Selling flat and moving to USA

[Brother D]

Its likely I will be permanently moving to the USA... Does anyone know the basics involved regarding selling a flat in the UK and moving the funds to the US? I know there will be the obvious capital gains on the sale, but surely you can't just transfer a couple of hundred K to the USA can you?

Also I was considering buying a small place in the UK without a mortgage from the sale of the flat, but would that be a headache with the US tax system?

And if anyone has any recommendations on an international tax accountant that would be appreciated...

Thanks in advance

[anonymous-user]

I use(d) KPMG for balancing both my UK and DE tax, simple system that allows you to just upload / complete online.

But obviously we have a dual taxation agreement, not sure how it works with the US.

Yes of course you can just send money about, whatever amount you have is tiny in comparison to the amounts somepeople are sending back and forth everyday.

A friend of mine regularly moves money between the US and Poland, no issues.

[Shnozz]

I'd be interested for recommendations on the money transfer side. I have been using transferwise so far and keen to know if their rates can be beaten. Having viewed several other companies in the field I am yet to find one that can match transferwise.

[marky1]

No capital gains if it's your primary residence? Also why would you want to change your gbp to usd just because you are moving? Why not leave it in your U.K. account and open a dollar account in the USA. As and when you need money then use transfer wise to convert small amounts of gbp to usd and send?

[anonymous-user]

Brother D said:

surely you can't just transfer a couple of hundred K to the USA can you?

Yes, you can. It's only cash they get touchy about if you turn up with more than $10,000. I guess it's simply money laundering issues and making sure transactions can be traced. Clearly an electronic transfer is eminently traceable.

Whatever you do make sure you're fully registered for US tax with the IRS. When you sell a US property they apply a % "witholding tax" to the proceeds of sale (not your gain, if any, but the whole proceeds of sale). You'll never see that money again unless you're properly registered for US taxes in which case you can reclaim it.

IMO being in the tax system of two countries at once is a right PITA. Unless you're seriously wealthy I'd make a firm decision one way or the other if I were you.

[Saleen836]

rockin said:

IMO being in the tax system of two countries at once is a right PITA. Unless you're seriously wealthy I'd make a firm decision one way or the other if I were you.

I'm in the tax system for the US and here and never had any problems, I pay a US accountant less than $500 a year to file for me

[The Moose]

Saleen836 said:

rockin said:

IMO being in the tax system of two countries at once is a right PITA. Unless you're seriously wealthy I'd make a firm decision one way or the other if I were you.

I'm in the tax system for the US and here and never had any problems, I pay a US accountant less than $500 a year to file for me

I’m in both. It’s not too bad.

All US citizens who aren’t resident in the US are also in 2 tax systems.

Transfer wise has been the cheapest I can find for moving money around. Unless you need the $, I wouldn’t move it from £ yet...but that’s just me.

If you sell before leaving the UK, I believe the CGT you pay will be less (I.e. nothing in the us)

Edited by The Moose on Saturday 4th August 18:02

[JonLock]

Shnozz said:

I'd be interested for recommendations on the money transfer side. I have been using transferwise so far and keen to know if their rates can be beaten. Having viewed several other companies in the field I am yet to find one that can match transferwise.

Drop me a DM, I can help for sure