Tax on moving savings to Oz

[PondSkipper]

I'm an Australian citizen living in the UK. I'm planning to move back to Australia sometime in the next few years and would like to transfer my life savings in advance while the exchange rate is good. The money comes from a mix of earnings, inheritance and a house sale (all been taxed in the UK) and will go to an Australian bank account in my name.

Are there any tax implications in moving my money back to Australia so far in advance of returning myself?  Do I need to declare it somehow to the Australia tax office?

Also, am I less likely to trigger red flags if I move the money in lumps of less than $10,000 at a time, or does it not make any difference?

[Marisawright]

You won't be taxed on the transfers.  The big problem with moving money over to Australia is where to put it.  There is no equivalent to an ISA.  You're just going to have to put it in a term deposit or savings account, earning very little interest - and then, the interest it does earn will be taxed.  You'll be classed as a foreign investor so you'll be taxed on every dollar (foriegn investors don't get a tax-free threshold). 

[PondSkipper]

My Australian bank account doesn't give any interest, so that's one thing I don't have to worry about. Interest rates are so pitiful these days anyway, that I figure I have much more to gain from timing the transfers to take advantage of a favourable exchange rate.

[can1983]

5 hours ago, PondSkipper said:

My Australian bank account doesn't give any interest, so that's one thing I don't have to worry about. Interest rates are so pitiful these days anyway, that I figure I have much more to gain from timing the transfers to take advantage of a favourable exchange rate.

It's 1.90 now but its was 2.09 in March 2020.....

You can never be sure. In 2018 we moved everything we had at 1.80 to buy a house. A today's exchange rate we could have got $25,000 more (at 2020 rates $75k more) we look like idiots. For a year it really bothered me.

Except that the house we brought with it has gone up 35% in 3 years and even with that larger deposit we couldn't buy it at all now because the loan would have been too big.

Moral of the story is move money when you need it rather than trying to guess the market.

 

[PondSkipper]

5 hours ago, can1983 said:

Moral of the story is move money when you need it rather than trying to guess the market.

I'll probably be moving within a couple of years so the usual long term investments (ISAs, rental properties, etc) aren't as appealing. I'd rather not be stuck handling assets in another country. There are never any guarantees, but in my case, I think I am better off just grabbing a favourable exchange rate if/when one arises.

[Ken]

1 hour ago, PondSkipper said:

I'll probably be moving within a couple of years so the usual long term investments (ISAs, rental properties, etc) aren't as appealing. I'd rather not be stuck handling assets in another country. There are never any guarantees, but in my case, I think I am better off just grabbing a favourable exchange rate if/when one arises.

Since you aren't worried about interest rates you could just convert the money into AUD but keep it in the UK using one (or more) of the e-money institutions like Wise.

[PondSkipper]

9 minutes ago, Ken said:

Since you aren't worried about interest rates you could just convert the money into AUD but keep it in the UK using one (or more) of the e-money institutions like Wise.

I'm not sure I would trust Wise to hold large amounts over a sustained period as the funds wouldn't be government protected. An Australian currency account in the UK is certainly an option, but if there are no tax issues, I may as well use the Australian account I already have.