Transfering money from Canada to US
Moderator: Mark T Serbinski CA CPA
Transfering money from Canada to US
I am a dual Canadian-US citizen, residing in the US. I have sold my rental property in Canada, a couple of years ago. After reporting all capital gains taxes both in Canada and US, I was left with $150,000 US in cash, deposited in a Canadian US $ account. I would like now to transfer the money to the US. Is there a special procedure for doing so, or do I just write a check from the Canadian Bank, payable to myself, and deposit it to my bank account in the US? Are there any caveats I should be aware of? Your advice will be greatly appreciated.
If you write yourself a Cdn check and try to deposit it in an american bank account, expect to lose 2-3% on the excnage rate over current market, as well as wait weeks for the check to clear.
You would be better to convert the money into a US check up in canada and then deposit it.
Better yet would be to set up an exchange account (I have had good results with Custom House) and transfer the money from bank to bank.
http://customhouse.com/
It will take a couple of weeks to set up the mechanism, but this one time set up will be done.
By the way, don't forget to report the capital gain on the increase value of your Cdn money when you exchange it
For example, if you sold the house when the Cdn$ was 70 cents and now it is 86 cents, you have a reportable cap gain on your US return of 16 cent per dollar you exchange. on $150,000, that about $25,000 capital gain.
You would be better to convert the money into a US check up in canada and then deposit it.
Better yet would be to set up an exchange account (I have had good results with Custom House) and transfer the money from bank to bank.
http://customhouse.com/
It will take a couple of weeks to set up the mechanism, but this one time set up will be done.
By the way, don't forget to report the capital gain on the increase value of your Cdn money when you exchange it
For example, if you sold the house when the Cdn$ was 70 cents and now it is 86 cents, you have a reportable cap gain on your US return of 16 cent per dollar you exchange. on $150,000, that about $25,000 capital gain.
After 20 years, I am severely cutting back on responses. Do not ask specifically for my help. There are a few others on this board that can answer most questions. All the best
Oops, didn't noticce that the account was in US$. 
Forget the exchange rate and forget the capital gains. Just write yourself a check. make sure it is payable to YOU. This will meet any regulatory requirements.
However, you did lose quite a bit of money keeping it in US$ over the past couple of years (and there is no capital loss you can clim claim either
).
Forget the exchange rate and forget the capital gains. Just write yourself a check. make sure it is payable to YOU. This will meet any regulatory requirements.
However, you did lose quite a bit of money keeping it in US$ over the past couple of years (and there is no capital loss you can clim claim either
).After 20 years, I am severely cutting back on responses. Do not ask specifically for my help. There are a few others on this board that can answer most questions. All the best
Yes, you should have reported a capital gain on the exchange in 2005. Schedule D.
The regulatory issues are with regards to anti-money-laundering measures. Since the check is made out specifically to you, it will not be viewed as cash
The regulatory issues are with regards to anti-money-laundering measures. Since the check is made out specifically to you, it will not be viewed as cash
After 20 years, I am severely cutting back on responses. Do not ask specifically for my help. There are a few others on this board that can answer most questions. All the best