# Is this a good idea?



## Mrtcpip (Feb 15, 2014)

Greetings, 

Recently with the USD to Euro conversion being more favorable, I was wondering if it would be a good idea to pay my rent on an annual basis, this way I can "lock" in a good exchange rate in the case it goes back to less favorable. (Resident in Italy) But I am not an expert in such things and thought I should ask the experts in the expat community. I want to make sure this is a good idea and it complies with FBAR/FinCen rules. 

Currently, I just move money as needed from my US Bank account to my Italian Account, and stay within the $10,000 maximum limit. But in this case, the annual rent is about $13,000. Is it possible to simply wire transfer the amount directly to my Italian Landlord? I obviously don't want to do anything unethical, is there any legal guidelines on this? Or should I continue the same method of transferring to my Italian Bank and then pay the rent from that? 

Many thanks in advance for your opinion and advice.


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## MrNiceGuy (12 mo ago)

When you wire money between two accounts of yours I am not aware of any 10,000 USD limit. (Please correct me if I am wrong). You could just wire 13,000 USD in my opinion, and leave it in your EUR account, drawing it down to pay rent.


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

There aren't any taxes on wiring funds from your US account to your Italian account. However, any time you transfer $10,000 or more in funds via your bank, the bank is required to report the transfer to the US government. There is a similar requirement regarding transfers of 10,000€ or more done in, to or from Europe. But generally speaking, the banks take care of this. (They may ask you as part of the transfer process for the purpose of the transfer - this is why they need this information.)

Yes, if you wind up with more than $10,000 in your Italian bank account, you'll be subject to FBAR reporting but that is fairly simple to do online and involves no taxes or fees.


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## Mrtcpip (Feb 15, 2014)

Bevdeforges said:


> There aren't any taxes on wiring funds from your US account to your Italian account. However, any time you transfer $10,000 or more in funds via your bank, the bank is required to report the transfer to the US government. There is a similar requirement regarding transfers of 10,000€ or more done in, to or from Europe. But generally speaking, the banks take care of this. (They may ask you as part of the transfer process for the purpose of the transfer - this is why they need this information.)
> 
> Yes, if you wind up with more than $10,000 in your Italian bank account, you'll be subject to FBAR reporting but that is fairly simple to do online and involves no taxes or fees.


THank you for the quick response, the other twist to my question was can I wire funds from my US Bank directly to my landlords Italian account? So bypassing my Italian Bank account..


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## Harry Moles (11 mo ago)

Mrtcpip said:


> I obviously don't want to do anything unethical, is there any legal guidelines on this?


Legal guidelines don't really govern what is or isn't ethical behaviour. (What's so unethical about paying your rent?)

You could wire a year's rent directly to your landlord if they wanted to do that. Or you could wire a larger sum of money to your euro account and continue paying monthly. No difference between the two, really.

Assuming that you are already filing US tax returns and all that, there's no reason for you to go to great lengths to avoid FBAR reporting by keeping your euro bank balance under $10k.


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

Basically what Harry Moles said. What does your landlord say about the idea of your paying your rent a full year at a time? And if the exchange rate swings the other way, will s/he want you to continue paying up a full year at a time like that? I'd advise keeping it simple, which would be to just transfer the money to your Italian account and continue paying the rent the way you are doing now. (Your landlord may not wish to give you their personal bank account information like that.)


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## Moulard (Feb 3, 2017)

Personally, I would be paying my rent according to my lease agreement. If that was monthly, they I would pay the landlord (or their agent) monthly.

I have paid three months in advance once, as an enticement to an owner to choose to let a property to me over someone else but that I don't think I would ever consider paying an entire year in advance.

I would rather receive any interest paid on the funds, than give that it as a bonus to the owner


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## Harry Moles (11 mo ago)

If the OP thinks that the euro is at an all-time low, they can engage in currency speculation and move 5 years' rent over at once.


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## Mrtcpip (Feb 15, 2014)

Thank you all for your thoughts and advice! I really appreciate it..


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