Transferring money from UK to USA help?
 

Hi all

Just got permanent residency last week and would like to transfer some money from my UK bank account to my US bank account. I live and work in Florida.

I was told when previously transferring money to my fiancee when still in the UK (for wedding costs) that I should do it while in the UK as it can be seen as money laundering and everything transferred ok.


Can anyone provide any insight into how they transferred money once living in the USA?

Thanks

Re: Transferring money from UK to USA help?
 

Transferwise.com is about the best company to use at the moment.

Re: Transferring money from UK to USA help?
 

Have you used them to transfer money from UK while physically being in the USA?

Re: Transferring money from UK to USA help?
 

While being present in the USA I've transferred money many times to the UK and while living in the UK I have transferred money from the USA to the UK. I've not yet done it from the UK to the USA but I can't see it being a problem.

In the past I've used XE.com to transfer money in both directions but Transferwise is a lot cheaper and is just as quick.

Re: Transferring money from UK to USA help?
 

I have been transferring money from the UK, while living in the US, since 2007. If I had not used transferwise to do so I would not have recommended them. :lol:

Re: Transferring money from UK to USA help?
 

I don't know who told you that, but it is nonsense, mostly. A one-off transaction of a few thousand pounds/dollars isn't going to hit anyone's radar. If you start färting around with a string of small transactions, rather than one or a few larger transactions, that is when you might stir up a hornets' nest. :eek:

If you're extra cautious your fiancée could contact her bank and let them know that she is expecting a foreign credit of approximately $x, from her fiancé for wedding expenses - she should try to make sure that the note is added to her customer records, which might be easier with a face-to-face branch visit.

Re: Transferring money from UK to USA help?
 

In same States the brokers can only transfer to an account held by the person doing the transfer, Oregon is one such. OP did say to his bank account so hopefully that isn't a problem.

Re: Transferring money from UK to USA help?
 

Is there a problem with doing many small transactions rather than one or a few large transactions? This is what I've been doing. There's been no extra cost as the exchange rate is the same for all amounts and there's no other fee. If I try to transfer a large amount from my UK bank to the broker the bank send a code by text to my cell phone but it never arrives, I don't know why, they said they'd phone me but that didn't come through either, so then I have to send them a copy of my passport, etc..., it's a lot of hassle, so I've just been doing a lot of small transactions, which the online banking does without sending a code. Does anyone think there could be a problem with doing many small transactions, like increased chance of an IRS audit or anything like that?

Re: Transferring money from UK to USA help?
 

Unlikely to be a problem. Pulaski is referring to "structuring" which is a very specific action to evade taxes or other attention. Merely sending small payments because your UK bank makes it annoying to send larger ones is fine.

Re: Transferring money from UK to USA help?
 

Agreed, unlikely to be a problem, (though it depends what yoy mean by "small", if it's $5k-$10k you might have a problem) but it still wouldn't hurt to tell the receiving bank what the money is for and who is sending it, as just about any mildly unusual account activity can trip an alarm these days.

Re: Transferring money from UK to USA help?
 

Yep it will be to my own account which is actually a joint account with my wife.

So I've just now read I will be liable for US tax on my Uk savings :( - is tax only applicable to the interest earned or the entire balance?

I have an ISA (standard, not shares) that I wanted to transfer the entire balance to my US bank account.

I also have a current account I wanted to keep to pay off any final bills and my student loan balance.

I have another savings account with a significantly larger amount in it which I wanted to transfer the lot to a family member - so the balance will be £0 in a couple of months

Finally I have 1 share in Santander lol

In all the total interest/gain is less than £1000 per year due to crap interest rates

Any advise on whether this will be ok or will I get stung with high US tax? I'm not looking for tax advice just what expats in USA have done.

Thanks

Re: Transferring money from UK to USA help?
 

The US taxes your worldwide income so interest paid on bank accounts including cash ISA's should be declared and will be taxed as regular income. No big deal, just report it using the same form (1099-INT) as US bank interest.

I think that any dividends paid from your Santander share should be declared as dividend income and if/when you sell your share the cap gain or loss should be reported.