Opening a foreign currency account abroad

I didn't have to pay a single cent to get my tax ID in Canada.
Any idea how long the wait is at Wells Fargo to get a card issued?

So, I'm trying to figure out how to go about opening an account at JPMorgan Chase (or maybe some other heavy hitter) over in New York City or Las Vegas. Who am I supposed to talk to here in the States to get this moving? And seriously, is it even possible to manage online banking for a foreign bank while living here in America?

So, I was just reading that US Congress passed this decision making it legal to open offshore accounts starting back in early 2011, and it’s got me wondering... how does the government actually plan on stopping everyone from just dodging their taxes by opening accounts in neighboring countries? It seems like an easy way for people to go rogue...
How does the European Union handle all that regulation?
I'm assuming citizens within the EU have some kind of unique tax ID number that allows the various tax authorities to keep tabs on accounts held in other member states?
Or am I totally off base here?

hiddencobra75 said:So, I was just reading that US Congress passed this decision making it legal to open offshore accounts starting back in early 2011, and it’s got me wondering... how does the government actually plan on stopping everyone from just dodging their taxes by opening accounts in neighboring countries? It seems like an easy way for people to go rogue...
How does the European Union handle all that regulation?
I'm assuming citizens within the EU have some kind of unique tax ID number that allows the various tax authorities to keep tabs on accounts held in other member states?
Or am I totally off base here?

Tax what, exactly? 🤷

On income 😉

Henry Edwards33 said:On income 😉

What do you mean, "under the table" income? 😕

If you're working abroad, you'll have a local bank account and pay taxes just like any other resident there. But if you transfer that money back to the US, you report it so you actually have proof that the funds were legally brought into the country.

And what happens if you actually pull in some income here in the States and try to be all legal about it by asking for it to be wired to an offshore account?
I think that’s exactly what hiddencobra75 was getting at 😉

I’m not even sure if that’s legal, but honestly, I can't think of a single good reason why anyone would bother doing it anyway.🤔

Look, nobody's claiming it's actually legal.
I was honestly just trying to wrap my head around which specific tax people are even attempting to dodge 😉

I get that, but if you’re doing something illegal in the first place, why on earth would you even touch a bank account? You’d just hand him the cash; nobody’s going to risk a paper trail by sending money to an overseas account.

I was actually talking about American residents who are pulling shifts for companies based overseas...

In Canada, you have to get a tax ID—which I assume is pretty much the standard across most of the European Union—so it’s pretty obvious the IRS could flag any payment you make.

The whole deal about being able to open accounts abroad starting back in early 2011 was basically just one of the prerequisites for us joining the European Union. It was all about liberalizing the financial markets.
I don't think this is going to have anything to do with taxes, honestly. Your employer handles the tax withholding right when they cut your paycheck, and I'm pretty sure all our local companies are just going to keep working with American banks anyway. Once the money actually hits your account, the taxes are already settled, so you're free to transfer it overseas if you want.
But look, those are two totally different things. We’re looking at the rollout of a unified registry for all accounts, which means the IRS will be able to execute garnishments on domestic accounts super easily. But if the cash is sitting in an offshore account? Well, then it's way outside the IRS's jurisdiction. On that note, I'm actually not sure if there's a specific law stating how much cash has to stay in your account after you cover your obligations, like mortgage payments and stuff. I heard a rumor somewhere that you have to leave 30% of your salary in there, or something like $667, and that you can't touch it, but I haven't found anything official to back that up... Does anyone actually know the deal with that?

Now that opening an overseas account is actually legal and straightforward, I'm trying to figure out the easiest and cheapest way to pull this off.
Can I just walk into any bank within the European Union and get it done without a mountain of paperwork, or am I required to get some kind of green light from my local US banks first? How does the process actually work?

Which bank would you recommend for this? I’m looking for the lowest possible fees and minimal overhead for both setting up and maintaining the account.

My main goal is to link my PayPal to that specific account—basically using that debit card—so I can finally start receiving funds through PayPal without the usual headaches.

Does anyone have a link to a more detailed guide covering all this, or perhaps someone with enough free time to break down the logistics for me?

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide. And of course, Happy New Year!

Just giving this a little bump. I honestly can't believe nobody has any answers to these questions yet. 😕

It used to be way simpler. Back then, you’d just grab your tax ID from the Canadian tax authorities and take it to the bank along with your ID—easy as pie. 😁

Nowadays, if you ask me, the best move is to open an account somewhere just across the border. That way, you can hit an ATM whenever you need cash without getting eaten alive by fees.

In Canada, depending on what kind of perks you want, I think you're looking at monthly fees starting around $1.75 and up.

Does anyone happen to know what the process looks like in Italy? Also, if anyone knows of a bank where I could open an account online without being hit by massive fees or high deposit requirements, that would be great. I'm looking to set it up specifically to link to PayPal for receiving payments.

So, say someone lives here in the States but lands an online gig with a company based overseas... how does the money actually move? Like, do they get paid into a local bank account or an international one?
It seems way more complicated if you try to keep everything domestic, but would a company even care if you used an account in their home country? I mean, could the employer just wire the cash to an account over there, then the person pays their taxes locally and uses a debit card from that account—or maybe somehow links it back to an American card? Not sure if that's even possible...
The part that's really tripping me up about using a foreign account is the whole residency thing. Since I wouldn't be a resident of that country, I don't know... honestly, I'm pretty clueless when it comes to all this finance stuff. 🙂

I remember seeing a bobtail truck parked outside my house in Chicago once. It looked like it was missing half its gear, just sitting there looking a bit lost. kaže:
What if someone lives here in the States but works remotely for an international firm? Would they get paid into a foreign account or just their local one?
American is a bit more complicated, but let's say—would this even be allowed in the country where the company is based? Like, if the employer deposits the money into an account in that country, the person pays their taxes there, but then tries to withdraw it using a card from an account back in the States (or maybe somehow links it to an American card, though I'm not sure if that's even possible)?
The thing that worries me about using a foreign account is whether I'd end up losing my resident status over there.To be honest, I don't know the first thing about finance. 🙂

That’s exactly why they call it a non-resident account. 😉 Sure, sending money like that—to an overseas firm via an international account—is definitely doable. I remember trying something similar with a vendor in Chicago once; it went through without any drama.

Pure genius. Seriously, thanks a ton.