# Transfer savings from US to Spain



## LRC1 (Aug 24, 2016)

I am moving to Spain early next year from the US to marry a Spanish citizen and live there and need to transfer my savings to a Spanish bank. I'm aware of Transferwise and other similar companies that offer better exchange rates and lower fees than banks and am looking into those. But I'm trying to figure out other issues and wondering if anyone has done this recently and can provide some tips?


One bank is telling me that I must wait until I get to Spain, open a nonresident account, and that I then make transfers in amounts less than $10,000 at a time to avoid reporting requirements they can't seem to describe specifically, but this worries me as at least in the US, breaking down certain kinds of transactions to avoid a reporting threshhold can be considered a violation of the reporting requirement. That may only apply to cash but I'm not sure if wire transfers are considered cash? I don't mind reporting or even additional taxation if required, I want to do it right and not have my relatively meager life's savings seized by Hisenda!

Or is this all pretty simple other than paying some fees and looking for the best exchange rate?

Thanks in advance!


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## roywood (Nov 1, 2016)

LRC1 said:


> I am moving to Spain early next year from the US to marry a Spanish citizen and live there and need to transfer my savings to a Spanish bank. I'm aware of Transferwise and other similar companies that offer better exchange rates and lower fees than banks and am looking into those. But I'm trying to figure out other issues and wondering if anyone has done this recently and can provide some tips?
> 
> 
> One bank is telling me that I must wait until I get to Spain, open a nonresident account, and that I then make transfers in amounts less than $10,000 at a time to avoid reporting requirements they can't seem to describe specifically, but this worries me as at least in the US, breaking down certain kinds of transactions to avoid a reporting threshhold can be considered a violation of the reporting requirement. That may only apply to cash but I'm not sure if wire transfers are considered cash? I don't mind reporting or even additional taxation if required, I want to do it right and not have my relatively meager life's savings seized by Hisenda!
> ...


I've no direct experience yet - hope to in the next year or two - in transferring large sums internationally, but support your caution regarding doing so in smaller amounts. As far as I know, the $10k number is simply a US Treasury reporting requirement without any financial consequences, so there's no obvious benefit in running any risk by making multiple transfers. (You'd probably be hit with multiple fees for the transfer instruments, too.) Is there a reason to complete this before getting to Spain and marrying a resident? Seems like you'd have an easier time by laying the groundwork with your US institution(s) while you're Stateside, sorting out the account you want after you get to Spain, and then arranging the transfer.

Perhaps some gringos with experience doing this can advise?


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## Anciana (Jul 14, 2014)

I do transfer my US pensions a few times a year (when the exchange rate is good - I also have European pensions for daily expenses), usually in batches of under $10 000 as my daughter, who is a tax specialist advise there is no reason to trigger an audit if I do not need a larger sum at a time.


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## LMF1212 (Oct 22, 2011)

We have made large transfers from US to Spain to buy two different properties. Used our own bank, BoA, USForex, and Transferwise. Always declared the purpose of the transfer and have not run into any trouble with amounts way over 10K.


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## skip o (Aug 1, 2011)

I saw a short news piece (it might have been on John Oliver's show) about a woman who transferred under 10k multiple times, and it ended up raising suspicions that she was trying to hide drug money. Her account was confiscated pending an investigation.

I have always transferred what I have needed and it has never added much paperwork on my end.


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## jesszara (Nov 1, 2020)

LMF1212 said:


> We have made large transfers from US to Spain to buy two different properties. Used our own bank, BoA, USForex, and Transferwise. Always declared the purpose of the transfer and have not run into any trouble with amounts way over 10K.


I'm in the same situation trying to purchase a home here in Spain. My plan was to use retirement savings to buy, but now I'm faced with not knowing how to pay. Can you explain if you went straight to "hacienda" to declare and whether they taxed the amount you transferred? Mine will surely exceed 100K (about 150K).


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## timwip (Feb 27, 2017)

The United States has anti-money laundering laws which require banks that handle accounts of US citizens to report transactions over 10k. The bank that told the OP that they could not transfer greater than 10k, just did not want to mess with the reporting. For this reason, many smaller banks in Spain will not open accounts for US citizens. You would probably need to go with Banco Bilbao Viscaya or Banco de Santander.

For 30+ years I have been transferring money from the United States to Spain. In large sums for piso and car and in smaller sums for monthly living expenses. I have never had any trouble.

I use Transferwise for the smaller monthly sums without any problems. However, in an abundance of caution, I do not use them for large sums despite their better rates since they are not insured like a bank. I use bank to bank for large sums.

As a US citizen, you need to report your foreign accounts to the Department of Treasury in an FBAR report. It is not a big deal, the paperwork is done on-line and takes about an hour.


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## Phil Squares (Jan 13, 2017)

To the original poster, is there a reason to move the funds? I get my pensions paid in the US into two different US banks. If we need funds, we go to a BBVA bank and withdraw up to 2000Euros. The fee is around 7 Euros and you get the spot rate on exchange, not the tourist rate. The one bank we transfer from also reimburses fees up to $50/month. 

For larger up to $10,000, we use Xoom. Xoom is owned by Paypal and provides free transfers from the US for amounts ranging from $1,000 to $10,000. If you want to move more or less, there is a fee. 

To be honest, after spending over 20 years as an expat, we have always kept the minimum amount of cash in local accounts. In Spain, my wife works as a teacher and I get a pension from the UK so that pretty much takes care of our day to day expenses. We will use a credit or debit card from our US banks for other expenses. So, if there is no immediate need for the funds, you lose nothing by keeping them in the US. 

Be wary of opening a non-resident account here in Spain. They can eat you alive on fees. It is easier to just wait until you arrive here and get settled. If you are going to make regular deposits such as wages then there are an abundance of options for "free" accounts. Banking in Spain is not like it is in the US. In some ways, it's better, but in a lot more ways it's way behind. If you want to do anything concerning your account and try to do it online, the stock answer is "go to the branch"! Branches have very limited hours and are open late one day per week. The ultimate in "banker's hours"!


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## timwip (Feb 27, 2017)

jesszara said:


> I'm in the same situation trying to purchase a home here in Spain. My plan was to use retirement savings to buy, but now I'm faced with not knowing how to pay. Can you explain if you went straight to "hacienda" to declare and whether they taxed the amount you transferred? Mine will surely exceed 100K (about 150K).


There is no need to make a declaration to the Hacienda for the transfer of money. However, when you purchase a home, you pay VAT for a new home or ITP for a second-hand home. These taxes vary by province but are generally around 8-10%. As a general rule of thumb, if a house is 150k Euros, you should budget 10% more to purchase.

I bought out piso over 10 years ago when the housing market had tanked. I paid my 8% ITP as required. However, a few months later, I received a letter from the Principality saying I paid under market value and needed to pay an additional 9000 Euros of ITP. I went to my gestora and she helped me file the paperwork to protest my taxes. which we eventually won. Her fee was 5% of the savings.


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## anh12 (Apr 17, 2019)

I transferred over $100k from a US bank account to my Spanish (non-resident) bank account to buy a house last year. I made just one transfer and used Currency Fair. I had used Currency Fair a number of times and between several different countries with no issue, but this was the first time the transfer was for a lot more money.

Currency Fair contacted me as soon as the money reached their account with the following:

_Thank you for sending money into your CurrencyFair account. As a result of our obligations to comply with Anti Money Laundering regulations, we need a little more information on your deposit before we can process your funds further.
Can you please:_

_Confirm the purpose of the transaction_
_Confirm if the funds, after exchanging, will be sent to a bank account in your own name or a 3rd party bank account_
_Confirm the source of your wealth (where the funds are coming from)_
_Supply documentation for your stated source of wealth - for example, a bank statement showing the origin of the funds prior to the transfer to CurrencyFair_
*Please note that you can exchange and instruct a transfer out, however all transfers will be held with us until we receive the above information and documentation.*

Honestly, I was pleased to see they were addressing the money laundering issue immediately - before the transfer was completed. My US bank account statements made it clear where the funds came from, so I emailed them a copy and it was all dealt with successfully in very little time. (I've been repeatedly impressed by Currency Fair's customer service.)

There was no issue on the Spanish side - not a peep from the bank and the funds arrived quickly.

I did report the large amount of cash in my Spanish account (there for only a few days!) in my FBAR filing. I have nothing to hide, I don't have to pay taxes or anything for it, and can easily prove where the money came from and where it went. 

Hope that helps! Good luck!


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## NickZ (Jun 26, 2009)

Most countries have reporting limits. The EU wide limit is €10K.


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## jesszara (Nov 1, 2020)

timwip said:


> There is no need to make a declaration to the Hacienda for the transfer of money. However, when you purchase a home, you pay VAT for a new home or ITP for a second-hand home. These taxes vary by province but are generally around 8-10%. As a general rule of thumb, if a house is 150k Euros, you should budget 10% more to purchase.
> 
> I bought out piso over 10 years ago when the housing market had tanked. I paid my 8% ITP as required. However, a few months later, I received a letter from the Principality saying I paid under market value and needed to pay an additional 9000 Euros of ITP. I went to my gestora and she helped me file the paperwork to protest my taxes. which we eventually won. Her fee was 5% of the savings.





anh12 said:


> I transferred over $100k from a US bank account to my Spanish (non-resident) bank account to buy a house last year. I made just one transfer and used Currency Fair. I had used Currency Fair a number of times and between several different countries with no issue, but this was the first time the transfer was for a lot more money.
> 
> Currency Fair contacted me as soon as the money reached their account with the following:
> 
> ...




Sounds very straight forward. Thanks for the info. I plan to transfer a similar amount, but had not heard of Currency Fair. I'll be looking into it.


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