Cash Platform

[Island]

Hi, we are Australian citizens but have been resident in the UK for the last 3 years. I have 2 questions!

I still have an AU bank account.

We are returning to live in australia in the next few years and would like to transfer some funds to a high interest cash platform now as the exchange rate seems pretty good. In the UK we use Insignis. Just wondering if anyone knows of a similar platform in Australia? 

Any problem with doing this from overseas? 

Second question, can you recommend a company that gives brilliant advice regarding tax implications of selling property whilst living overseas vs when we are back...

Thanks for any advice.

[paulhand]

4 hours ago, Island said:

Second question, can you recommend a company that gives brilliant advice regarding tax implications of selling property whilst living overseas vs when we are back...

Try @Alan Collett

[Andrew from Vista Financial]

Hi

There is one that I use for my clients/SMSF's and can be operated by individuals directly: https://moneymarket.com.au/

They are pretty good for Term Deposits but a bit limited for their At Call Accounts menu, also not too sure if it can be open whilst living overseas.

Good luck.

Edited March 5, 2024 by Andrew from Vista Financial

[InnerVoice]

21 hours ago, Island said:

We are returning to live in australia in the next few years and would like to transfer some funds to a high interest cash platform now as the exchange rate seems pretty good. In the UK we use Insignis. Just wondering if anyone knows of a similar platform in Australia?

If you can open an account with UBank you can currently get 5.1% interest on your savings, just as long as you continue to deposit $200+ per month.

https://www.ubank.com.au/banking/savings-account

Wise (formerly TransferWise) offer very good rates for currency exchange.

As a foreign resident you'll pay at least 32.5% tax on any income generated in Australian, so bear that in mind as it might well make what you're thinking of doing unviable.

[Marisawright]

30 minutes ago, InnerVoice said:

As a foreign resident you'll pay at least 32.5% tax on any income generated in Australian, so bear that in mind as it might well make what you're thinking of doing unviable.

However if interest on a savings/investment account is the only income you've got, the financial institution will just deduct 10% tax at source and that's all the tax you'll have to pay.  Unless something has changed recently. 

I'm not aware of anything like Insignis in the Australian market.  There are several banks that offer high interest savings accounts, but as a foreign resident, I doubt they will let you open an account.  

Property is another thing entirely and if you get it wrong, the tax payable can be very high.  

Edited March 6, 2024 by Marisawright

[InnerVoice]

27 minutes ago, Marisawright said:

However if interest on a savings/investment account is the only income you've got, the financial institution will just deduct 10% tax at source and that's all the tax you'll have to pay.  Unless something has changed recently.

Yes indeed, thanks for pointing that out. Non-residents will have 10% of any interest earned from Australian bank accounts withheld for tax, but a non-resident will need to provide an overseas address otherwise tax will be withheld at their top marginal rate.

[Island]

Thanks for this - do you mean if that interest is my only worldwide income (i have a job in the UK) or do you mean if that interest is the only income i make in australia? Thanks Jess

[Marisawright]

10 hours ago, Island said:

Thanks for this - do you mean if that interest is my only worldwide income (i have a job in the UK) or do you mean if that interest is the only income i make in australia? Thanks Jess

If interest is the only income you make in Australia.   You must make sure the financial institution has your overseas address.

Like I said, the big difficulty is that I doubt an Australian bank will let you open an account.  I don't even know if your existing bank will allow you to open another account.  I'd check that out first.

[Steve Elliott]

From my experience of 20 years with one of the major banks, I suspect you will find it next to impossible to open an account here in Australia unless you are physically onshore at the time.

This is mostly due to the Anti Money Laundering/Counter terrorism laws by which the banks have to abide. So to be clear, this is not the banks being difficult, it's them having to abide by the law. 

I would suggest maybe a quick whistle stop holiday back in AUS, so you can open up an account in person. 

It might be worth considering Macquarie's accelerator account which is linked to a standard CMA. 

Good luck

[Marisawright]

9 minutes ago, Steve Elliott said:

 I suspect you will find it next to impossible to open an account here in Australia unless you are physically onshore at the time....This is mostly due to the Anti Money Laundering/Counter terrorism laws

I would suggest maybe a quick whistle stop holiday back in AUS, so you can open up an account in person. 

But would that do the trick, I wonder?  Surely he'll still need proof of an Australian residential address?    And then he's in a Catch-22, because if he pretends to be resident in Australia to open the account, he can't then benefit from the 10% tax rate. 

[Steve Elliott]

Having e-read this, have you explored the options with your existing bank? - Yes the proof of local address might be a problem. Otherwise, explore the options of holding funds in $AUD in a UK account. Otherwise, I suspect we might be entering the "Cindarella Zone" where no matter how hard you try, the slipper ain't going to fit without some potential negative consequence.  

[InnerVoice]

14 hours ago, Island said:

Thanks for this - do you mean if that interest is my only worldwide income (i have a job in the UK) or do you mean if that interest is the only income i make in australia? Thanks Jess

As long as your Australian account is registered to an overseas address, you'll only have to pay the ATO 10% tax on any interest earned. However, as a UK tax resident that income stream is also taxable in the UK, but because Australia and the UK have a DTA you shouldn't pay tax more than once on the same income.

In the UK you're entitled to a Personal Savings Allowance (PSA) of £1,000, so you won't pay any additional tax in the UK if your Australian-earned interest is lower than that amount. However, once you exceed the PSA you'll pay tax 20% if you're a basic rate taxpayer, or 40% if you're a higher rate taxpayer, so if your Australian-earned interest exceeds £1,000, you're going to have to pay the HMRC the difference - an additional 10% if you're a BRT, or 30% if you're a HRT. Hope that makes sense.

[Island]

Thank you so much for all your advice - decision made, will be keeping savings here in UK and just hope that in two years we are lucky with exchange rates. Now just need to decide whether to save on cash platform such as insignis or ask an FA to put funds in government gilt bond for two years. Anyone have an opinion on this?

[Guest]

16 hours ago, Steve Elliott said:

From my experience of 20 years with one of the major banks, I suspect you will find it next to impossible to open an account here in Australia unless you are physically onshore at the time.

This is mostly due to the Anti Money Laundering/Counter terrorism laws by which the banks have to abide. So to be clear, this is not the banks being difficult, it's them having to abide by the law. 

I would suggest maybe a quick whistle stop holiday back in AUS, so you can open up an account in person. 

It might be worth considering Macquarie's accelerator account which is linked to a standard CMA. 

Good luck

You  can open an account with HSBC from the UK if you want to. After that it's 2 clicks on the app to open a savings account. Pays 4.25% with the bonus which isn't great but it is accessible.

Edited March 7, 2024 by bluequay
More info

[Steve Elliott]

11 hours ago, Island said:

Thank you so much for all your advice - decision made, will be keeping savings here in UK and just hope that in two years we are lucky with exchange rates. Now just need to decide whether to save on cash platform such as insignis or ask an FA to put funds in government gilt bond for two years. Anyone have an opinion on this?

Or an $A denominated account could be a consideration. It really depends on whether you want to hedge the GBPAUD or are happy to take on the exchange rate risk. Bear in mind also that gilts can fall as well as rise in value.

[MuratGloris]

On 05/03/2024 at 13:55, Island said:

Hi, we are Australian citizens but have been resident in the UK for the last 3 years. I have 2 questions!

I still have an AU bank account.

We are returning to live in australia in the next few years and would like to transfer some funds to a high interest cash platform now as the exchange rate seems pretty good. In the UK we use Insignis. Just wondering if anyone knows of a similar platform in Australia? 

Any problem with doing this from overseas? 

Second question, can you recommend a company that gives brilliant advice regarding tax implications of selling property whilst living overseas vs when we are back...

Thanks for any advice.

Regarding problems with transferring funds across borders, this may depend on bank policies and regulations.

[MuratGloris]

On 05/03/2024 at 13:55, Island said:

Hi, we are Australian citizens but have been resident in the UK for the last 3 years. I have 2 questions!

I still have an AU bank account.

We are returning to live in australia in the next few years and would like to transfer some funds to a high interest cash platform now as the exchange rate seems pretty good. In the UK we use Insignis. Just wondering if anyone knows of a similar platform in Australia? 

Any problem with doing this from overseas? 

Second question, can you recommend a company that gives brilliant advice regarding tax implications of selling property whilst living overseas vs when we are back...

Thanks for any advice. I recommend contacting tax consultants or agents who specialize in tax issues for citizens living abroad. It's a difficult situation here. In order to avoid such problems related to money, I began to be interested in casinorocket.com, I use casino rocket no deposit bonus for this. There may be many platforms, I understand that it is still difficult for you. Just surf the forums and ask people.

I already looked at the answers, I also chose a couple of platforms for myself, thanks

Edited April 13, 2024 by MuratGloris