Moving money from US to Canada

[bafonso]

I have some money invested in the market in the US, normal investing account. I'd like to bring that into a Canadian bank account to avoid the hassle of foreign assets/taxes. What would be the best way to move that money into Canada, just simple bank transfer/transferwise?

I also have a 403k that I do not know yet how to go about. Could I transfer it without incurring in penalties in the US?

I'm assuming I can transfer the money after I land and after I open a bank account, etc.

 

[steaky]

I have some money invested in the market in the US, normal investing account. I'd like to bring that into a Canadian bank account to avoid the hassle of foreign assets/taxes. What would be the best way to move that money into Canada, just simple bank transfer/transferwise?

I also have a 403k that I do not know yet how to go about. Could I transfer it without incurring in penalties in the US?

I'm assuming I can transfer the money after I land and after I open a bank account, etc.

You can also bring cash from US.

 

[bafonso]

You can also bring cash from US.

I didn't think the risk of carrying thousands of USD and then getting a poor exchange rate at a canadian bank was worth the trouble.

 

[barch88]

Best bet, open a US savings account, transfer funds into it. I have one with Scotiabank and it's free as long as I keep $200 USD in the account, or else I think it's like $1/month, super cheap. That way you retain your US dollar. Or keep the investments in the US market.

 

[NetMecca]

Transferring money between US and Canada is fairly simple. Several Canadian banks have the ability to open a US based account with the same or partner bank. Transfers between your accounts are then very simple. I would suggest that you speak to an accountant with experience in crossborder taxes. There may be some issues, if you are receiving moneys in the US while being a Canadian Resident.

 

[bafonso]

Best bet, open a US savings account, transfer funds into it. I have one with Scotiabank and it's free as long as I keep $200 USD in the account, or else I think it's like $1/month, super cheap. That way you retain your US dollar. Or keep the investments in the US market.

Seems like having a bank account with us investments would be the same as holding them in my current us account, not sure what benefit would that be for tax purposes. I guess I need to figure out if I care about keeping my investments in usd or switch them to cad. I have Schwab bank in us which is nice because they offer no fee ETFs, which I guess only td has something along those lines. I can also use my debit card anywhere in the world with no fees...

I was thinking of going with tangerine but they only have mutual like funds which have >1% fees.

USD accounts in Canada are nice if you want to hold that currency and have no account in a US bank. if you use the bank to convert to cad then they get their money back with their exchange rates. They're terrible when compared to transferwise for example. When moving my spouse money from her American td account we saved a lot of money not using their own internal USD->CAD which would have been the most obvious way.

Maybe I'll just keep my schwab account for now and deal with taxes..

 

[Officer Green]

If you have check from your US bank you can deposit your money by the check in Canadian Bank , and in USD if you don't want to lose the money in conversion. Whereas, by bank transfer, you will lose significant amount in conversion as you mentioned. Even you transfer USD to USD there is transfer charge.
I used all three options and check was the best. I lost a significant amount (more than 5k) by using first option (had I known the check option, I wouldn't have used the transfer option that I used when it was about 1.0 USD=1.10 or less exchange rate given by bank). Also the good thing is you even don't need to go to the US to start the transfer process as you can deposit the money when you want (it took about a week) in your account.

 

[bafonso]

If you have check from your US bank you can deposit your money by the check in Canadian Bank , and in USD if you don't want to lose the money in conversion. Whereas, by bank transfer, you will lose significant amount in conversion as you mentioned. Even you transfer USD to USD there is transfer charge.
I used all three options and check was the best. I lost a significant amount (more than 5k) by using first option (had I known the check option, I wouldn't have used the transfer option that I used when it was about 1.0 USD=1.10 or less exchange rate given by bank). Also the good thing is you even don't need to go to the US to start the transfer process as you can deposit the money when you want (it took about a week) in your account.

Thanks, that's an interesting option as I can always write my own check. Can you use the USD in ETFs with a Canadian bank? Aren't taxes a pain if so? you're trading foreign assets in a foreign currency..

 

[Officer Green]

Thanks, that's an interesting option as I can always write my own check. Can you use the USD in ETFs with a Canadian bank? Aren't taxes a pain if so? you're trading foreign assets in a foreign currency..

With TD it was no problem. I was not sure about the process at first and wrote a check of just few thousands. Once it was deposited I transferred rest by another check. It was like as if you were depositing local check. In my case I was paying taxes in Canada in my US income too so just transfer was not any issue. But if you are talking about any other associated tax, then there was nothing.

About income related tax issues, I don't know your case, if you moved just this year then should not be a problem. But if you moved before and declared that money (if it was required), still should be no problem. In my case they knew I was working there and reason of transfer was my personal income transfer into country of residence.

I suggest you to go to the bank and ask their advice in your case.