฿65K Visa Requirement - Best Method To Transfer Money

[gentlemanjackdarby]

5 hours ago, skatewash said:

I moved from Maryland to Florida for just this purpose before leaving for Thailand.  I did all the usual things, moved registration of my vehicle, driver's license, voter registration, library cards, banking, and filed final partial-year state income tax, etc.  The one extra step I took was to file a declaration of domicile at the county courthouse in Florida in case I ever got a request for continued state income tax filings from Maryland.  Nothing proves you don't live in a former state like proof that you do live in another state.  If I had left for Thailand from Maryland I believe it would have been much harder to prove that if necessary.  Never heard from Maryland again.  Still glad I did all that just for the peace of mind even if

all of it wasn't necessary.  

 

Some bonus considerations beyond the obvious state income tax one:  you essentially get to choose which state you would like to vote in (and continue to vote in after you leave the US) -- you have a chance to pick a perpetual battleground state like Florida rather than an essentially one-party state like Maryland.  Moving to a new state allows you to get a fresh US driver's license and I believe the one in Florida allows you to renew it completely online one time.  A good way of keeping your US driver's license alive longer.

You did all the right things and laid it out very well.

 

I would add a couple of things that can be done to make one's case even more airtight:

 

It's always a good idea, when one moves to a new state, to have a will, living will, and a durable power-of-attorney for healthcare and for financial affairs drawn up by an attorney in the new state - the new wills and power-of-attorneys make any of those from the old state(s) null-and-void and they bolster one's case that the new state is the state of one's residence and possibly (usually) legal domicile

 

Some states have a declaration form, usually filed with the state department of taxation, in which a taxpayer who has moved out of state essentially states that he is no longer a resident of the old state and no longer has a tax liability - it serves to put the old state 'on notice'.

 

And one other thing that a lot of folks overlook - 'legal domicile' and 'residence' are two very different things and folks get tripped up on that.

 

It's possible to have more than one residence, but one can have only one legal domicile

 

As far as individual state income taxes go, residence is the factor that makes the most difference most of the time and it's quite possible and somewhat common for some folks to owe income tax in more than one state because, from tax perspective, they maintain residences in each.

 

For those with an interest, I recommend reading 'The Money: The Battle for Howard Hughes Billions' by James R Phelen ISBN: 0-394-55637-2 (Not currently on Kindle) - it illustrates, just with bigger numbers than any of us mere mortals will ever see, just what happens when people don't understand the differences between legal domicile and residence and more importantly, don't keep them straight.

 

And yeah, Florida is great for drivers licenses - they're good for eight years and can be renewed once online, so after getting one the first time, one doesn't have to go back to the DMV for 16 years.

 

[AAArdvark]

8 hours ago, gentlemanjackdarby said:

Some states with an individual income tax go to much greater lengths to hold on to their taxpayers than do others - California, New York, New Jersey, and Illinois are the worst that spring to mind.

 

California was the worst for me.  I lived and worked in Germany for years.  At the time, I had never even been to California.  My boss lived in California.  Every year I received a letter from California asking me to prove that I don't own them taxes.  Is't not easy to prove a negative.

Edited February 10, 2019 by AAArdvark
typo

[Thomas J]

9 hours ago, gentlemanjackdarby said:

Some states with an individual income tax go to much greater lengths to hold on to their taxpayers than do others - California, New York, New Jersey, and Illinois are the worst that spring to mind.

I am no expert on taxes but was a resident of Michigan a state that has a personal income tax.  They required that taxes be paid on income earned in the state.  So if potentially I was working in Tennessee for a portion of a year, only that portion of my annual compensation earned while working in Michigan was taxable.  In terms of dividend and interest income again only that percentage earned while I was domiciled in the state.  Even if I continued to have property in Michigan after moving to another state, it would not require me to file.  If I visited Michigan hypothetically in the summer, I was not a resident, I was a tourist.  I can not fathom a situation that having a permanent residence in another state, another state's drivers license, voter registration, car and home insurance and potentially paying the other state's taxes would not provide sufficient evidence.  Then again, we are talking about governments. 

[gentlemanjackdarby]

5 hours ago, Thomas J said:

I am no expert on taxes but was a resident of Michigan a state that has a personal income tax.  They required that taxes be paid on income earned in the state.  So if potentially I was working in Tennessee for a portion of a year, only that portion of my annual compensation earned while working in Michigan was taxable.  In terms of dividend and interest income again only that percentage earned while I was domiciled in the state.  Even if I continued to have property in Michigan after moving to another state, it would not require me to file.  If I visited Michigan hypothetically in the summer, I was not a resident, I was a tourist.  I can not fathom a situation that having a permanent residence in another state, another state's drivers license, voter registration, car and home insurance and potentially paying the other state's taxes would not provide sufficient evidence.  Then again, we are talking about governments. 

You're right, when talking about governments, especially state governments and income taxes, things aren't always consistent and clear-cut.

 

You mention Michigan, Tennessee, and earned income - in my opinion, Michigan treated you fairly by taxing only income earned in Michigan - to use you're example with a slight change:

 

Substitute Ohio (right across the lake) for Michigan and the situation is much different - Ohio taxes it's residents on all income, no matter where earned, although they do give a credit against tax paid to another state.

 

Owning real property in a state does automatically generate an income tax liability; in some of the more 'difficult' states, in my view, it gives the 'difficult' state a bit of leverage in keeping it's claws into one's wallet and to some extent, I can see their point. Realistically speaking, if one were a bona-fide resident of another state, why would one keep a house in one's previous state? If one keeps it as a vacation home for use in the summer (I'm not one who'd think about vacationing in Michigan in the winter), does it sit empty the rest of the year or is the previous resident renting it out, which likely gives rise to taxable income?

 

Most states with which I'm familiar anticipate that a person can be a part-year resident and even go so far as to have incorporated that in their personal income tax forms - For example, many folks have made Florida their primary residence (driver's license, bought a home, registered to vote, etc.) but still have property and or business interests in New York, so New York tries to tax as much of their income as they can (reasonably?) attribute to New York, even though the folks may not have stepped foot in New York during the tax year.

[Thomas J]

30 minutes ago, gentlemanjackdarby said:

You're right, when talking about governments, especially state governments and income taxes, things aren't always consistent and clear-cut.

Consider, California is considering imposing a "rain" tax.  They say that rainwater requires sewers and they should tax based on the amount of rain.  The next thing will be a tax on air.  People often point to the countries like Norway and Sweden and say Oh They Tax Upwards Of 50%.  So does the USA but it comes in little bits.  FICA Taxes, Sales Taxes, Car Registration Fees, Real Estate Taxes, State Income Taxes, Local City Income Taxes, Gasoline Taxes.  They have adopted the "goose" method.  Grab a handful of feathers and the goose gets mad.  Take the feathers one at a time and soon the goose is plucked without a fuss. 

[ThomasThBKK]

7 minutes ago, Thomas J said:

Consider, California is considering imposing a "rain" tax.  They say that rainwater requires sewers and they should tax based on the amount of rain.  The next thing will be a tax on air.  People often point to the countries like Norway and Sweden and say Oh They Tax Upwards Of 50%.  So does the USA but it comes in little bits.  FICA Taxes, Sales Taxes, Car Registration Fees, Real Estate Taxes, State Income Taxes, Local City Income Taxes, Gasoline Taxes.  They have adopted the "goose" method.  Grab a handful of feathers and the goose gets mad.  Take the feathers one at a time and soon the goose is plucked without a fuss. 

 

We have that in germany too: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rain_tax

 

it's simply hilarious....

[AAArdvark]

8 hours ago, Thomas J said:

I am no expert on taxes but was a resident of Michigan a state that has a personal income tax.  They required that taxes be paid on income earned in the state.  So if potentially I was working in Tennessee for a portion of a year, only that portion of my annual compensation earned while working in Michigan was taxable.  In terms of dividend and interest income again only that percentage earned while I was domiciled in the state.  Even if I continued to have property in Michigan after moving to another state, it would not require me to file.  If I visited Michigan hypothetically in the summer, I was not a resident, I was a tourist.  I can not fathom a situation that having a permanent residence in another state, another state's drivers license, voter registration, car and home insurance and potentially paying the other state's taxes would not provide sufficient evidence.  Then again, we are talking about governments. 

Exactly

[onera1961]

On 2/2/2019 at 12:20 AM, jackdd said:

Transfers through Bangkok Bank's New York branch will stop working soon, Transferwise might not show up as transfer from abroad, so it looks like the only reliable choice is to make a wire transfer.

You should look for a bank which doesn't charge you 40USD for the transfer.

Does somebody have access to US Bank (US Bancorp)? I remember reading an article a few years back that US bank was testing IACH format for personal accounts. Is it available with US Bank? I hate to open another checking account just to find it out. Already have more than a dozen banking accounts in the US.

[sfokevin]

On 2/5/2019 at 4:32 PM, Suradit69 said:

Transferwise shows the Swiftcode for Bangkok Bank NY (when I was exploring the possibility of using TW) so, despite what some people would like to believe, TW seems to use Bangkok Bank Ny too.

Yes... It will be a critical point on April 1 when BK Bank NY stops it’s ACH... We will have to watch an see if TransferWise transfers are still coded as international after that point...

[AAArdvark]

5 hours ago, onera1961 said:

Does somebody have access to US Bank (US Bancorp)? I remember reading an article a few years back that US bank was testing IACH format for personal accounts. Is it available with US Bank? I hate to open another checking account just to find it out. Already have more than a dozen banking accounts in the US.

Their web site only mentions "new rules" and the quote below:

"The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued rules to protect consumers who send money electronically to foreign countries. Remittance transfers are commonly known as international wires, international money transfers, or remittances. Under federal law, remittance transfers do not include transfers of less than $15. Consumers sending a remittance transfer will receive a disclosure prior to sending any funds internationally identifying the amount of the fees, taxes, and exchange rate (if applicable). A receipt or proof of payment that also includes the funds available date will be provided to the consumer after the funds are sent. Consumers also have cancellation and error resolution rights."

[jacko45k]

19 hours ago, AAArdvark said:

California was the worst for me.  I lived and worked in Germany for years.  At the time, I had never even been to California.  My boss lived in California.  Every year I received a letter from California asking me to prove that I don't own them taxes.  Is't not easy to prove a negative.

Off topic I know but I worked for an American company but was paid out of the Middle East and a British national. I was given some performance award that was share options that I cashed in when I could. They pestered me for US tax for years!

Edited February 10, 2019 by jacko45k

[OJAS]

11 hours ago, sfokevin said:

Yes... It will be a critical point on April 1 when BK Bank NY stops it’s ACH... We will have to watch an see if TransferWise transfers are still coded as international after that point...

It's actually Bangkok Bank here in Thailand that TransferWise use as one of their agency banks, the others being Kasikorn and TMB. So long as a particular transfer to your Bangkok Bank account is not routed through Kasikorn or TMB, therefore, it should be accredited with the coveted FTT coding. But it is in the lap of the gods as to which agency bank TransferWise decide to use at the Thai end for a particular transfer.

Edited February 11, 2019 by OJAS

[Sheryl]

On 2/3/2019 at 10:03 AM, JTXR said:

Depends on what your bank charges for international wire transfers.  My credit union charges $25 per international transfer and 100 baht gets taken as a fee somewhere along the line.  The credit union charge amounts to around 1% of 65,000 baht, so I'm ok with it.

 

My problem is that the transfer just shows as TN on the the Krungsri Bank statement (just a transfer, not necessarily an international transfer), so I'm thinking I'll need to open a Bangkok Bank account sometime soon.

Kasikorn is the same.

 

Assuming this was a SWIFT code transfer, they will have the information that it was an international transfer in their system even though nothing shows on the statement to specify it.  Ask for something called a "credit advice" for each transfer. And when you get the annual letter for immigration, show them the credit advices and ask them to include the information that you transferred money from abroad in the letter.

[sfokevin]

Similarly to what Sheryl just suggested... It would be useful for someone who has a TransferWise transfer that is coded an not foreign to go to the bank and ask for a Credit Advice... If that document shows TW as the sender (albeit from a local account) along with your TW receipt showing the money leaving your foreign account the same day would be compelling evidence of a foreign transaction...

 

If anyone could post such a Credit Advice here it would be of great use to the thread...

 

Example below credited to Sheryl...

Edited February 11, 2019 by sfokevin

[Slickrick]

In a previous thread someone mentioned try XEMoneytransfer.com if you didn't like Transferwise.