money transfer from Italy to the UK

ViTTo

Hello,

I need to transfer into my UK bank account the income from a sale of my house in Italy. Could you adivse on the cheapest way to do this? Specifically, I guess my main concern is about how can I get the best exchange rate, and reduce the fees (e.g., should I get a bankers check from Italy, or a bank transfer, or just a check on my name?).

I have tried to search through previous eamails, but did not manage to get a clear answer so I thought I would ask.

Thank you for your help!

Vittorio

Cook_County

You will need to bear in mind that remitting money to the UK may give rise to a UK tax bill, so may have to be reported to the UK tax authorities. I suggest you take advice on your UK tax position before moving money here.

ViTTo

thank you, I am not concerned about tax, as I have already paid taxes back home on this, but I suppose it is wise to double check.

silvercar

Natwest charges me £7 to receive a payment by direct bank transfer. I should warn you that money takes ages to arrive from Italy; seems always to travel via other countries and usually arrives at least 2 days after the supposed "value date".

There was a large thread on the cheapest way of exchanging Euros, it may be worth you searching for it. Another option may be to open a Euro account here, then you can change the money as and when you need it.

THRIFTY1_3

Hi Vitto

There are heaps of money transfer companies to be found online, personally I use https://www.Justeuros.co.uk for receiving in and sending out foreign currency. I get charged an admin fee for sendin abroad (£15-00 up to £10-000 value, no fee thereafter, but when receiving money I incur no charge!! I have to say so far their all round service has been spot on!!

The conversion rate they offer is the best I'm yet to find (I shop about quite a bit) and upon receipt of the currency, they convert it and credit my UK bank account on the same day.

As pointed out in earlier posts, there is a delay between value dates quoted by transmitting banks when transferring foreign currency (the value date quoted is usually the date at which the central receiving bank will take possession of the funds, it is then down to them to administer credit to the designated customer bank account).

It may be worth opening a euro account as suggested earlier, although you should bear in mind that the exchange rate will be a lot lower than if you convert a large amount in one hit. Banks will offer lower exchange rates than the more bespoke currency transfer businesses. The other thing to think about is that the exchange rate in general may drop over time, de-valuing your initial amount (though you may of course get lucky - it could head up in your favour).

Well I hope the above is of some help, personally I suggest checkin online for a few of the transfer businesses out there, I bet they are better than any of the banks!! Shop about and get a genuine quote not the interbank rates quoted on many sites, email for or give them a call for a true indication as to what you'll get for your money!!

Good luck

Cook_County

I do not understand your comment. You are - from what you have said - not domiciled in the UK. Therefore remitting income or gains to the UK will automatically make such income or gains liable to UK tax, so it MUST be declared on your UK tax return. Why do you think paying Italian tax exempts you from having to declare the income or gains for UK tax?

I HATE to sound so rude, but many people imagine - wrongly - that keeping money outside the UK exempts it from tax, or that HMRC will never find out about the tax position when it gets brought here. Living from money that arises as a result of failure to pay tax is a criminal offence. It is almost certain that what you are proposing will need to be declared by YOU for UK tax. Therefore you would want and need UK tax advice before you remit money here. That does not mean that any UK tax will necessarily be payable, as that depends on the facts and circumstances.

ViTTo

thank you cook county, you do not sound rude, and thanks for your email.

Let me clarify: I AM domiciled in the UK. In order to keep it simple, I mention in my email that the money comes from the sale of a propoerty in italy. In reality, it comes from the natural expiration of a life insurance policy that I started 15 years ago. The money that the insurance will relase is already net of taxes on capital gains. So this is money that I have saved (hence coming from my net salary), and which are net of the 12.5% taxes on any gains on the capital. I do not see how I could be taxed again on this, but I suppose I will contact a tax adviser to double check.

Thank you,

Vittorio

ViTTo

thank you thrifty1, i will contact them and follow your advise. As you say, on key aspect is the anticipated direction of exchange rates in the next year or so...what is your view, and what sources would you recommend to form a more informed opinion on this matter?

thanks again,

Vittorio

THRIFTY1_3

Hello again Vittorio, to be honest I'd hate to speculate as to how the rates are going to move in the future (it's all a bit of a gamble) and I'm certainly not going to speculate in fear of you comin back to me if it goes against my advice Hehe!! Jokin apart, you may wish to seek advice professionally if you're in no hurry to convert your currency, this will no doubt come at a cost though!!

As an alternative, you may wish to think about booking a Forward purchase of Sterling in exchange for your Euros. Apologies if you know what I mean by this, but just to explain; I mean you can book a rate of exchange now, to be exchanged at a later date specified by you. Again there is the risk that the rate at the time of exchange is better than the one booked, fingers crossed you'll get lucky though!!!!

All the best with your transfer.