ANY TIPS ON HOW TO PAY USA TAXES IN SINGAPORE

[Mara84]

Hi,

I'm new here in Singapore and need to pay my USA taxes. I don't have a USA bank account anymore. I tried checking with the local banks: DBS and Citibank but they we're unable to give me a solution. Does anyone have any experience on paying USA taxes from here? How do I go about it?

Appreciate any recommendations.

[sundaymorningstaple]

Go to Citibank and get a US dollar cashier's cheque.

[Mara84]

Thank you! I'll give that a try. So there's no way to do it online?

[sundaymorningstaple]

Unsure. I'm a yank and have been living here for 33 years, but I still maintain 2 US credit cards and one US bank account just for those reasons of convenience.

[Mara84]

That makes sense! Should have thought of that before moving. Will definitely open a US account on my next holiday. Thanks

[Strong Eagle]

Pay by credit card for a fee: http://www.irs.gov/uac/Pay-Taxes-by-Cre ... Debit-Card

[zzm9980]

Do what is suggested above, and then open a US account your next trip home.

[anycer]

Unsure. I'm a yank and have been living here for 33 years, but I still maintain 2 US credit cards and one US bank account just for those reasons of convenience.

Not to hijack the thread, but I plan on doing the same.. keeping a US credit card that I really love (Chase Sapphire Preferred) because it has no foreign transaction fees and a great point system that works well for me. Looks like I can only pay the balance monthly from a US account, though. So, if I'm being paid in SGD, into a SG account, how do you repatriate money to pay off the US card?

I was thinking of just making a large transfer every 3-6 months using Transferwise or something similar, but is there a better way?

[sundaymorningstaple]

There is probably a better way, but I've always been too lazy to look for it. I do the same thing, Just transfer a large enough quantity to my US account to last for 4 to 6 months estimated funds required and then just set up my account to pay the balance on a fixed day every month (usually 4 or 5 days before the closing period). My US costs however, are relatively minor so it's not that large of an amount which is why I've never bothered to find something more economical.

[anycer]

FYI for anyone looking at Transferwise, which I've seen recommended a few times here... they only allow SGD transfers within Singapore financial institutions. I reached out to them directly to confirm. So they aren't a viable option for moving SGD to US-based banks.

[Brah]

For me this remains a timely subject, not in the context of taxes but on money transfer methods.

JR8 had a number of suggestions in another thread as well.

[Strong Eagle]

I'd take a look at opening a Schwab checking account. Inbound wire transfers incur no fee. No minimum balance or other fees. Built in bill pay that allows you to set up your Visa card for payment... no charges.

I believe the Schwab exchange rates are very competitive but you would need to check as I've not moved money recently. Find the cheapest wire transfer bank in Singapore and set up your transfer to Schwab.

[BBCWatcher]

I'd take a look at opening a Schwab checking account.

There are two Schwabs, really. One is the brokerage, and the other is Charles Schwab Bank.

If you're looking for a solution to transfer funds from Singapore, then it's best to have a Schwab brokerage account called the Schwab One International account. (There is also a U.S. version of that account, if you have a U.S. mailing address. It's pretty much the same; either works.) Schwab (the brokerage) maintains a custodial account in Singapore, so you can transfer Singapore dollars domestically, for free (using GIRO for example), to Schwab's custodial account. Schwab then immediately converts those Singapore dollars to U.S. dollars and deposits the U.S. dollars in your brokerage account. Typically you'll pay only 0.4% or 0.5% above the hypothetical mid-market exchange rate with no wire transfer or other fees. Unless you're transferring relatively large amounts, this is a rather low cost way to do it -- much lower than typical wire transfer fees. You can also get an excellent, low cost Visa/debit card and a checkbook linked to your Schwab brokerage account.

If that's all you need, great. (If all you need is a low cost U.S. Visa debit/ATM card, a U.S. checkbook, and/or want to invest in U.S. financial markets.) But you might also need a U.S. bank account to pair with your Schwab brokerage account -- for example, if you want online BillPay services. That could be an account with Charles Schwab Bank, or it could be some other account. However, unlike the brokerage, Charles Schwab Bank does not allow you to maintain a non-U.S. mailing address on your account. Other banks and credit unions do. The State Department Federal Credit Union is one example, and PenFed is another.