Transfer money from my foreign bank account to US bank account

[Vadim-D-]

I would like to transfer my savings from my foreign bank account into my US saving bank account. Is there anything I need to report to IRS regarding this wire transfer? Are there any taxes I should pay for transferring my own money from overseas bank to US?

[DoninGA]

Bank transfers from your personal foreign bank account to your personal US bank account are not reported on a federal tax return.

[jezhill]

I read somewhere that any payment above a certain amount into your account will trigger the bank to report it to the IRS. Presumably that might trigger the IRS to investigate?  If so, is there a way to show, at the time of the transfer, that it's the same person's money, to forestall/minimize any hassle from this?

[paymentzweb]

If you receive more tha. $10k per year in your foreign account you need to report to IRS . Now if for example you send money from US to U.K. And later you re send money from your bank account to USA again you don't need to report or if you deposit personal money , but if you receive money from X job or customer yes you need to pay taxes and report .

[frutilla1]

What if is money for an X job but will not be more than 10k a year? Do I still have to report?

[xmasbaby0]

@frutilla1 You have posted to a very old thread.  Please start your own new question.

[DoninGA]

If you are a US citizen or US resident you must report all of your gross earned and unearned income, US or Foreign, on a federal tax return.
This original post concerned transferring funds from one bank account to another.  That transfer is NOT income so is not reported on a tax return.  
Banks and businesses are required to submit a form to the IRS within 15 days after a large transaction. If a bank receives more than $10,000 in a single deposit, they are required by law to notify the government. In addition, they must report: Withdrawals of $10,000 or more.

[Jeeper]

I have received money from a foreign bank wired over to my US bank account. What form would I need to file. This account over seas was in my name and transferred to a account in my name.

 In your answer you state you do not have to file.  Won't the amount transferred be considered income?

Thanks!

[DoninGA]

---

@Jeeper wrote:

I have received money from a foreign bank wired over to my US bank account. What form would I need to file. This account over seas was in my name and transferred to a account in my name.

 In your answer you state you do not have to file.  Won't the amount transferred be considered income?

Thanks!

---

As stated in the answer to the Original Poster's question - 

Bank transfers from your personal foreign bank account to your personal US bank account are not reported on a federal tax return.

A transfer of funds from your personal bank account to your personal bank account is Not income.  It is no different then transferring funds from your savings account to your checking account.

[Carl]

I read somewhere that any payment above a certain amount into your account will trigger the bank to report it to the IRS.

Actually, wire transfers from/to a foreign country are reported by the bank to the Treasury Department. Ths IRS is but one division of the Treasury department. U.S. banks are required by law to report foreign transfers exceeding $10K. Since you are transferring from *YOUR* foreign bank account to *YOUR* U.S. bank account, this has ***NOTHING*** to do with your taxes in any way, shape or form.

[Carl]

I read somewhere that any payment above a certain amount into your account will trigger the bank to report it to the IRS.

Acutally, if a transfer to/from a foreign bank is more than $10K, the bank is required by law to report it to the Treasury Department. The IRS is but one division of many, of the Treasury Department. Since this transfer was from your "personal" foreign bank acocunt to your "personal" U.S. bank account, it has no effect on your taxes in any way, shape or form. Unless of course, the income being transferred was not included on your 2018 or a prior year's tax return(s) if that money was obtained by you "AFTER" you were required to report all of your world wide income to the IRS.

[BeartOvi]

What about if the transfer is from a foreign bank account (not yours), to your personal account in the US, and is not wages or payment from any work?

I lived in a foreign country until 2011. I used to contribute to a private pension fund there (similar to 401k but not the same). That very same year, I moved to the US, so I stopped any contributions to this account.

The account kept earning interest (without anymore contributions) until 2019, year in which they gave me the option to withdraw the funds and transfer them to my personal account (according to the laws of that country, I was eligible to do so, as I stopped living there for more then five years). 

Actually, the only option they gave me was a transfer to a personal account under my name.

If I have had a personal account in that country, they would have made the transfer to that account, and I would have made the transfer from my personal foreign account to my account in the US. However, as I didn't have any, they gave me the choice of transferring the money directly to my US account, which I did.

Does this count as a personal transfer? The amount is less than $10,000, so not quite sure if this should be included in the return... (it's my understanding that personal transfers under that amount are not supposed to be reported?). Also I'm not even retired, less than 45 years old. What would be the procedure here? 

Thanks!

[ThomasM125]

The transfer would not be taxable so it wound not have to be reported on your income tax return. However, you mentioned that there was interest added to the balance, and that should be reported. You should have reported the interest yearly as is was earned.

However, if you did not report the interest income in the past, you should at the very least report the full amount on your current year income tax return.

[BeartOvi]

Thanks so much!

I didn't report this as the account was always under $10,000 (so whenever I filed, all the softwares I used never requested a report on this). Also I never had real possession of the account, I mean, I never had the control of the account. I didn't even known there was a chance of withdrawing the funds until last year (to me, this was money that I was never going to see, or at least not until 65). 

Is the procedure still the same? 

[SusanY1]

Yes, the procedures are the same.  Foreign accounts that you own (just own) must be reported, HERE, annually if at any point during the year the aggregate amount of foreign assets that you have in accounts is $10,000 or more.  This includes accounts in your sole name, your joint name, or in which you have any authority (you can sign for.)  

This is an information report only, it does not have a tax and it has nothing to do with income.  It is just a report if you have foreign assets.  A transfer from one foreign bank account to another foreign bank account, when values exceed $10,000 USD equivalent, would mean you have 2 accounts to report for that calendar year - but you have not created any income in moving money between accounts.  

Withdrawing money from your own account or transferring to a different it does not trigger any income or income tax reporting.  

@BeartOvi