Moving Money from UK to OZ

[Coolbythepool]

Hi all - my wife & I have now got our visas to emigrate, hoorah!! We are coming to Oz in March to activate the visas and do a recy for a month as well as have a good holiday.....The first question we have is regarding moving money from the Uk to Oz. We have read various and what seem conflicting views which has confused us. When finally emigrating, can we not leave money/property back in the Uk without incurring large tax implications? Also the costs of moving money from the UK to Oz seem very expensive unless you move your money within 12 months of emigrating, is that true? Not wanting to sound too pesimistic, but if things do not work out, we do not want to be penalised in any way. I have spoken to my bank (HSBC) and they have confirmed charges are not too high, so what have you all done when moving your money between countries and what charges did you incur?

Thanks everyone.....

Neil & Michelle

[Bolton2Brisbane]

Hi,

We opened a new account with the HSBC and moved the proceeds from the sale of our house into a high savers account. We are not going to touch this for a good year just to ensure that we are doing the right thing in moving to OZ.

We will not be eligable for tax within the UK as we are classed as "non dom", basically this means that we will not be resident within the UK from April this year (new tax year) the bank will give you the form to fill in.

I'm not to sure on funds gained from property ie: if you still own one and are getting an income from this (rent). The only thing which you need to be mindful about is the current exchange rate. People are predicting that this will go down even further, but unfortunatley nobody in the world can predict what will happen.

If you have a considerable amout to change then this needs to be weighed up against what you would lose with the exchange rate and what you might gain in a high interest savings account within OZ.

Good luck....

[michele'n'michael]

Hi we're emmigrating to Oz March this year & as the rates sooooooooooo crappy at the mo' we've put most of the money from the sale of our house in a Barclays offshore acct cos we'were getting hammered for the tax on the interest!! I'm now watching the rates like a hawk to try to get the best deal for the remaining £40k. Even though the interest rates in Oz are good we'll still lose appx £5-8k due to the poor exchange rate & the weak £££.
Michele x

[Pinhead]

I use HIFX for my currency transfers. You get a much better rate than through a bank usually 0.5% from spot. If you transfer the money to them by BACS you won't incurr any fees whatsoever.
You do need a Oz bank account to transfer them into though.

I don't know where you got 'Also the costs of moving money from the UK to Oz seem very expensive unless you move your money within 12 months of emigrating'. The time you move it makes no difference as long as you set everything up right as a non resident (e.g bank interest paid gross).

Estate agents are required to deduct tax at the basic rate on rental income unless you get a certificate from the IR.

[darren_and_karen]

Don't forget as an aussie resident, you'll need to pay tax on foreign income, so say you've got £100k in UK, earning about £450 a month gross interest, you'll need to declare this in Aus and pay tax. Interest rates are higher in Aus, so you might make more money on a high interest savings account here? Just a thought. I know the exchange rate is rubbish, wish we'd moved our money with us back in Nov, so we're watching daily for it to get high enough to move over. We've used HIFX, no charge, good service, and the rate is much better than banks. eg, banks last week were 2.09, HIFX was 2.13. I know it doesn't seem much but on high amounts it does make $$$$ difference. Also check out Ozforex they sometimes offer more than HIFX.

[michele'n'michael]

We used UKforex & got a better rate than HIFX.Also we were able to place a limit order for 30k where HIFX minimum for a limit order was 50k.

[Sharon & Mike]

Anyone know about the other way around, transfers from Oz to UK as OH will have to do transfers until we are able to come out there later on in the year.

Thanks

Sharon

[michele'n'michael]

Originally Posted by Sharon & Mike

Anyone know about the other way around, transfers from Oz to UK as OH will have to do transfers until we are able to come out there later on in the year.

Thanks

Sharon

Do you not just phone up Ozforex(the Oz equivalent of UKforex) & get rates. At least the exchange will work in your favour at the mo!! They'll take you thro' what to do.
Good luck xx

[Pinhead]

Originally Posted by Sharon & Mike

Anyone know about the other way around, transfers from Oz to UK as OH will have to do transfers until we are able to come out there later on in the year.

Thanks

Sharon

Hifx have an office Sydney.

[Liam]

There are absolutely no restrictions on moving your money from Oz to the UK or Uk to OZ. The banks or exchange specialist companies like HIfx.com.au (speak to Hamish Thompson in the Sydney office) do have Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Terrorism Funding rules to work by and they require that they check your id and they ask the source of funds.

So unless you are a major drug dealer moving your ill gotten gains you can move as much as you want whenever you want.

regards

Liam