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[The Stig]

Hi all,

I dont make topics much but I post. I need advice. My relationship has fallen apart and I cant afford to live on my own here in CA and my parents have offered to let me move back home in the UK in a nice part of Kent to rebuild my life. (Ive been in USA since 2006).

Short story long I'm very depressed and I'm working on divesting myself of as much as I can but there are a fair few things I would want to ship home.

I dont mind if they take a while. See in 2006 going to USA from UK I used excess baggage and they look like they might be an option. Any ideas?

So..... I have a HUGE collection of transformers (mostly unboxed and I dont have the time or inclination to sell them each individually). Is there a good place to sell them in batches?

I also have other interesting toys to sell, is ebay the best place to go?

Also my BMW M5 (2002) is going into the shop to fix its long standing oil leaks. (I WFH 100% currently so dont drive much at all). The car drives fine has no real problems except the leak. But it has 184k miles. What could I expect for it? should I just go to carmax? lol

anyway, any advice for any of this stuff?

 

[EverydayBeast]

I really like eBay, I think the criticisms of it are unfair. I think actually Facebook marketplace is the perfect place for you, or do you have it in you to just toss everything in a storage locker and come back?

 

[cormack12]

....I cant afford to live on my own here in CA and my parents have offered to let me move back home in the UK in a nice part of Kent to rebuild my life.

First of all, what colour is your hair currently? If you can be mistaken for a gnome mage in wow, we're full.

Don't get too down either way, life sucks then it doesn't. Then it does again, then it doesn't. It's a ride and some of it is over cow shit in a field.

I'd decide what's more important. Maxing out your income on sales or getting rid quickly. For your car look on autotrader and see what others cars like yours have gone for (e.g. there's a 2001 BMW M5 with 109k on the clock for $40k)

For toys, I'd generally look at a broker or reseller. You could also consider sticking them in an auction?

Back to the Past Collectibles - Buy, Sell, Appraise Vintage Toys & Collectibles

Discover the value of your vintage toys & collectibles with Back to the Past Collectibles! We purchase classic playsets, tin rocket ships, old board games, pocket knives, Transformers, model kits, and more. Get cash for your forgotten treasures today!

gobacktothepast.com

Could try this sub: https://www.reddit.com/r/TransformersTrading/s/nO6hXKSEAs

Or https://www.transformerland.com/

See I did help. Now wash that blue, purple or green shit out your hair before coming back.

 

[GHG]

The Stig for the love of god whatever you do, do NOT take that car to carmax.

E39 M5's are worth a decent amount of money and are appreciating in price at the moment. Do not let anyone lowball you or mess you about with it. Do not make them aware of your current situation (or state that it's a distress sale), even with the high milage you should be able to get really good money for it provided it's in good condition other than the oil leak you mentioned. Get the oil leak fixed and find a serious buyer.

 

[The Stig]

btw Im getting a little over $2k from dkoldies for my retro collection, which is nice

 

[The Stig]

The Stig for the love of god whatever you do, do NOT take that car to carmax.

E39 M5's are worth a decent amount of money and are appreciating in price at the moment. Do not let anyone lowball you or mess you about with it. Do not make them aware of your current situation (or state that it's a distress sale), even with the high milage you should be able to get really good money for it provided it's in good condition other than the oil leak you mentioned. Get the oil leak fixed and find a serious buyer.

ok thanks for this. its going to the shop wednesday.

First of all, what colour is your hair currently? If you can be mistaken for a gnome mage in wow, we're full.

Don't get too down either way, life sucks then it doesn't. Then it does again, then it doesn't. It's a ride and some of it is over cow shit in a field.

I'd decide what's more important. Maxing out your income on sales or getting rid quickly. For your car look on autotrader and see what others cars like yours have gone for (e.g. there's a 2001 BMW M5 with 109k on the clock for $40k)

For toys, I'd generally look at a broker or reseller. You could also consider sticking them in an auction?

Back to the Past Collectibles - Buy, Sell, Appraise Vintage Toys & Collectibles

Discover the value of your vintage toys & collectibles with Back to the Past Collectibles! We purchase classic playsets, tin rocket ships, old board games, pocket knives, Transformers, model kits, and more. Get cash for your forgotten treasures today!

gobacktothepast.com

Could try this sub: https://www.reddit.com/r/TransformersTrading/s/nO6hXKSEAs

Or https://www.transformerland.com/

See I did help. Now wash that blue, purple or green shit out your hair before coming back.

Im going to reach out to that goback to the past place.

thanks

 

[The Stig]

how do you like, change bank accounts and shit?

 

[nush]

anyway, any advice for any of this stuff?

I moved back the the UK last year, the cost to ship all my stuff back was less than it's actually worth. Plus reality is that the cheapest shipping method or international shipping anyway will break most of your stuff. Use your excess baggage and take the things that are most important to you (Not the most valuable). Have a friend that doesn't mind holding a couple of boxes of your 2nd most valuable stuff for you.

DM me for other stuff that does not need to be discussed in the open.

 

[Dr.D00p]

Can't you just leave all your guns in the US..I'm sure that will leave you with plenty of space in your luggage.

 

[Punished Miku]

how do you like, change bank accounts and shit?

Open a new account. Move stuff. Set up direct deposit at work.

 

[nush]

Open a new account. Move stuff.

Nope, nope, nope. Keep the money overseas, until he has a job.

 

[The Stig]

Can't you just leave all your guns in the US..I'm sure that will leave you with plenty of space in your luggage.

lol i dont have any guns

 

[RJMacready73]

Can you leave your pronouns in America, we don't need you importing more of that shite back to the UK

 

[John Marston]

If you can be mistaken for a gnome mage in wow, we're full.

 

[StabbyStabStabStabStab]

Shared haulage/groupage or whatever it's called when you secure space within a shipping container was the cheapest for me shipping stuff back to the UK from Oz. Got a few quotes, starting with 6K and ended up being 1400 aus dollars for 2 cubic metres, and they came round, wrapped everything, door to door service etc. Took 12 weeks, but definitely worth it - nothing broken. That was in 2016, so anything involving overseas freight will have shot up obviously. but glad I did for those items that would be difficult to replace. Worth considering as its based on volume rather than weight, and less prone to getting smashed en route...

 

[Liljagare]

Hope you didn't get citizenship/have been tax liable for too long.

Congrats then if so, you will also have to file your FBAR/FATCA every year. Do not skip this, the IRS do pursue if you fail to report, even if you hide in Fiji.

If you did get citizenship, you really want to contact a tax lawyer, yesterday.

You will not believe the tax laws applicable to you if you got citizenship.

If you had a green card for more than 3 years, also, enjoy. Contact a tax lawyer, now.

If either citizenship, or green card, lulz, welcome to being having to deal with paperwork up the wazzo.

 

[West Texas CEO]

Come to Dallas with me.

 

[Mr Reasonable]

Hope you didn't get citizenship/have been tax liable for too long.

Congrats then if so, you will also have to file your FBAR/FATCA every year. Do not skip this, the IRS do pursue if you fail to report, even if you hide in Fiji.

If you did get citizenship, you really want to contact a tax lawyer, yesterday.

You will not believe the tax laws applicable to you if you got citizenship.

If you had a green card for more than 3 years, also, enjoy. Contact a tax lawyer, now.

If either citizenship, or green card, lulz, welcome to being having to deal with paperwork up the wazzo.

Presumably that all stops when you aren't a citizen?

 

[RavenSan]

Hope you didn't get citizenship/have been tax liable for too long.

Congrats then if so, you will also have to file your FBAR/FATCA every year. Do not skip this, the IRS do pursue if you fail to report, even if you hide in Fiji.

If you did get citizenship, you really want to contact a tax lawyer, yesterday.

You will not believe the tax laws applicable to you if you got citizenship.

If you had a green card for more than 3 years, also, enjoy. Contact a tax lawyer, now.

If either citizenship, or green card, lulz, welcome to being having to deal with paperwork up the wazzo.

It's not that bad, I'm a US expat living in the UK. FBAR/FATCA isn't that annoying. It is annoying, but it's easy enough to do.

Don't know what you mean about green card for more than 3 years? My wife had one for 5 before we moved to the UK -- she just relinquished it, and she's done. No more tax liability.

Honestly, if you don't have citizenship, just renounce your green card once you're in the UK -- file your US taxes for that year -- and then move on with your life. I do my taxes myself using a service 'Taxes For Expats' -- it's like any other file-it-yourself stuff, but specifically for expats. Seems like you'd only have to do it once (for the tax year you move in)

Presumably that all stops when you aren't a citizen?

Yeah, it also stops after you turn in your green card and relinquish your 'lawful permanent resident' status. -- Getting rid of citizenship is considerably harder, and it's actually illegal to renounce your citizenship for 'tax avoidance' -- but no clue how they'd enforce that, really.

to OP: It's incredibly expensive to ship stuff. I shipped a lot of my wife and I's stuff and it cost about 8,000 USD (for full service, so they came, packaged it, took it away, shipped it, unloaded it in the UK, etc) -- and it wasn't that much stuff. If it's sentimental to you, then it's worth it. If it's stuff you can replace easily enough -- you'll save way more money just selling it in the US, and rebuying it in the UK.

I'm about a year in, so all of this is pretty fresh. If you need help with something specific, go ahead and drop me a DM. I'll answer you as best I can based on what I remember.

 

[IDKFA]

Hope you didn't get citizenship/have been tax liable for too long.

Congrats then if so, you will also have to file your FBAR/FATCA every year. Do not skip this, the IRS do pursue if you fail to report, even if you hide in Fiji.

If you did get citizenship, you really want to contact a tax lawyer, yesterday.

You will not believe the tax laws applicable to you if you got citizenship.

If you had a green card for more than 3 years, also, enjoy. Contact a tax lawyer, now.

If either citizenship, or green card, lulz, welcome to being having to deal with paperwork up the wazzo.

Honestly, living in the US sounds like a waking nightmare. The whole tax system sounds like it should be a crime against humanity.

 

[Liljagare]

It's not that bad, I'm a US expat living in the UK. FBAR/FATCA isn't that annoying. It is annoying, but it's easy enough to do.

Don't know what you mean about green card for more than 3 years? My wife had one for 5 before we moved to the UK -- she just relinquished it, and she's done. No more tax liability.

Honestly, if you don't have citizenship, just renounce your green card once you're in the UK -- file your US taxes for that year -- and then move on with your life. I do my taxes myself using a service 'Taxes For Expats' -- it's like any other file-it-yourself stuff, but specifically for expats. Seems like you'd only have to do it once (for the tax year you move in)


Yeah, it also stops after you turn in your green card and relinquish your 'lawful permanent resident' status. -- Getting rid of citizenship is considerably harder, and it's actually illegal to renounce your citizenship for 'tax avoidance' -- but no clue how they'd enforce that, really.

to OP: It's incredibly expensive to ship stuff. I shipped a lot of my wife and I's stuff and it cost about 8,000 USD (for full service, so they came, packaged it, took it away, shipped it, unloaded it in the UK, etc) -- and it wasn't that much stuff. If it's sentimental to you, then it's worth it. If it's stuff you can replace easily enough -- you'll save way more money just selling it in the US, and rebuying it in the UK.

I'm about a year in, so all of this is pretty fresh. If you need help with something specific, go ahead and drop me a DM. I'll answer you as best I can based on what I remember.

It gets really painfull if you have to go through inheritance. Also, non citizens are *not* tax excempt when it comes to transferring money, do not transfer more than 18K a year between accounts, (this years gift free excemption) to your spouse. Your bank will report any money transfers per FATCA, and you will be liable for a foreign gift tax, to your own wife.

It is nuts how it works, the rest of the world, spouses can freely transfer money between shared accounts at will, not so, if there is a US citizen involved.

IRS enforces and gathers by the means of all banks in the world being a part of FATCA. There is no way to avoid it, as almost all banks in the world signed up for this nonsense. It is disgusting.

And almost no expats realize the implications of it. Tons of people have lost everything.

The IRS have 10 years to come after you, do not fail to properly report, just a friendly suggestion, hire a tax firm if you move abroad to double check *everything*.

There are tons of examples where a spouse has forgotten the 10K reporting requirement per account, and then the IRS flops you a 100K fine, gets your bank to close all your accounts because you lied on the fine print when you opened your UK account. Double check everything if you are a US expat.

 

[RavenSan]

It gets really painfull if you have to go through inheritance. Also, non citizens are *not* tax excempt when it comes to transferring money, do not transfer more than 18K a year between accounts, (this years gift free excemption) to your spouse. Your bank will report any money transfers per FATCA, and you will be liable for a foreign gift tax, to your own wife.

It is nuts how it works, the rest of the world, spouses can freely transfer money between shared accounts at will, not so, if there is a US citizen involved.

IRS enforces and gathers by the means of all banks in the world being a part of FATCA. There is no way to avoid it, as almost all banks in the world signed up for this nonsense. It is disgusting.

And almost no expats realize the implications of it. Tons of people have lost everything.

The IRS have 10 years to come after you, do not fail to properly report, just a friendly suggestion, hire a tax firm if you move abroad to double check *everything*.

There are tons of examples where a spouse has forgotten the 10K reporting requirement per account, and then the IRS flops you a 100K fine, gets your bank to close all your accounts because you lied on the fine print when you opened your UK account. Double check everything if you are a US expat.

Ah right -- I haven't had to deal with any inheritance or anything super complicated. My wife and I have joint accounts everywhere (including our US account and our UK account) -- however all of our money is already in the UK, so I just transfer money back to the US to pay off my US credit card I kept.

But yeah, I always properly report, always have, always will. Just not worth the risk.

 

[The Stig]

It's not that bad, I'm a US expat living in the UK. FBAR/FATCA isn't that annoying. It is annoying, but it's easy enough to do.

Don't know what you mean about green card for more than 3 years? My wife had one for 5 before we moved to the UK -- she just relinquished it, and she's done. No more tax liability.

Honestly, if you don't have citizenship, just renounce your green card once you're in the UK -- file your US taxes for that year -- and then move on with your life. I do my taxes myself using a service 'Taxes For Expats' -- it's like any other file-it-yourself stuff, but specifically for expats. Seems like you'd only have to do it once (for the tax year you move in)


Yeah, it also stops after you turn in your green card and relinquish your 'lawful permanent resident' status. -- Getting rid of citizenship is considerably harder, and it's actually illegal to renounce your citizenship for 'tax avoidance' -- but no clue how they'd enforce that, really.

to OP: It's incredibly expensive to ship stuff. I shipped a lot of my wife and I's stuff and it cost about 8,000 USD (for full service, so they came, packaged it, took it away, shipped it, unloaded it in the UK, etc) -- and it wasn't that much stuff. If it's sentimental to you, then it's worth it. If it's stuff you can replace easily enough -- you'll save way more money just selling it in the US, and rebuying it in the UK.

I'm about a year in, so all of this is pretty fresh. If you need help with something specific, go ahead and drop me a DM. I'll answer you as best I can based on what I remember.

Im confused. Why would I have to pay taxes in US if I am not living or working there?

I am a US naturalized citizen.

I'm quite poor and own no real property apart form my car which I am selling and my vidya games/collectables etc.

this is all really scary.

 

[nush]

Why would I have to pay taxes in US if I am not living or working there?

I am a US naturalized citizen.

 

[ReBurn]

Im confused. Why would I have to pay taxes in US if I am not living or working there?

I am a US naturalized citizen.

I'm quite poor and own no real property apart form my car which I am selling and my vidya games/collectables etc.

this is all really scary.

Frequently asked questions about international individual tax matters | Internal Revenue Service

Listing of ACCI-approved FAQs about International Individual tax matters by category.

www.irs.gov

 

[The Stig]

Frequently asked questions about international individual tax matters | Internal Revenue Service

Listing of ACCI-approved FAQs about International Individual tax matters by category.

www.irs.gov

jesus, maybe I should give up my citizenship?

edit - im planning on making a clean break. no property here, wont be much money im taking with me either.

also I found my old National Insurance card!

 

[nush]

jesus, maybe I should give up my citizenship?

Get a British one, you’re out the country working you don’t need to pay tax to them AND tax in the country you are working in. Or you know, should have done your homework before signing up to Uncle Sam.

 

[The Stig]

Get a British one, you’re out the country working you don’t need to pay tax to them AND tax in the country you are working in. Or you know, should have done your homework before signing up to Uncle Sam.

I already am a british citizen. I'm in the process or renewing my passport that expired 2 years ago.

 

[The Stig]

Any advice would be valuable. I'm extremely depressed and it's really hard to do any of this. Without sounding too much of a victim, my relationship has fallen apart and I dont have any friends or family in the US that can really help out. I feel I need to go home and reconnect with my family (we video call on a fairly regular basis, but I havent been home since christmas 2014), luckily they feel the same.

 

[Dr.Morris79]

Any advice would be valuable. I'm extremely depressed and it's really hard to do any of this. Without sounding too much of a victim, my relationship has fallen apart and I dont have any friends or family in the US that can really help out. I feel I need to go home and reconnect with my family (we video call on a fairly regular basis, but I havent been home since christmas 2014), luckily they feel the same.

What advice do you need exactly? Your 1st post is a bit all over the place

Selling stuff?
Moving stuff?

What's happening bud

 

[RavenSan]

Im confused. Why would I have to pay taxes in US if I am not living or working there?

I am a US naturalized citizen.

I'm quite poor and own no real property apart form my car which I am selling and my vidya games/collectables etc.

this is all really scary.

Yup, it's insane. US of A is one of two countries that does 'citizenship' based taxation, instead of residence based taxation (the other is Eritrea I believe)

Also, it's illegal to renounce your citizen to 'avoid taxes' -- and it costs something like 4,000 USD to do so or something.

 

[The Stig]

Yup, it's insane. US of A is one of two countries that does 'citizenship' based taxation, instead of residence based taxation (the other is Eritrea I believe)

Also, it's illegal to renounce your citizen to 'avoid taxes' -- and it costs something like 4,000 USD to do so or something.

ugh. kill me. I hope the UK has the equivalent of H&R block that I can use?

 

[RavenSan]

ugh. kill me. I hope the UK has the equivalent of H&R block that I can use?

No -- there are a ton of companies that specialize in 'expat taxes' though -- however a proper 1 on 1 accountant is not cheap. I used 'Taxes for expats' this year and it was fine. Reasonably priced (compared to the other options) -- but you're still effectively doing them yourself, just through their guidance software.

 

[The Stig]

No -- there are a ton of companies that specialize in 'expat taxes' though -- however a proper 1 on 1 accountant is not cheap. I used 'Taxes for expats' this year and it was fine. Reasonably priced (compared to the other options) -- but you're still effectively doing them yourself, just through their guidance software.

OK. That site looks like what I might need when the time comes thanks a lot.

 

[lem0n]

Hi all,

I dont make topics much but I post. I need advice. My relationship has fallen apart and I cant afford to live on my own here in CA and my parents have offered to let me move back home in the UK in a nice part of Kent to rebuild my life. (Ive been in USA since 2006).

Short story long I'm very depressed and I'm working on divesting myself of as much as I can but there are a fair few things I would want to ship home.

I dont mind if they take a while. See in 2006 going to USA from UK I used excess baggage and they look like they might be an option. Any ideas?

So..... I have a HUGE collection of transformers (mostly unboxed and I dont have the time or inclination to sell them each individually). Is there a good place to sell them in batches?

I also have other interesting toys to sell, is ebay the best place to go?

Also my BMW M5 (2002) is going into the shop to fix its long standing oil leaks. (I WFH 100% currently so dont drive much at all). The car drives fine has no real problems except the leak. But it has 184k miles. What could I expect for it? should I just go to carmax? lol

anyway, any advice for any of this stuff?

Sorry you're going through it! As far as selling the M5, definitely consider joining an E39 or M5 Facebook group and posting it there. There's always a market for niche cars like that. I'm a part of an E39 group on there just to help with sourcing parts for my 528i, I can link you if needed.

 

[The Stig]

UK passport service have received my old passport (and my current USA one) and the process is continuing.

Going to be getting $1900 for a bunch of my transformers as well as the 2k for my games im selling to dkoldies.

I might have a few grand left over after tickets and shipping stuff home. What's the best way to get that money into the UK? Could I open a new acct. and just paypal myself the money?

 

[AJUMP23]

lol i dont have any guns

Big mistake.

 

[The Stig]

Big mistake.

thanks for your contribution lol

 

[Peter303]

I might have a few grand left over after tickets and shipping stuff home. What's the best way to get that money into the UK? Could I open a new acct. and just paypal myself the money?

I'd imagine Paypal will not give you a good currency conversion rate and they will charge you a lot. Look into OFX, XE or some other service like that. See what rates your bank can do too. I used OFX around 15 years ago when they were called Tranzfers and they were the cheapest way of wiring money back then. I've got no idea how they are these days.

 

[AJUMP23]

thanks for your contribution lol

Glad to support.

 

[nush]

What's the best way to get that money into the UK?

International bank transfer. It's cheaper and more secure than paypal. It used to only cost me £20, but from an American bank it might cost $50.

 

[RavenSan]

UK passport service have received my old passport (and my current USA one) and the process is continuing.

Going to be getting $1900 for a bunch of my transformers as well as the 2k for my games im selling to dkoldies.

I might have a few grand left over after tickets and shipping stuff home. What's the best way to get that money into the UK? Could I open a new acct. and just paypal myself the money?

Wise (formerly TransferWise) -- it's dead easy, the fees are the cheapest around. I use it all the time

 

[The Stig]

Wise (formerly TransferWise) -- it's dead easy, the fees are the cheapest around. I use it all the time

Awesome. Thanks. I wonder if I can open an account in the UK before I go there? I do have an address that I know I am moving to.

 

[RavenSan]

Awesome. Thanks. I wonder if I can open an account in the UK before I go there? I do have an address that I know I am moving to.

Wise will give you a 'UK' account -- as for opening a UK bank account, I (personally) had no luck until I moved and got my BRP, etc. I assume for you, if you were a British citizen and have some kind of proof of address, could probably get away with it.

 

[The Stig]

Wise will give you a 'UK' account -- as for opening a UK bank account, I (personally) had no luck until I moved and got my BRP, etc. I assume for you, if you were a British citizen and have some kind of proof of address, could probably get away with it.

Thanks.

So I was just digging through some old stuff and I found my old UK bank acct. details (HSBC).

I have the bank sort code, acct number and security number

I almost logged in but my "secure key" is long lost.

It's a little thing that generates an MFA code. It died YEARS ago. I called the number for a replacement but they're closed (8 hours ahead of me PST). Will try tomorrow.

If I can access my old account that will save a lot of hassle.

 

[nush]

If I can access my old account that will save a lot of hassle.

If you don't use a HSBC account for a long time they will close it. Happened to me.

 

[Porcile]

Welcome back to the UK. Get yourself a nice little car and drive around the countryside. I really miss just parking the car somewhere and going for a walk with the dogs.

But for the love god stay away from Medway.

 

[The Stig]

If you don't use a HSBC account for a long time they will close it. Happened to me.

Hmm we'll see. The site recognizes my account. Maybe I can re-open it? Will try calling tomorrow

 

[The Stig]

If you don't use a HSBC account for a long time they will close it. Happened to me.

Spoke to an agent earlier. Acct. still exists and has 53 quid in it!. (I don't have the symbol for GBP on my keyboard.)

I updated my details and explained what I am doing. I confirmed everything correctly but to complete the update I have to send them a copy of some form of ID. Im sending them a copy of my license. Anyway, all I have to do is turn up at a branch with some form of ID (my passport will work) and I'll get a new card and secure key and Im good to go.

It looks like wise is the best way to go for transferring my money

 

[The Stig]

Wise will give you a 'UK' account -- as for opening a UK bank account, I (personally) had no luck until I moved and got my BRP, etc. I assume for you, if you were a British citizen and have some kind of proof of address, could probably get away with it.

Hey, so it turns out after selling my car and a shit ton of other stuff I have quite a chunk more money than expected.

How should I do this with wise? I cant properly use my HSBC acct. until I get there and present myself at a branch.

Do I create a UK bank acct. with wise?then just dump all my money in it. THEN get to UK. get my new debit card MFA chip thing and then transfer from the wise UK acct. to my HSBC acct?