Transferring Money when you move

[Shaunna&Tony 1]

Hey everyone

(Sorry if this is in the wrong forum but I thought the best thing was to ask Aussies who have been through the same thing)

We aren't applying for the visa until a little bit later this year but I am wanting to do as much research as I can. How did everyone go about transferring money when they moved from Australia to the USA? Do you get taxed on how much you bring over? All my savings would already have been taxed in Australia (due to it being work wages) but was curious if the US taxes them again. I would have quite a lot saved so I dont want to carry it on me (for obvious reasons) and also dont want to send it through Western Union due to their charges - is there any other way?

Thanks in advance for anyone that is able to provide me with some insight

[Lainie B 465]

Talk to your Australian bank about an international money transfer, if you have a US account to transfer it to. There will be a fee but I've found it pretty reasonable. You won't be taxed.

[VanessaTony 3,567]

I personally used Paypal but you mentioned $65K in savings in a previous thread so that sounds like something I would want done in a different way (like a bank cheque or something). I would also look into using www.xe.com

Yes you will need to file taxes and declare that amount BUT you should be able to have it excluded because it's foreign income. I suggest your fiance speak with an accountant to find out what you need to be collecting/saving to prove that it's foreign income and therefore exempt from double tax.

**Edit - I would NOT use a bank to transfer until you have THOROUGHLY researched the fees involved (speak to both the bank you're sending from and the bank you're sending to). I found it ridiculous to transfer from ANZ to Wells Fargo direct which is why I use Paypal (it's free).

Another idea would be next time you're in the US set up your own bank account. Then you can transfer money in smaller amounts (like I said I use paypal) as you get paid. This will make your visits easier as well 'cause you can use money you already have there rather than worrying about exchanging each time etc.

Edited March 19, 2012 by Vanessa&Tony

[Lainie B 465]

If you're just talking about transferring saved money that you already earned in previous tax years, you don't need to include that as income in your US tax return. You only need to declare it during the year you earned it. Unless you earned the money and moved to the US (and filed jointly with your husband in the same year). Then earnings must be declared, but can be excluded, as Vanessa said. Remember too that the US tax year is the calender year, which complicates things further.

You might also want to think about leaving it in a term deposit in Australia, if you don't need it right away. The interest rates in Australia are far better than what you will get in the US. Assuming the exchange rate doesn't change.

As Vanessa said you need to check on the bank fees, and also the exchange rate that the bank is using, in order to make a decision, especially if you are talking about a lot of money. Personally I've found bank transfers to be cheap and fast.

Edited March 19, 2012 by Lainie B

[Dave and Shannon 9]

Hey everyone

(Sorry if this is in the wrong forum but I thought the best thing was to ask Aussies who have been through the same thing)

We aren't applying for the visa until a little bit later this year but I am wanting to do as much research as I can. How did everyone go about transferring money when they moved from Australia to the USA? Do you get taxed on how much you bring over? All my savings would already have been taxed in Australia (due to it being work wages) but was curious if the US taxes them again. I would have quite a lot saved so I dont want to carry it on me (for obvious reasons) and also dont want to send it through Western Union due to their charges - is there any other way?

Thanks in advance for anyone that is able to provide me with some insight

Well i use to use travelex till vanessa showed me how to use paypal.. which gave me more for my dollar and less in fees.. not sure on large amounts, but if you dont need it all at once quickly, i would set up an account over here in the US, then transfer some money each week.. otherwise do as vanessa said i transfer every week through paypal

[Deb+Steve 13]

St George bank is $20 per item per transaction (online telegraphic transfer) plus a conversion fee which I think is in the vicinity of $10. It's been a while since I did it so it may have changed but it was only 3 business days. I did have to arrange for the transfer limit to be increased though so check with your bank.

I checked on the transfer of funds etc for tax purposes and I didn't have to declare it at tax time only any income I earned (including interest) but I was able to claim it as a foreign earned income exclusion anyway.

[noremac 3]

Could someone explain to me how to do the free transfers with PayPal..? I know it has been talked about before, but I've had no luck finding it. I will be needing to transfer some of my American wage to Australia to pay mortgage payments until my house sells. So I would like to do it for free since I'll be doing it regularly.

[VanessaTony 3,567]

Could someone explain to me how to do the free transfers with PayPal..? I know it has been talked about before, but I've had no luck finding it. I will be needing to transfer some of my American wage to Australia to pay mortgage payments until my house sells. So I would like to do it for free since I'll be doing it regularly.

Here's my paypal post: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/183541-land-downunder-aussie-aussie-aussie-oi-oi-oi/page__view__findpost__p__4558323 but the link to fees in that post isn't working for me so here it is: https://www.paypal.com/webapps/helpcenter/article/?articleID=94013&topicID=11500015&m=TTQ#moving_money It's a little confusing because it's an "international transfer" so there MAY be a fee involved but follow the guide in my post and then it will tell you the fees... b earing in mind where the money is located (debit card, bank account, paypal balance) will determine the fee.

[KLS2010 30]

I set up Citibank accounts in both Australia and the US.

One of Citbank Australia's accounts (Citibank Plus I think its called) doesn't charge any monthly account fees, and I could transfer money from my Citibank AUS account to my Citibank US account for free. The money was available immediately in the US account. Citibank US monthly account fees are somewhat expensive though unless you can maintain a minimum monthly balance, or have a direct deposit (ie wages) and a direct debit (ie a bill) each month.

Due to the increase in fees I have closed the US account, but I can still access my AUS accounts funds through Citibank US ATMs. Withdrawls from these ATMs are free.

[Travis and Meghan 24]

I used both banks and Paypal. The transfer fee for Westpac to Bank of America as i recall was $50 ($25 at each end). I still have my OZ bank account set up too so that now that i'm here, all my parents have to do when they want to give me money for my birthday or whatever is put it in my account and then when i want to use it i just transfer it through Paypal, super useful and fuss free for my family

[lynJer 7]

G'day Guys, Im an Aussie Senior Business Banking Manager....

Copy this web address as its got a WHOLE HEAP OF OPTIONS FOR YOU ALL TO USE...and you will see its cheaper than the banks - one of which was charging me (its employer for over 10 years more)

http://www.ozforex.com.au/ all you do is set up an a/c with them....link it with an aussie a/c and then either have your beloved as your usa beneficiary a/c or set up your own when you next get to the states....

then you can either call or go online to send the amt....ozforex give you 24 hours to then bpay the funds into your ozforex a/c they usually dont charge for the first 2 transactions...after that its 15bucks....and the exchange rates are very good....

or

You can consider fwd exchange rates for large amts....basically that means you can 'lock in' a rate for a fwd date....especially good if you are expecting large sums of money in about 6 mths time...but, be warned...banks know exactly which way the exchange rates between the countries are going...

My treasury dept of my bank told me to expect parity between the us and aust dollar - I said NO WAY..... as if.....then the STATE MGR ( a good friend) told me it the aussie dollar is going to go past it....I laughed at her....

any other issues...just email me....

[lynJer 7]

ps...

forgot to mention....

you can access your funds from your aussie debit card from most atm's here in the usa.....

look on the back of your card, it will say either PLUS or CIRRUS these are codes used for atm groups all over the world....so if you have a plus card, then use a plus atm here and the exchange rate is great, fees are low.

but atm's all over the world only allow max 400 or 500 dollar withdrawal of cash per 24 hours.....in some cases you may be able to go to another atm for another 400 within the 24 hour period but your aussie a/c will only allow you to withdraw 1000 dollars cash so....if you need to rip out thousands and thousands prepare 2 weeks in advance...

using eftpos (debit) at a store in the usa wont work...but you can use your credit card (visa or MC) just as you would back in oz

[lynJer 7]

ps again...

sorry...

MAKE SURE YOU ASK FOR A SWIFT CODE FOR THE USA BANK A/C....

ITS ACTUALLY JUST A BRANCH NUMBER

[KLS2010 30]

ps...

forgot to mention....

you can access your funds from your aussie debit card from most atm's here in the usa.....

look on the back of your card, it will say either PLUS or CIRRUS these are codes used for atm groups all over the world....so if you have a plus card, then use a plus atm here and the exchange rate is great, fees are low.

but atm's all over the world only allow max 400 or 500 dollar withdrawal of cash per 24 hours.....in some cases you may be able to go to another atm for another 400 within the 24 hour period but your aussie a/c will only allow you to withdraw 1000 dollars cash so....if you need to rip out thousands and thousands prepare 2 weeks in advance...

using eftpos (debit) at a store in the usa wont work...but you can use your credit card (visa or MC) just as you would back in oz

'Low' fees on US ATM withdrawls? Guess it depends on your definition of 'low' - I wasn't impressed paying something like $18 every time I withdrew $500 from an ATM here (that was about 2yrs ago using a Commonwealth Bank debit/ATM card)

The maximum daily cash withdrawl from ATM amount varies from bank to bank, as does the maximum amount of cash you can take out of your account within 24hrs.

I have a Citibank Australia account - no monthly account keeping fees, allows me to make cash withdrawls from US Citibank ATMs for free, I haven't had any trouble getting $1000 out in one transaction and they increased the daily cash withdrawl amount on my account to $2000.

I don't know about other banks, but I know my Commonwealth Bank ATM card can be used like a credit card for purchases, as can my Citibank card.

[Travis and Meghan 24]

I used my westpac card when i was int he US the first time and before i left i checked with my bank about what atm's i should use when i was there. They told me to only use the Bank of america ones as it had the lowest fees. was only a few dollars to withdraw money. The only hting that cost a lot was using eftpos so i just didn't do that, i only used cash.