Anyone here have a USD bank account?

accelerator · Oct 25, 2014

Hi Guys

I'm interested to know whether anyone here maintains a USD bank account for any domain sales they make in USD?

I was thinking about doing this, as I'd just like to keep USD sale proceeds in USD, and then maybe invest that in US companies. Does anyone do this? I guess the tax side of it starts to get tricky?

Thanks

diablo · Oct 25, 2014

accelerator said:
Hi Guys

I'm interested to know whether anyone here maintains a USD bank account for any domain sales they make in USD?

I was thinking about doing this, as I'd just like to keep USD sale proceeds in USD, and then maybe invest that in US companies. Does anyone do this? I guess the tax side of it starts to get tricky?

Thanks

I have a USD account through Citi. Gives you cheque book, dollar Visa card, etc., It's free if you keep a certain amount in your account (£3,000 equivalent or thereabouts, can't remember exactly), otherwise there's a monthly fee (again, guessing, but think it's about £5).

Perfect for payments via Escrow.com.

Tax isn't a problem as long as you account for sales as you would anyway.

Admin · Oct 25, 2014

Paypal allows you to hold balances in difference currencies. Their transaction costs can add up though.

Admin

accelerator · Oct 25, 2014

diablo said:
Tax isn't a problem as long as you account for sales as you would anyway.

How does that work? Let's say I make a $5,000 sale, and I just want to keep the money indefinitely in a USD bank account. How am I supposed to account for the UK tax due?

Thanks

Brassneck · Oct 25, 2014

accelerator said:
How does that work? Let's say I make a $5,000 sale, and I just want to keep the money indefinitely in a USD bank account. How am I supposed to account for the UK tax due?

Thanks

Probably best to ask an accountant on tax issues?

I also used to have a citibank account in the pre-paypal days when I did a lot of eBay trading but increasingly it became something I didn't need.

Stephen.

diablo · Oct 25, 2014

accelerator said:
How does that work? Let's say I make a $5,000 sale, and I just want to keep the money indefinitely in a USD bank account. How am I supposed to account for the UK tax due?

Thanks

As Brassneck says, see an accountant if things like this are a mystery, but once accounted for you can keep your money where you want for as long as you want.

accelerator · Oct 25, 2014

Brassneck said:
Probably best to ask an accountant on tax issues?

Probably, but then I like to understand these things and be my own accountant

Essentially it's a currency conversion issue isn't it? If as a UK taxpayer, I've lets say made a profit of $5,000 today on 23 Oct, but will leave the amount in USD, do I just book it in my accounts in GBP at the date's prevailing exchange rate and then just pay tax on that? Or is there a better way? Anyone know?

Thanks

Retired_Member38 · Oct 25, 2014

admin said:
Paypal allows you to hold balances in difference currencies. Their transaction costs can add up though.

Admin

On phone so short reply. It's not just the named charges, they really screw u on the exchange rates used also

Retired_Member38 · Oct 25, 2014

Go into PayPal login and select to make a currency balance transfer.... Compare rate to xe dot com and it won't be pretty

accelerator · Oct 25, 2014

Monkey said:
On phone so short reply. It's not just the named charges, they really screw u on the exchange rates used also

Yes, it's the dismal exchange rates given that make me want to have a USD account.

Rgds

Brassneck · Oct 25, 2014

accelerator said:
Yes, it's the dismal exchange rates given that make me want to have a USD account.

Rgds

Are you going to be paying costs in dollars too? The more costs you have in dollars the less the exchange rate becomes as issue I think and even banks like citi make a profit on the exchange rates.

I pay all my dollar bills in paypal - e.g. hosting, content suppliers etc finance from dollar income from parking and some domain sales. Exchange rates don't become a major factor.

Stephen.

accelerator · Oct 25, 2014

Brassneck said:
Are you going to be paying costs in dollars too? The more costs you have in dollars the less the exchange rate becomes as issue I think and even banks like citi make a profit on the exchange rates.

I pay all my dollar bills in paypal - e.g. hosting, content suppliers etc finance from dollar income from parking and some domain sales. Exchange rates don't become a major factor.

Stephen.

Yes good strategy if you have a lot of USD bills. Actually, I have hardly any costs in USD, the income would be the result of domain sales in USD. Ideally what I'd like to do with the proceeds is invest them in USD tech stocks or IPOs. I'm thinking if I had a USD account all that would be easier, it's the tax that makes it difficult.

Does anyone else invest in US tech stocks and US IPOs?

Rgds

bonusmedia · Oct 25, 2014

I have always made the customer cover any conversion charges.

I dabble in US stocks - Interactive Investor are pretty good. £20 per quarter fee but that covers your first £20 in commissions. There are definitely cheaper brokers for the UK but I like the flexibility and the service is good.

accelerator · Oct 25, 2014

There have been some incredible opportunities in the US tech sector, and for one reason or another I haven't been in on them. Hopefully I will be able to put this right going forward. Thanks for the info.

bonusmedia · Oct 25, 2014

accelerator said:
There have been some incredible opportunities in the US tech sector, and for one reason or another I haven't been in on them. Hopefully I will be able to put this right going forward. Thanks for the info.

May have mentioned this before but if you're interested in early stage tech investments, join Seedrs: https://www.seedrs.com/join?promo_code=QKID2LDR

It's extremely tax efficient - under the SEIS scheme you can claim 50% relief, or 30% under EIS, plus no capital gains on any winners.

* I own shares and that's a paid referral link

Retired_Member38 · Oct 25, 2014

£5000 changed into dollars inside Paypal = $7,838

£5000 changed into dollars on the XE.com rate = $8,045

I know you're not likely to get the XE rate exactly, but you will get close to it. Paypal are not a good option for any major currency plays. They're perfect if you want to buy a domain for $7, pay someone in India $30 for a logo, or a host $79.99 or whatever though.

accelerator · Oct 25, 2014

bonusmedia said:
May have mentioned this before but if you're interested in early stage tech investments, join Seedrs: https://www.seedrs.com/join?promo_code=QKID2LDR

It's extremely tax efficient - under the SEIS scheme you can claim 50% relief, or 30% under EIS, plus no capital gains on any winners.

* I own shares and that's a paid referral link

Thanks, I took a quick look at this last time you mentioned it. It's made it as a new "To Do" item to investigate this fully and I'll use your link if I sign up.

Rgds