International Wires from US to Argentina. Risk of Account Closure?

[autoluminescent]

Everyone knows the safest way to pay your taxes is to first wire the money to a friend's account in Yemen or North Korea, and then have them forward it to Argentina.

But seriously, if your bank cannot accommodate your basic needs - like paying taxes - you should switch banks.

Agreed. Any recommendations? The one thing I wish I had done before moving abroad was to open additional bank accounts in the US.

 

[Alby]

Exactly. Under FEIE, up to $126,500 in earned income is excluded, however, the 15.3% self-employment tax is separate tax not exempt by FEIE. ie. if you are self-employed and made $100,000, that full amount of $100,000 is excluded from income tax in the US but you are still obligated to pay $15,300 in self-employment tax, which is essentially Social Security and Medicare taxes. My income tax rate in Argentina was between 25-30%.

Using the above example, If I made $100,000 last year, I paid $15,300 in self-employment tax to the US, and $25,000 in income tax to ARG = ~40% tax rate.

Obviously the Monotributo system has far less tax burden than the upper limits of RI, so depending on your income it may not be as bad as my situation. Living here as a high earning, self-employed US citizen is pretty much a terrible idea (if you play by the rules, that is).

This is admirably transparent. If it's not a rude question (but it probably is, so by all means ignore it), do you also voluntarily cough up bienes personales on any assets you may hold outside Argentina?

 

[autoluminescent]

This is admirably transparent. If it's not a rude question (but it probably is, so by all means ignore it), do you also voluntarily cough up bienes personales on any assets you may hold outside Argentina?

I believe the Bienes Personales limit for 2024 is like $250,000+. I'm nowhere near having that kind of money nor do I own any assets..

 

[dlish]

If I had your concerns I would just open an intermediary bank account. For example if you use Chase, open a standard checking account with Citibank. When you need to transfer send from Chase to Citibank and then out to Coinbase or WU. (Those bank to bank transfers are free.)

Even if Citibank ends up closing your account, your actual funds are with Chase, who have no issues with you.

 

[autoluminescent]

If I had your concerns I would just open an intermediary bank account. For example if you use Chase, open a standard checking account with Citibank. When you need to transfer send from Chase to Citibank and then out to Coinbase or WU. (Those bank to bank transfers are free.)

Even if Citibank ends up closing your account, your actual funds are with Chase, who have no issues with you.

Yeah that's sort of what I am trying to do via Payoneer, but I think that's a good idea and something I'll look into when I head back to the US for a couple of weeks in September.

 

[Longtime]

Is anyone familiar with the Lemon Cash app? If you connect the Lemon Cash account with Mercado Pago, you could send yourself dollars or crypto into your Lemon Cash account and then use it to fund a Mercado Pago account through which you make the payments.

 

[Longtime]

BTW, connecting Mercado Pago to Lemon is optional. Lemon gives you a VISA card you can use to make payments. But you can connect it to Mercado Pago as a way to avoid letting people know you use Lemon and instead go through a payment system more people are familiar with.

 

[Johngwyn]

I've thought about it. I've read that some banks (Chase in particular) do not like their clients buying crytpo as they view it as a high-risk asset, and may close your account for doing so.

To answer my own question, I really need another bank account haha. I saw some mention earlier Charles Schwab International as a good choice. I just don't want to get caught in a situation where my account gets closed and I have no access to my funds without a costly trip back to the US..

Exactly, I know someone brought bitcoin with their chase account, and his chase account along with chase credit card got closed within days, permanently.

 

[carride]

I've thought about it. I've read that some banks (Chase in particular) do not like their clients buying crytpo as they view it as a high-risk asset, and may close your account for doing so.

To answer my own question, I really need another bank account haha. I saw some mention earlier Charles Schwab International as a good choice. I just don't want to get caught in a situation where my account gets closed and I have no access to my funds without a costly trip back to the US..

Just use a nonbank/neobank that gives debit card and ability to do EFT transfers. Just transfer what you need there as you need it. Revolut in USA does not have a full bank license, but instead is partnered with a real bank. Bonus is that the debit card has all the things that are important for no-fee international traveling. If they feel like closing your account based on your spending or transfers, then it will be no big loss. PayPal maybe similar. Coinbase has bank partnership that enables neobank activity. Then there are the new fintech brokerages like Plynk. Anyplace that lets you send receive EFT.
Revolut in UK is different as has a real bank license.

Revolut click to give me a referral. Also mentioned in this list:

5 Best Banks for International Travel - NerdWallet

A good bank for international travel is one with low wire transfer charges, decent ATM fees and good conversion rates, all of which can save you a lot of money when you're abroad.

www.nerdwallet.com

 

[Longtime]

Robinhood is another option. They offer a Spending account with a bank partner.