Best way to transfer Money from Canada to the USA?

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mel99
Posts: 6
Joined: Fri Jan 12, 2018 10:30 am

Best way to transfer Money from Canada to the USA?

Post by mel99 »

My dad, solely a Canadian Citizen & Resident.....I am a Cdn citizen but NOT a resident...I reside in the USA as a USA citizen & resident. He wants to gift me some $$$$$.....I realize I will just need to declare this on my USA taxes using form IRS 3520. But what is the best way for him to transfer the $$$$. Simply wire it from is Cdn bank to my USA bank? Ty
nelsona
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Re: Best way to transfer Money from Canada to the USA?

Post by nelsona »

There are various ways through exchange companies, but the key is converting the money into US first, then transferring USD to a US bank, don’t bring down C$.
nelsona non grata. Non pro. Please Search previous posts, no situation is unique as you might think. Happy Browsing :D
mel99
Posts: 6
Joined: Fri Jan 12, 2018 10:30 am

Re: Best way to transfer Money from Canada to the USA?

Post by mel99 »

hard to figure out which ones are reputable....years ago..customhouse out of Victoria BC was pretty decent....then they got bought out by Western Union!!
nelsona
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Re: Best way to transfer Money from Canada to the USA?

Post by nelsona »

Yeah, WU sucks.
I’ve used MTFX with good results
nelsona non grata. Non pro. Please Search previous posts, no situation is unique as you might think. Happy Browsing :D
beaconhill
Posts: 30
Joined: Sat Oct 25, 2014 10:42 am

Re: Best way to transfer Money from Canada to the USA?

Post by beaconhill »

I use Norbert's Gambit:
Purchase a non-volatile, conservative stock that trades on both major Canadian and US stock exchanges (I use TD Bank).
Immediately journal the shares to hold them in the currency you want to end up with.
Then immediately sell them.
You've effectively exchanged money commission-free, the only fee being what you pay for 2 trades. With your broker on the phone setting it up, it can all take place within a minute.
nelsona
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Re: Best way to transfer Money from Canada to the USA?

Post by nelsona »

This is a known tactic, but does this work for US residents, like our poster?

Since typically US brokerages won't trade on Cdn markets (?), and US residents cannot have a Cdn broker. So the father would need to do this method, which is pretty sophisticated
nelsona non grata. Non pro. Please Search previous posts, no situation is unique as you might think. Happy Browsing :D
gordito
Posts: 22
Joined: Thu Apr 09, 2015 2:37 pm

Re: Best way to transfer Money from Canada to the USA?

Post by gordito »

How much money are we talking about here? The suggested way is valid and people use if you can get all pieces in place. I've moved some of my own money from US to Canada using transferwise and also from europe (family) to canada the same way. Trustworthy, just make a small exchange first to make sure you have all the information correct for destination accounts.
cbstewar
Posts: 9
Joined: Sun Nov 13, 2016 9:59 am

Re: Best way to transfer Money from Canada to the USA?

Post by cbstewar »

We live in the US and need to periodically transfer funds for our daughter's living and education expenses in Canada. We have used Transferwise as a way to limit the FX cost. It has worked well for us. There are other online services that provide the equivalent function. Just my $0.02.
MaggieA
Posts: 150
Joined: Sun Oct 31, 2004 4:06 pm

Re: Best way to transfer Money from Canada to the USA?

Post by MaggieA »

I've used OFX (formerly CanadianForex) and have been satisfied. My daughter, currently at grad school in Europe, uses TransferWise. I recently compared the two for some transaction I was considering, and was slightly surprised that OFX was actually a bit cheaper. I've heard Knightsbridge is OK too. All these outfits, and no doubt others, are pretty straightforward to use and save you money over using your bank to make the transfer. Allow at least a couple of days for getting the account opened because they'll need to review some ID from you (passport, etc.)
cnytax
Posts: 51
Joined: Sat Jul 16, 2011 11:28 am

Re: Best way to transfer Money from Canada to the USA?

Post by cnytax »

Hi,

I'm a US resident who is planning to open an account with MTFX in order to periodically transfer payments
from my Canadian RRIF into a US checking account.

MTFX are asking for copies of 1) Canadian passport, 2) US drivers license, 3) Canadian checking account statement and
4) Copy of a US utilities bill.

I take it that this is the normal amount of documentation required to be submitted?
nelsona
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Re: Best way to transfer Money from Canada to the USA?

Post by nelsona »

Yes. Pretty much what I had to supply.
nelsona non grata. Non pro. Please Search previous posts, no situation is unique as you might think. Happy Browsing :D
cnytax
Posts: 51
Joined: Sat Jul 16, 2011 11:28 am

Re: Best way to transfer Money from Canada to the USA?

Post by cnytax »

Thank you.
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