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Thread: traveler cheques (question)

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    Veteran Member Cristalla's Avatar
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    Default traveler cheques (question)

    say you wanna buy like 10k of traveler cheques to travel abroad: does this raise the IRS s red flag?

    you buy them for some fee from the bank or also other places? i think $10 for every thousand... but does it get reported?

    i searched the forum but couldnt find a similar topic - maybe i m crappy at searching tho LOL~!

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    Default Re: traveler cheques (question)

    yes it will get reported if you purchase them all together at the same time.

    You'll also have to make out a US customs declaration when you actually travel outside of the USA with the money, which is actually more likely to attract the attention of Homeland Security and the IRS.

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    Default Re: traveler cheques (question)

    thanks Melonie do you know how many can i buy to not attract attention?
    maybe 2k at the time or less?

    i traveled with 10k cash last time and nothin happened when my bag got scanned @ airport...
    usually the declaration custom form is asked when u entry the country with over 10k cash... i didnt know u had to do it even when you leave with $$...

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    Default Re: traveler cheques (question)

    Well, it would probably raise red flags, but if you are reporting your taxes honestly and correctly, then you would have nothing to worry about. If you reported that you made $30,000 last year and the year previous and then are taking out $10,000 in travelers cheques...and they look at your taxes, compare with your "estimated living costs" and they don't add up...then you'll have a problem.

    If you can prove that you've saved the money up over time and it was reported as earned income before you saved it, you should be fine.

    And, just so you know, you can purchase a couple thousand without raising IMMEDIATE red flags. Just remember that this information goes into an electronic system and it'll raise red flags even if you purchase $1,000 in traveler's cheques one time a week for 10 weeks.

    If you've got your ducks lined up properly, then you shouldn't worry about the red flags.

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    Default Re: traveler cheques (question)

    Well there is another can of worms besides the $10,000 CRT report here.

    If you purchased travelers checks at $2,000 each time you went into the bank they would report a suspicious activity form. Anything unusual can be reported no matter the dollar amount.

    So if you do purchase this much do it at differant locations as well.

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    Default Re: traveler cheques (question)

    thanks VG and vamp . my husband does the taxes ,,, i ll have to ask him...

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    Default Re: traveler cheques (question)

    Can you just get a credit card or debit card? These work at ATMs in foreign countries.

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    Default Re: traveler cheques (question)

    What happens if one just carries cash? As what money level does it raise a red flag? And yes, I know that's relatively unwise, I was just curious.

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    Default Re: traveler cheques (question)

    Well, being that you have to claim the cash when you leave and enter countries...it's generally unwise to bring in actual cash.

    Red flags go up on cash faster than they do on Cheques, if I am not mistaken.

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    Default Re: traveler cheques (question)

    yup, being discovered carrying a big wad of cash will definitely draw the most attention ... especially if you didn't declare it voluntarily.

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    Default Re: traveler cheques (question)

    Re: large amounts of cash, it can also be a bad idea to carry large amounts of cash within U.S. borders.

    http://www.aclu.org/crimjustice/sear...g19990503.html

    I remember seeing Mr. Jones as part of a "60 minutes" segment several years ago. I believe he did get most of his cash back, but only because of all the media attention he received.

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    Veteran Member Cristalla's Avatar
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    Default Re: traveler cheques (question)

    i knew it was allowed to carry up to 10k?
    and when you fly in from abroad you have to declare (on the form ) if you exceed 10k cash

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