Good ways to transfer funds from overseas

[me_in_japan]

As y'all may know, I'm in the throes of having a house built. Such things are eye-wateringly expensive. Now fortunately, for various reasons, my dad (lor' bless him) has informed me that in order to avoid inheritance tax in the UK he would like to give me some money in the near future. So far, so serendipitous. But, it has occurred to me that if he were to simply transfer the cash into my J account from his UK account then the J bank would eat a not-insubstantial portion of it in fees and unfavourable exchange rates.

So, my question is:

Does anybody know of the best way to transfer a sizeable amount (not sure yet, depends on housing market in UK, but probly around 5 figures in GBP) of money from a foreign bank to a Japanese bank?

Answers on a postcard, plz...

[Spevna]

Fees aren't too bad, but the exchange rate will be pants. It may be worth looking into changing pounds to yen and then sending that.

[Primarch]

Sorry mate, I have no idea. I usually use the Japanese post office to transfer money around, but I think they max out at something like 500,000 yen.

[Tenorikuma]

You could always send travelers cheques. They give you better exchange rates than cash does.

[job]

Keep an eye on the currency markets. Abe has been flooding the market with currency to try and force inflation an devalue the yen. If the yen were to continue to drop in value it may pay to wait on the transfer for a little longer.

Otherwise I recommend moving the cash when you travel between the countries. I course you are not supposed to e carrying very large sums, but it is one sure way to beat the charges.

Also Paypal and credit card companies tend to offer the best rates.

It is nice of your father. Good luck with everything.

[ashmie]

Post office is definitely cheapest sending money home so might be worth checking the other way as well.
You might even want to leave it in a UK account and just dip into it when you visit home. That way you won't lose money on the poor exchange rate. The yen may well drop in value in a year or so in which case it is worth transferring later on.
Other than that travellers cheques or actual physical cash changed up over there and sent via the post office money transfer service I guess. You can do all that in person at the post office shop usually.

[ashmie]

PayPal may be the quickest way yes. Check the rates though.

[me_in_japan]

Cheers, all. Given the amount f money involved, taking it by hand isn't an option. Flat rate fees aren't so much of a worry, but anything that charges a percentage would have to e examined closely. Tbh it's the exchange rate that worries me most. The base rate is one thing (and I agree with job about keeping a weather eye on the horizon on that front), but banks will never give you the base rate - they'll give you their own rate, which invariably involves you paying stupid amounts of money to them. It can easily be 8-10 yen to the pound, which would huge, given the sums involved.

[Mike the Pike]

Have you looked into a) GoRemit ex-LLoyds? I think there are kimits on how much you can send though.
b) Western Union? A lot if ex-pat workers use it to send remittances home.

[me_in_japan]

OK, so I've been digging around this topic of late.

Good god, but it's complicated...

F'r example...

UK inheritance tax applies to any gifts made by someone whose estate is over 350k at the time of death UNLESS those gifts were made over 7 years prior to the death. i.e. The sender pays the tax, not the receiver. My parents will be over that threshold, having saved diligently all their lives to ensure my disabled younger brother will have adequate care after theyre gone. It's mostly tied up in the house.

Japanese Gift Tax is paid on any gift over 1,100,000 yen, and is paid by the RECIPIENT.

yay, i get taxed twice

Solution? Get my dad to send money to my UK account. Now it's my money. Hooray. Now, let's assume my dad lives a good while longer. Hooray, I dont get taxed in the UK. I send the money to myself in Japan, so it's not a gift (it's already mine, innit?). Baddabingbaddaboom. Tax free transfer.

Er...no, apparently not.

If I send that much money to myself, the banks here will flag it up and a nice(hah!) taxman will come a-calling, asking "B---san, wherefrom did that huge great chunk o cash come from? A gift from your father in the UK, you say? How nice of him. That'll be Gift Tax eligible, then. Yes, I know it all happened in a foreign country where you may still be eligible to pay tax on it, should he shuffle off this mortal coil in the next few years. I careth not. You live in Japan. You pay Japanese taxes on your worldwide assets."

Bastichs

And that's without even getting into the complexities of exchange rates and bank fees.

I have never ever had cause to utter these words, either in print or out my gob, but I'm coming close to letting loose the dreaded.....

"I need an accountant"

*ulp*