# Transferring Savings into US Bank Account - Tax Implications?



## jonholmes92 (Jun 18, 2014)

Hi there,

My wife (US Citizen) and I (UK Citizen) currently live in the UK, we're wanting to move to the US in the near future, hoping to bring £40,000 in savings ($60,000 approx.) which will be earned all in the UK.

It's probably not as simple as wiring it to her US Bank Account and we be on our way haha. So does anyone have an idea what kind of tax we'll be expecting, if any?

Thanks,
Jon


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## JustLurking (Mar 25, 2015)

jonholmes92 said:


> It's probably not as simple as wiring it to her US Bank Account and we be on our way ...


It certainly can be that simple. Moving _post-tax_ money from the UK to the US creates no new US income tax liability, and I don't see any gift or estate tax issues with these amounts.

There is a $10k transaction reporting requirement, but the transferring bank(s) will take care of that so you don't have to. You would probably do better on the exchange rate if you use a specialist forex company rather than just accept your bank's rate.

As for other tax traps to be wary of... watch out for FinCEN form 114, be careful to pick your residency start date so that your own pre-arrival UK salary so that the US cannot claim any part of your UK salary as US taxable, and make sure you understand how the US will treat any pensions, ISAs, property, or other investments that you might leave in the UK.


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

It really shouldn't be a problem. Might be best to check with your UK bank on how to initiate the wire transfer from "afar" - but basically, they (the bank) will have to report the source of the funds (which is your account in that bank, so they're good for that bit of information) and then the "reason" for the transfer, for which you simply tell them you are relocating to the US (and closing the account if that's the case). Happens a gazillion times a day and should go right through with no fuss and no tax implications.
Cheers,
Bev


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## jonholmes92 (Jun 18, 2014)

Awesome! That's perfect then, I figured as it wasn't earned while living in the US there'd be no tax but wasn't 100% sure. Thank you very much guys!


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## ForeignBody (Oct 20, 2011)

As others have said, there is no problem transferring savings, it happens all the time, and there are no tax issues.

You should definitely use a foreign exchange specialist like transferwise or Torfx (I use Torfx) and there are many others. You will get a significantly better deal after taking account of the exchange rates and fees.


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