Posts by bluewolf48

Thomas Sanchez30 said:I had always envisioned my secondary account as a sort of dedicated savings vehicle. To be specific, my scholarship funds land there, and I have no intention of spending them—I'm looking to save. Every now and then, I might move maybe 100-$67 from my main checking over to that account, purely for the sake of building a nest egg—you know, just so I have a little something tucked away for rainy days 😉. However, a friend recently mentioned that transferring money into such an account might trigger some kind of tax implication, so I figured I'd ask here just to be absolutely certain I won't end up owing anything extra. It seems pretty intuitive that I should be able to shift money between my own two accounts without being penalized, don't you think? 🤷

Well, I imagine you wouldn't have any issues with amounts like that. I've heard that the IRS has automatic access to all accounts, though some people claim they only look if they actually want to investigate something. I highly doubt they spend all day monitoring every single person's individual accounts just to track every little transfer 🙂 I personally try to avoid putting anything unnecessary into savings, but once, an amount was accidentally deposited into my savings instead of my checking; I didn't report it on my tax return since it was clearly a mistake, and I didn't have any trouble with them.

Thomas Sanchez30 said:Does anyone know if there's a tax hit when I move money between my own accounts—say, from my checking to my savings or vice versa? 🙂

As far as I am aware, savings accounts are typically used for things like freelance income, miscellaneous earnings, or scholarships, whereas checking accounts handle your regular payroll. Personally, I move funds from my savings over to my checking, but I try to avoid depositing anything into the savings account itself; I really only use that specifically for my contract work. I suppose it shouldn't be an issue if you're just moving small amounts around, but since I file my own tax returns every year, I prefer to keep my savings account strictly for those specific earnings to ensure everything stays perfectly aligned. What exactly is the concern here—why would you need to make these transfers?

copperhound99 said:So I've already got a checking account over at Chase, but now I need to set up a savings account... Do I actually have to go through the whole hassle of opening a new one from scratch, or does it just happen automatically under the same account number? And if I do have to deal with it, what's the damage for the setup fee...? Thanks in advance

A checking account and a savings account are two distinct accounts, each with its own unique account number. This means you will indeed have to go through the process of opening the second one. As for the fees for opening and maintaining the account, those will depend entirely on which bank you choose to use.