Best time for moving savings from overseas to the UK

TheSpectator

TheGreenFrog said:

dan_first_time_buyer said:

Hi.

I am about my move my residency from Italy back to the UK in the next few days (beginning of May).

I'd like to move my savings from my Italian bank to my UK bank because of a better interest rate. The savings are in the order of the tens of thousands.

My question is: should I do this transfer while I'm still an Italian resident or once I become a UK resident? Are there advantages to do one way over the other one, or there is no difference at all?

I'd like to avoid any potential "fiscal headache" (e.g. having to prove the savings have already been taxed, etc...) as I'm moving a chunk of money. I would use a service like Wise.com (to save on exchange rate) so that would add another layer of complexity.

Has anyone an opinion on this please?

Thanks,
Dan

I agree with @wmb194.  It doesn't matter.  Plenty of expats working abroad maintain a UK account without telling the bank they are living abroad (as the bank would likely close the account).  And plenty of expats freely transfer money earned whilst working abroad to their UK accounts both whilst resident and after moving back to the UK.

I think 'tens of thousands' is a slightly different matter as far as the bank is concerned.

subjecttocontract

I think your main consideration is 'when' in terms of exchange rates rather than anything else.

TheGreenFrog

TheSpectator said:

I think 'tens of thousands' is a slightly different matter as far as the bank is concerned.

Maybe, but I doubt it would prevent the transfer of funds. If for whatever reason a deposit triggers an AML flag I think the usual response by the bank is to freeze withdrawals until they have completed whatever additional checks they need to do.

Hoenir

dan_first_time_buyer said:

TheSpectator said:

Not sure why you think HMRC would have any interest.

Because HMRC may think that money is earnings and therefore I should pay tax on it, but then they don't find the tax being paid on it.

Thought you had informed them that you were non-resident.  Is there something more to this tale ? 

dan_first_time_buyer

Hoenir said:

dan_first_time_buyer said:

TheSpectator said:

Not sure why you think HMRC would have any interest.

Because HMRC may think that money is earnings and therefore I should pay tax on it, but then they don't find the tax being paid on it.

Thought you had informed them that you were non-resident.  Is there something more to this tale ? 

Yes, you are correct. No, there isn't more to it.
It's a good point that should reassure me.

dan_first_time_buyer

Thanks to all the people helping out, I feel I may be getting somewhere: it doesn't really matter if I transfer the money before or after moving back to the UK, but it'd be advisable to do it as close as possible to that date, so that the transfer is clearly linked to my bringing back money earned while abroad.
It'd probably be more suspicious if I were to transfer that money, say, after a couple of years, as it may look like  either earnings made abroad while being a UK resident (that should be therefore be taxed in the UK) or some money-laundering activities.

What people think of this thought?

Eco_Miser

dan_first_time_buyer said:

TheSpectator said:

Not sure why you think HMRC would have any interest.

Because HMRC may think that money is earnings and therefore I should pay tax on it, but then they don't find the tax being paid on it.

Especially given that the transfer will not come directly from my Italian bank account but from Wise.com (a middleman that allows me to save on currency exchange).

HMRC may think that Wise.com is paying me for some work I did for them as a freelancer (for example) and it expects me to pay tax on it.

Am I right this could happen?

Are HMRC really likely to think that a payment from an institution whose purpose is moving money around is actually a payment for services rendered, rather than a run-of-the-mill international transfer?

subjecttocontract

I worked in Europe for a few years and was able to transfer a large sum to my Lloyds account in the UK. I contacted them and told them to expect a large deposit from my overseas bank. I had no problem.

dan_first_time_buyer

subjecttocontract said:

I worked in Europe for a few years and was able to transfer a large sum to my Lloyds account in the UK. I contacted them and told them to expect a large deposit from my overseas bank. I had no problem.

Thanks a lot for sharing your experience!

Could you remember if you make the transfer before or after your move?

dan_first_time_buyer

subjecttocontract said:

I worked in Europe for a few years and was able to transfer a large sum to my Lloyds account in the UK. I contacted them and told them to expect a large deposit from my overseas bank. I had no problem.

Did you use Wise (or a similar service) or did you do a direct transfer from your European bank to the UK one?