Moving overseas money to the US - will I get taxed on the transfer?

So just to clarify - if OP earns interest on that foreign account AFTER becoming a US resident, they'd need to report that interest on their US taxes, right? But the principal amount that was earned before US residency is fine to transfer without tax consequences?

Yes, that's exactly right. Any interest or investment gains earned on the foreign account after becoming a US resident would need to be reported on their US tax return. The IRS taxes worldwide income for residents and citizens. The principal amount earned before becoming a US resident can be transferred without creating a tax liability in the US. The transfer itself is not a taxable event - it's just moving your own money from one account to another.

That sounds helpful, but how does it work with retirement accounts? I have a pension from when I worked in the UK and have no idea how to report it properly on US taxes.

I'm a bit skeptical of these tax services. How accurate was it really? Did you double-check their advice with an actual accountant? I'm in a similar situation with money in Brazil and don't want to mess anything up.

The service handles foreign retirement accounts and pensions really well. It identified my Singapore CPF (their version of Social Security) and explained exactly how it should be reported under US-Singapore tax treaties. It even flagged potential PFIC issues I would have completely missed. For your skepticism, I totally get it - I was hesitant too. I actually did have my regular accountant review the results, and he was impressed with how thorough it was. He said it caught details about foreign tax credits and excluded income that even some tax pros miss. What I liked was that it gave me the documentation to back everything up in case of questions from the IRS.

How does this actually work? The IRS hold times are ridiculous (I was on hold for 2+ hours last week), so I'm having trouble believing anything could get me through that quickly.

This sounds like BS honestly. There's no way to "skip the line" with the IRS. They're understaffed and overwhelmed. No service can magically get you through faster than everyone else waiting.

It uses a system that continually redials and navigates the IRS phone tree for you, then calls you back once a human agent is actually on the line. It's not "skipping" anyone - it's just automating the painful process of calling, getting disconnected, and calling again that most of us do manually. I was skeptical too, but I tried it because I was desperate after multiple failed attempts to get through. I was getting the "due to high call volume" message and getting disconnected repeatedly. The service just handles that part for you, and only charges if they actually get you connected to an agent.

Does anyone know what the threshold amount is where banks start asking questions? I'm planning to move about $8k from my account in Canada.

The reporting threshold for banks is technically $10,000 for a single transaction, but many banks have internal policies that flag transfers at lower amounts, especially international ones. Some banks might ask questions about transfers as small as $3,000-5,000 if they come from certain countries or seem unusual compared to your normal banking patterns. For your $8k from Canada, you might not trigger formal reporting requirements, but don't be surprised if they still ask for some documentation about the source of funds. Canada is considered lower risk than many countries, but international transfers still get more scrutiny.

Do you still need to file the FBAR even after you've transferred all the money to the US? Like if I had $20k in a foreign account in January but transferred it all to my US account in February?

Wait really? What other states are strict about this? I'm in New York and now I'm worried I missed something on my state taxes for my overseas accounts.

California is probably the most aggressive in terms of worldwide income and documentation. New York is definitely up there too, though! New York State generally follows federal rules on foreign income but has its own audit procedures. Other states with relatively strict approaches to foreign income and assets include Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Minnesota. States with no income tax like Florida, Texas, or Nevada are obviously not an issue for this. If you're in New York, I'd recommend double-checking your state filing requirements, especially for any interest or investment gains from those foreign accounts after you became a NY resident.

This is such an important point about Japanese retirement accounts! I'm actually dealing with this exact situation right now. I had an iDeCo account from my time working in Tokyo and had no idea about the Form 3520 requirement until I started researching. The "foreign trust" classification seems really confusing - does this apply even if you've already closed the Japanese retirement account and transferred the funds? Or is it only while the account is still active? I'm worried I might have missed filing requirements from previous years when the account was still open. Also, do you know if there are any safe harbor provisions or ways to catch up on missed filings without getting hit with massive penalties? The forms look incredibly complex and I'm definitely going to need professional help, but I want to understand the basics before I go to a tax advisor.

@Mia Roberts The foreign trust rules are tricky with Japanese retirement accounts! From what I understand, the Form 3520 requirement applies while you re'a US tax resident and the foreign retirement account exists, regardless of whether you re'actively contributing. So yes, if you had the iDeCo account open while you were already a US person for tax purposes, you likely should have been filing Form 3520 for those years. The good news is that there are some relief procedures available. The IRS has streamlined filing procedures for people who missed foreign account reporting requirements, including the Streamlined Foreign Offshore Procedures and Streamlined Domestic Offshore Procedures. These can help you catch up on missed filings with reduced or no penalties if you can show the non-compliance wasn t'willful. For closed accounts, you generally don t'need ongoing reporting, but you might still need to file for the years it was open while you were a US person. Definitely get professional help - this area of tax law is incredibly complex and the penalties for getting it wrong are steep. A tax attorney or CPA who specializes in international tax issues would be your best bet.