Hi All,

Im cross posting this to the New life in America forum to try and get as many responses as possible. I really need some help.

I have around $10,000 that I wan't to transfer to my SO's bank account so that he can get me a car etc before I arrive, however, I have been told that if I transfer it all in one go, he will be subject to pay 43% tax on it!
I can't take it with me in cash because you aren't allowed to have that much cash on you (or so I am told) and I do not have a bank account set up over there yet so I can't transfer it to an account in my name.

Has anyone transferred money to their SO, and have any idea what the answers are in this scenario?

I'm making a trip to my bank today to find out if I can do a wire transfer over the phone once i'm in the US, but other than that - I am stumped!!

Thanks in advance

Saffy

Hi,
we just transfered 200'000 dollars from Ireland to the US, and as far as I am aware there is no tax, just a small fee for transfer (money has been in US account for a week now). However, it may depend on the state you transfer to.

Can I ask did you do it as a bank transfer?

You won't be taxed on any money you transfer over.

Yes- my husband went over there and opened an account, and then I closed two accounts here (one joint, one in my name only) and transfered the money over. It was in the US account within 12 hours.

This is not accurate. You can bring as much money as you want into the US, however, amounts $10,000 or more must be declared at customs. If you do a bank to bank wire transfer, this is usually taken care of as part of the transfer process.

Money is generally only taxed if it is income, either from a job or investments. A money transfer will not be taxed.

Sp based on this you are saying I can transfer $10,000 to my fiances account and there is NO penalty for it taxwise, even though the account is not held in my name?

I told my fiancee that she can bring up to $10,000 with her (I could only hope she would have that much to bring) on her flight without declaring to customs. Even declaring to customs does not constitute a tax, nor does wire transfers. I am not sure about putting all of the money in only her account, maybe a joint account would be better because you are not legally allowed to just write a check for your inheritance and give it to your kids without being taxes, but maybe that is confusing 2 different things.

My only question is if banks would question large infusions of cash into a bank account. I assume they would be fine because they make money off of it but I wonder if a certain amount causes a trigger to question where these funds came from.

Correct, there is no tax penalty, even if this was a gift.



During the transaction, the financial institutions go through the verification process. It's not really something which the owner of the money gets involved in. Basically.... if the money is legal there's nothing to prove and nothing to worry about.

Thanks everyone. I called the tax office yesterday and verified it too. (Yes I am a worrier)....

Yeah, I think the max gifting allowed is $12K/year before it is subject to taxation. Of course if you're married, it is not a gift so there would be no tax involved since it's both of your moneys.