Singapore Expats

ANY TIPS ON HOW TO PAY USA TAXES IN SINGAPORE

Discuss about the latest news & interesting topics, real life experience or other out of topic discussions with locals & expatriates in Singapore.
Post Reply
Mara84
Newbie
Newbie
Posts: 3
Joined: Tue, 07 Jul 2015 3:30 pm

ANY TIPS ON HOW TO PAY USA TAXES IN SINGAPORE

Post by Mara84 » Tue, 07 Jul 2015 3:49 pm

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.

User avatar
sundaymorningstaple
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 40376
Joined: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 1:26 pm
Answers: 21
Location: Retired on the Little Red Dot

Re: ANY TIPS ON HOW TO PAY USA TAXES IN SINGAPORE

Post by sundaymorningstaple » Tue, 07 Jul 2015 6:24 pm

Go to Citibank and get a US dollar cashier's cheque.
SOME PEOPLE TRY TO TURN BACK THEIR ODOMETERS. NOT ME. I WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW WHY I LOOK THIS WAY. I'VE TRAVELED A LONG WAY, AND SOME OF THE ROADS WEREN'T PAVED. ~ Will Rogers

Mara84
Newbie
Newbie
Posts: 3
Joined: Tue, 07 Jul 2015 3:30 pm

Re: ANY TIPS ON HOW TO PAY USA TAXES IN SINGAPORE

Post by Mara84 » Tue, 07 Jul 2015 6:30 pm

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

User avatar
sundaymorningstaple
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 40376
Joined: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 1:26 pm
Answers: 21
Location: Retired on the Little Red Dot

Re: ANY TIPS ON HOW TO PAY USA TAXES IN SINGAPORE

Post by sundaymorningstaple » Tue, 07 Jul 2015 6:31 pm

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.
SOME PEOPLE TRY TO TURN BACK THEIR ODOMETERS. NOT ME. I WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW WHY I LOOK THIS WAY. I'VE TRAVELED A LONG WAY, AND SOME OF THE ROADS WEREN'T PAVED. ~ Will Rogers

Mara84
Newbie
Newbie
Posts: 3
Joined: Tue, 07 Jul 2015 3:30 pm

Re: ANY TIPS ON HOW TO PAY USA TAXES IN SINGAPORE

Post by Mara84 » Tue, 07 Jul 2015 6:36 pm

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

User avatar
Strong Eagle
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 11617
Joined: Sat, 10 Jul 2004 12:13 am
Answers: 9
Location: Off The Red Dot
Contact:

Re: ANY TIPS ON HOW TO PAY USA TAXES IN SINGAPORE

Post by Strong Eagle » Tue, 07 Jul 2015 8:35 pm


User avatar
zzm9980
Governor
Governor
Posts: 6869
Joined: Wed, 06 Jul 2011 1:35 pm
Location: Once more unto the breach

Re: ANY TIPS ON HOW TO PAY USA TAXES IN SINGAPORE

Post by zzm9980 » Wed, 08 Jul 2015 11:49 am

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

anycer
Newbie
Newbie
Posts: 15
Joined: Mon, 27 Jul 2015 3:15 am

Re: ANY TIPS ON HOW TO PAY USA TAXES IN SINGAPORE

Post by anycer » Mon, 27 Jul 2015 8:29 am

sundaymorningstaple wrote: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?

User avatar
sundaymorningstaple
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 40376
Joined: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 1:26 pm
Answers: 21
Location: Retired on the Little Red Dot

Re: ANY TIPS ON HOW TO PAY USA TAXES IN SINGAPORE

Post by sundaymorningstaple » Mon, 27 Jul 2015 10:20 am

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.
SOME PEOPLE TRY TO TURN BACK THEIR ODOMETERS. NOT ME. I WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW WHY I LOOK THIS WAY. I'VE TRAVELED A LONG WAY, AND SOME OF THE ROADS WEREN'T PAVED. ~ Will Rogers

anycer
Newbie
Newbie
Posts: 15
Joined: Mon, 27 Jul 2015 3:15 am

Re: ANY TIPS ON HOW TO PAY USA TAXES IN SINGAPORE

Post by anycer » Mon, 27 Jul 2015 8:30 pm

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.

User avatar
Brah
Manager
Manager
Posts: 1965
Joined: Sat, 18 Dec 2010 2:59 pm

Re: ANY TIPS ON HOW TO PAY USA TAXES IN SINGAPORE

Post by Brah » Tue, 28 Jul 2015 9:19 pm

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.
Ape Shall Not Kill Ape.

User avatar
Strong Eagle
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 11617
Joined: Sat, 10 Jul 2004 12:13 am
Answers: 9
Location: Off The Red Dot
Contact:

Re: ANY TIPS ON HOW TO PAY USA TAXES IN SINGAPORE

Post by Strong Eagle » Tue, 28 Jul 2015 10:40 pm

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
Editor
Editor
Posts: 1035
Joined: Sun, 13 Sep 2015 4:43 pm

Re: ANY TIPS ON HOW TO PAY USA TAXES IN SINGAPORE

Post by BBCWatcher » Sat, 19 Mar 2016 7:53 am

Strong Eagle wrote: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.

Post Reply
  • Similar Topics
    Replies
    Views
    Last post

Return to “General Discussions”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 14 guests