasn't able to open an account at that time so now I am wondering if the bank or IRS will ask anything if I deposit this bulk amount in one go (less than 10k)

Re: Transferring Money
 

The bank might ask about the source of the funds and you seem to have an explanation to give to them.